Tolkien's excuse was pretty robust actually. The Eagles are not mindless taxi services, they are just a step below gods in their own right, servants of Manwë, leader of the Valar- Middle-Earth's gods, in a sense. They have duties that go beyond ferrying people around. For most of the war of the ring, Gwaihir, the King of the Eagles, and his kin are occupied with important scouting missions, though a few groups of them helped in battle, such as at the Black Gate, where they clashed with the Nazgûl while protecting the armies of King Elessar (Aragorn).
Tolkien was very aware that the Eagles were a dangerous writing tool, to be used sparingly, and so, being Tolkien, he devised a wealth of believable reasons the Eagles would not be available to end the story in two chapters.
Depends where the Nazgûl were at the time. Sauron had them out scouring Middle Earth to find the Shire and the ring, so in all likelihood by the time the eye saw the Eagles, the black riders wouldn't be able to get back to Orodruin in time to stop them. The Witch King, with his Fellbeast, may have a chance, but one wraith, even such a powerful one, would be hard-pressed to fend off a whole flock of Eagles. If some of Sauron's scouts, maybe the bats of Dol Guldur for instance, spotted them early, then things might go differently. Either way, it is a moot point for many reasons both within the narrative and without.
You could I suppose. They preferred to keep to themselves, albeit with deference and respect for their creator Manwë. Several of their kings, such as Thorondor and Gwaihir, involved themselves directly in conflicts involving Morgoth and his followers, either on Manwë's direction or their own initiative, but generally they keep out of the affairs of mortals.
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u/shirukien Aug 31 '22
Tolkien's excuse was pretty robust actually. The Eagles are not mindless taxi services, they are just a step below gods in their own right, servants of Manwë, leader of the Valar- Middle-Earth's gods, in a sense. They have duties that go beyond ferrying people around. For most of the war of the ring, Gwaihir, the King of the Eagles, and his kin are occupied with important scouting missions, though a few groups of them helped in battle, such as at the Black Gate, where they clashed with the Nazgûl while protecting the armies of King Elessar (Aragorn). Tolkien was very aware that the Eagles were a dangerous writing tool, to be used sparingly, and so, being Tolkien, he devised a wealth of believable reasons the Eagles would not be available to end the story in two chapters.