How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph).
Quote #1
Aragorn knelt beside him. Boromir opened his eyes and strove to speak. At last slow words came. "I tried to take the Ring from Frodo," he said. "I am sorry. I have paid. […] Farewell, Aragorn! Go to Minas Tirith and save my people! I have failed."
"No!" said Aragorn, taking his hand and kissing his brow. "You have conquered. Few have gained such a victory. Be at peace! Minas Tirith shall not fall!" (3.1.8-10)
At the end of The Fellowship of the Ring, Boromir has lost his honor. There's just no other way to slice it. But here we are at the beginning of The Two Towers, and boom, Boromir is redeemed. His ultimate devotion is to Minas Tirith and to Gondor, and his thoughts are of Minas Tirith to the last. When Boromir dies and passes on the duty of guarding Minas Tirith to Aragorn, the gesture is jam-packed with meaning. As the son of the Steward of Gondor, Boromir is supposed to be holding power in Gondor until the King returns. By passing the torch to Aragorn, Boromir has shown his true loyalty to Gondor's future King, despite the fact that his own dad is the one in charge now.
Quote #2
"Why not kill them quick, kill them now? They're a cursed nuisance, and we're in a hurry. Evening's coming on, and we ought to get a move on."
"Orders," said a third voice in a deep growl. "Kill all but NOT the Halflings; they are to be brought back ALIVE as quickly as possible. That's my orders."
[…]
"Is that all you know? Why don't we search them and find out? We might find something that we could use ourselves."
"That is a very interesting remark," sneered a voice, softer than the others but more evil. "I may have to report that. The prisoners are NOT to be searched or plundered: those are my orders." (3.3.12-13,16-17)
This dialogue teaches us, first, that orcs are disgusting. Second, this argument sounds strangely familiar. In fact, it parallels the argument among the Company about where to go next once they reach the River Anduin in Book 2 Chapter 8 of The Fellowship of the Ring. Nobody expects that a large group is going to agree all the time. But the orcs have a totally different manner of deciding their courses of action, because none of them are loyal. The only thing that determines their behavior is force—the voice that is "softer than the others but more evil" evokes some higher authority ("I may have to report that") to keep the other orcs in line. Because they are all evil, none of them can rely on each other, which leaves them (luckily) vulnerable to ambush by the Riders of Rohan.
Quote #3
"My dear tender little fools," hissed Grishnákh, "everything you have, and everything you know, will be got out of you in due time: everything! You'll wish there was more that you could tell to satisfy the Questioner, indeed you will: quite soon. We shan't hurry the enquiry. Oh dear no! What do you think you've been kept alive for? My dear little fellows, please believe me when I say that it was not out of kindness: that's not even one of Uglúk's faults."
"I find it quite easy to believe," said Merry. "But you haven't got your prey home yet. And it doesn't seem to be going your way, whatever happens. If we come to Isengard, it won't be the great Grishnákh that benefits: Saruman will take all that he can find. If you want anything for yourself, now's the time to do a deal." (3.3.113-4)
Merry is one smart hobbit. He plays on Grishnákh's disloyalty and self-interest to convince the orc to untie him and Pippin. See, this is the trouble with hiring orc help: you never know when they might turn on you.
Quote #4
"It is the will of Théoden," said Háma.
"It is not clear to me that the will of Théoden son of Thengel, even though he be Lord of the Mark, should prevail over the will of Aragorn son of Arathorn, Elendil's heir of Gondor."
"This is the house of Théoden, not of Aragorn, even were he King of Gondor in the seat of Denethor," said Háma, stepping swiftly before the doors and barring the way. His sword was now in his hand and the point towards the strangers. (3.6.36-8)
Both of the named representatives of Théoden whom we've met by this point in Book 3, Chapter 6, Háma and Éomer, are exceptionally loyal to Théoden. The fact that Théoden inspires so much loyalty in these good people makes us wonder about those passing references to Wormtongue and to unjust or needless orders in Théoden's house. Something must be wrong if a man who can inspire such loyalty can also be so harsh and cruel with his orders, as with his demand that the guards only use the language of Rohan to greet strangers, against the "custom in the West" (3.6.18).
Quote #5
I do not lie. See, Théoden, here is the snake! With safety you cannot take it with you, nor can you leave it behind. To slay it would be just. But it was not always as it now is. Once it was a man, and did you service in its fashion. Give him a horse and let him go at once, wherever he chooses. By his choice you shall judge him. (3.6.126)
Gandalf is remarkable for his mercy. He uses almost exactly the same argument on Frodo to explain why Bilbo didn't kill Gollum in his adventures in The Hobbit: "Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too quick to deal out death and judgement" (The Fellowship of the Ring 1.2.149). So that begs the question: what or whom is Gandalf loyal to? If he were loyal to Théoden, he might be inclined to kick Wormtongue to the curb. But he seems loyal to some deeper, moral idea, rather than to any one person.
Quote #6
"You come at last, but too late, and with too little strength. Things have gone evilly since Théodred fell. [...]
Théoden had sat silent, hidden from the man's sight behind his guards; now he urged his horse forward. "Come, stand before me, Ceorl!" he said. "I am here. The last host of the Eorlingas has ridden forth. It will not return without battle."
The man's face lightened with joy and wonder. He drew himself up. Then he knelt, offering his notched sword to the king. "Command me, lord!" he cried. (3.7.9-12)
Between a king and his people, there is (or should be, at least) a kind of contract: if the people give their loyalty to the king, he will do everything he can to keep them safe. But as Ceorl inadvertently points out here, the people of Rohan have been suffering because of Théoden's Wormtongue-inspired neglect. He leaves the Riders of Rohan to be slaughtered by Saruman's forces because he is busy feeling old and decrepit. It's also worth noting that the loyal relationship between King and subject was broken not only by Théoden's neglect, but also by Wormtongue's bad advice. As a subject, he's duty-bound to tell the King the truth, but that worm-tongue of his keeps getting in the way.
Quote #7
The hobbits were now wholly in the hands of Gollum. They did not know, and could not guess in that misty light, that they were in fact only just within the northern borders of the marshes, the main expanse of which lay south of them. They could, if they had known the lands, with some delay have retraced their steps a little, and then turning east have come round over hard roads to the bare plain of Dagorlad: the field of the ancient battle before the gates of Mordor. Not that there was great hope in such a course. (4.2.43)
There are two different kinds of loyalty at work as Frodo and Sam try to cross into Mordor. There is Sam's devoted loyalty to Frodo, whom he willingly follows into almost certain death. And there is the bizarre, compelled loyalty of Gollum, which is aimed at Frodo, but is really all about the Ring. But that's the thing about loyalty in The Two Towers—it's a guessing game. Frodo and Sam have to take a leap of faith.
Quote #8
"I am commanded to go to the land of Mordor, and therefore I shall go," said Frodo. "If there is only one way, then I must take it. What comes after must come."
Sam said nothing. The look on Frodo's face was enough for him; he knew that words of his were useless. And after all he never had any real hope in the affair from the beginning; but being a cheerful hobbit he had not needed hope, as long as despair could be postponed. Now they were come to the bitter end. But he had stuck to his master all the way; that was what he had chiefly come for, and he would still stick to him. His master would not go to Mordor alone. Sam would go with him—and at any rate they would get rid of Gollum. (4.3.13-4)
When Sam and Frodo face the Black Gate, all Frodo thinks about are his orders to go to the land of Mordor. The Ring is his duty and burden, and as his Quest goes on, it becomes more and more the only thing in his mind. By contrast, Sam's entire purpose in this Quest has been to follow Frodo. His pride is that he has "stuck to his master all the way; that was what he had chiefly come for, and he would still stick to him." So in a sense, Frodo is Sam's Ring: the main object of his loyalty.
Quote #9
"Patience!" said Faramir, but without anger. "Do not speak before your master, whose wit is greater than yours. And I do not need any to teach me of our peril. Even so, I spare a brief time, in order to judge justly in a hard matter. Were I as hasty as you, I might have slain you long ago. For I am commanded to slay all whom I find in this land without the leave of the Lord of Gondor. But I do not slay man or beast needlessly, and not gladly even when it is needed. Neither do I talk in vain. So be comforted. Sit by your master, and be silent!" (4.5.26)
Faramir may not be angry, but we kind of are. Just before this, Sam stands up to a man twice his size and armed to the teeth and demands that he stop harassing Sam's beloved master, who is obviously working against Sauron. And Faramir basically tells him, sit down, shut up, and listen to your betters. Sam's loyalty may be blind and at times unwise, but we don't think it deserves quite so stern a response from someone who, after all, has no idea what they have been through together. But, to be fair, Faramir has a loyalty to his duty to "slay all whom I find in this land."
Quote #10
"The creature is wretched and hungry," said Frodo, "and unaware of his danger. And Gandalf, your Mithrandir, he would have bidden you not to slay him for that reason, and for others. He forbade the Elves to do so. I do not know clearly why, and of what I guess I cannot speak openly out here. But this creature is in some way bound up in my errand. Until you found us, and took us, he was my guide."
"Your guide!" said Faramir. "The matter becomes ever stranger. I would do much for you, Frodo, but this I cannot grant: to let this sly wanderer go free at his own will from here, to join you later if it please him, or to be caught by orcs and tell all he knows under threat of pain. He must be slain or taken. Slain, if he be not taken very swiftly." (4.6.30-1)
Frodo has now been given multiple opportunities to kill Gollum, but this is probably the most important one of all, morally speaking. He could have killed Gollum with his own sword when Gollum first leapt on Sam in Book 4, Chapter 1. He could have let Sam kill him any number of times—Sam has certainly seemed positively eager to do it. Now, he is being given the opportunity to have Gollum killed, from a distance, with no need for either Sam or Frodo to do the actual dirty work. What is more, Faramir (a wise man) is actively counseling Frodo to just let Gollum be slain, since Gollum is such a "sly wanderer." But Frodo still stands up for his guide—a creature for whom Frodo feels a horrible sense of responsibility. Frodo's humble willingness to follow Gandalf's example, against all the advice of his nearest and dearest, proves what a generous and wise hobbit he is. His reprieve of Gollum here plays a huge part in the moral lesson of the end of The Return of the King.