How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph).
Quote #7
Pippin sat with his knees drawn up and the ball between them. He bent low over it, looking like a greedy child stooping over a bowl of food, in a corner away from others. […] Then there came a faint glow and stir in the heart of it, and it held his eyes, so that now he could not look away. Soon all the inside seemed on fire; the ball was spinning, or the lights within were revolving. Suddenly the lights went out. He gave a gasp and struggled; but he remained bent, clasping the ball with both hands. Closer and closer he bent, and then became rigid, his lips moving soundlessly for a while. Then with a strangled cry he lay back and was still. (3.11.40)
The power of the palantír appears to echo the power of the Ring (though on a much smaller scale, of course). After Pippin has touched the palantír, he cannot stop thinking about it, until he absolutely has to go and steal it from Gandalf. And when he looks into it, it seems to hold him against his will. He just can't look away. Sauron is so powerful that he can compel the will of people through objects like the palantír and the Ring, just as Saruman can control people through voice.
Quote #8
You swore a promise by what you call the Precious. Remember that! It will hold you to it; but it will seek a way to twist it to your own undoing. Already you are being twisted. You revealed yourself to me just now, foolishly. Give it back to Sméagol you said. Do not say that again! Do not let that thought grow in you! You will never get it back. But the desire of it may betray you to a bitter end. You will never get it back. In the last need, Sméagol, I should put on the Precious; and the Precious mastered you long ago. If I, wearing it, were to command you, you would obey, even if it were to leap from a precipice or to cast yourself into the fire. And such would be my command. So have a care, Sméagol! (4.3.26)
You go Frodo. Certainly, Frodo speaks the truth: the Ring has mastered Gollum, and if Frodo wore it, he would be able to master Gollum, too. But we can't help but wonder if Frodo's willingness to imagine what would happen if he put the Ring on is a bit of a bad omen. He's telling Gollum not to set his thought on the Ring. Shouldn't Frodo do the same?
Quote #9
As you know, [Minas Morgul] was once a strong place, proud and fair, the twin sister of our own city. But it was taken by fell men whom the Enemy in his first strength had dominated, and who wandered homeless and masterless after his fall. It is said that their lords were men of Númenor who had fallen into dark wickedness; to them the Enemy had given rings of power, and he had devoured them: living ghosts they were become, terrible and evil. After his going they took Minas Ithil and dwelt there, and they filled it, and all the valley about, with decay: it seemed empty and was not so, for a shapeless fear lived within the ruined wall. Nine Lords there were, and after the return of their Master, which they aided and prepared in secret, they grew strong again. Then the Nine Riders issued forth from the gates of horror, and we could not withstand them. Do not approach their citadel. You will be espied. It is a place of sleepless malice, full of lidless eyes. Do not go that way! (4.6.103)
First of all, props to Faramir for some very dramatic storytelling. This description of Minas Morgul is downright terrifying—especially that part about the "sleepless malice, full of lidless eyes." Yikes. Second, our man Faramir is also making an awesome parallel between Minas Morgul and its sister city, Minas Tirith, which become reverse images of each other in his description. Minas Tirith is a city of light and Minas Ithil is its much darker, more evil counterpart, and this comparison has narrative significance. Frodo and Sam are on the darker, more horrible quest, so they are also going to the darker, more horrible city. Aragorn and Company are going into danger, yes, but theirs is a much more conventional battle narrative. So they are going in the same general direction that Frodo and Sam are—they even wind up not so far apart, geographically speaking—but their less dangerous quest also means the less dangerous goal of Minas Tirith.