JRR Tolkien considered Samwise Gamgee the "chief hero" of The Lord of the Rings. If you’re unfamiliar with The Lord of the Rings, it is a world famous story of the struggle of a group of people to destroy a powerful ring before it results in the resurrection of the evil Sauron. The “main character” of the story is Frodo Baggins, a hobbit (a person with large hairy feet and in short stature).
Frodo is tasked with taking the ring to Mordor, the place where it can be destroyed. Frodo is joined by his gardener, Samwise Gamgee. Throughout the course of the story, it might seem obvious that the main character and carrier of the ring is the story’s hero. J. R. R. Tolkien, the author, saw things differently though. Tolkien claimed that Sam was the true hero of the story.
To be fair, the claim holds some merit. Sam did beat a man eating giant spider in single combat, storm a tower full of orcs on his own, resist the temptation of the ring, and carry Frodo up the side of a volcano essentially carrying the fate of the world on his back- all while suffering from starvation and dehydration. So it seems to stand to reason.
I wholeheartedly agree with this because I also felt Samwise was the hero of the story. It's hard not to come to that conclusion being that Sam epitomizes the meaning of true friendship. While Frodo may be burdened by the carrying of the ring, Sam carries the burden of being disregarded by his best friend almost throughout the journey and still has the resilience to stick by Frodo and save him on several occasions. There are many heroes in the story, but there is no doubt that Sam's perseverance makes him the chief hero.
ReplyDelete"Frodo would not have got far without Sam"
ReplyDeleteCould you please write where this quote is?
ReplyDelete"I think the simple ‘rustic’ love of Sam and his Rosic (nowhere laborated) is absolutely essential to the study of his (the chief hero’s) character, and to the theme of the relation of ordinary life (breathing, eating, working, begetting) and quests, sacrifice, causes, and the ‘longing for Elves’, and sheer beauty." --JRR Tolkien's Letter to Milton Waldman, Letter 131.
ReplyDeleteSee also Letter 91 to Christopher:
"Here is a small consignment of 'The Ring': the last two chapters that have been written, and the end of the Fourth Book of that great Romance, in which you will see that, as is all too easy, I have got the hero into such a fix that not even an author will be able to extricate him without labour and difficulty. Lewis was moved almost to tears by the last chapter."
This chapter in The Two Towers was told from Samwise's perspective.
"I can't carry it for you... but I can carry you!"
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