![]() ![]() In the final push to the mountain, Sam provides the motivation - even to the point of carrying Frodo. He takes the Ring and the quest on himself when he believes Frodo is dead, and he rescues Frodo from the orc tower when he learns his master lives. Along with the narrative focus, Sam gains authority and confidence. As Frodo becomes more absorbed in the Ring, which removes him from the real world, Sam's perspective remains one with which the reader can identify. Sam's delight in stories about elves gives him a childlike quality that can be read as condescending, but it also allows him to express the reader's own wonder and delight at the world Tolkien describes.Īfter the breaking of the Fellowship, Sam gradually becomes the focus of the narrative. Many critics have pointed out that the relationship Tolkien describes is less that of a hired hand to his employer than that of military aide to his officer a much more intense personal bond that develops in the field. Sam's unhesitating devotion to his employer - readily identified in the novel as love - may seem strange or even unbelievable. ![]() While his defining qualities of loyalty, humility, and down-to-earth hobbit sense remain constant, the events of the quest reveal his own courage and heroism, as well.ĭuring The Fellowship of the Ring, Sam exemplifies the virtues of a good servant in a class-conscious society: competent and conscientious about his work and quick to defend his master against any threat, real or imagined. Like his beloved master Frodo, Sam develops over the course of the novel. Full Glossary for The Lord of the Rings.This Is Worse Than Mordor!": The Scouring of the Shire as Conclusion".Summary and Analysis: The Return of the King.Maps, Prologue, and Note on Shire Records.Summary and Analysis: The Fellowship of the Ring.On him alone is any charge laid: neither to cast away the Ring, nor to deliver it to any servant of the Enemy nor indeed to let any handle it, save members of the Company and the Council, and only then in gravest need." With this unsettling charge laid on him, Frodo sets out on his improbable and irrevocable rescue mission. except Frodo, "The Ring-bearer is setting out on the Quest of Mount Doom. When the Fellowship of the Ring leaves Rivendell, Elrond piles the responsibility on, clarifying that any member of the group can leave at any time. Sam may be sold out to protecting Frodo, but his master has the entire world in mind. It shows that, against every fiber of his being, Frodo is still willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. At last with an effort he spoke, and wondered to hear his own words, as if some other will was using his small voice." This reluctance is important. ![]() In "The Fellowship of the Ring" book, it explains that just before he announces that he will take the Ring to Mordor, "An overwhelming longing to rest and remain at peace by Bilbo's side in Rivendell filled all his heart. That said, there are still plenty of glimpses of that inner battle along the way, and they provide a window into just how heroic Frodo is under that unassuming Halfling surface.Īt the Council of Elrond, Frodo is still very much the reluctant hero. He resorts to Sam's point of view throughout Frodo and Sam's journey, only occasionally hinting at Frodo's larger, indescribable struggle. Even then, those struggles are so overwhelming that even Tolkien couldn't put them into words easily. The unseen trials and tribulations Frodo goes through aren't clear in the movies, but they're pretty obvious in the source material. It's the Hobbit's spiritual journey that really helps him stand out here. Aragorn is every ounce of what you'd expect a traditional hero to be. Gandalf is a Wizard that defeats a balrog and quite literally rallies the entire free world to defeat the Dark Lord. Sam comparisons aside, consider how Frodo's greatness compares to everyone else. What we're claiming is that, when you add it all up, Frodo is the "greatest" hero and a more epic, accomplished protagonist than his faithful servant. A huge part of the story is told from Sam's point of view. We aren't saying Frodo is the primary hero.
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