Sam Is the True Hero in Lord of the Rings

Student Persuasive Essay by Annabelle Means

        “In friendship there is strength-as we journey through life, we all hope for friendship and camaraderie.” In these immortal words of Tolkien, he uncovers one of the main themes in the Lord of the Rings: friendship. Legolas and Gimli, Merry and Pippin, Frodo and Sam. Friendship is rife throughout Tolkien’s most famous work. And in fact, the friendship of Samwise Gamgee saved Middle-Earth. Although Frodo was the one to actually carry the Ring to Mount Doom and is the one credited with the Ring’s destruction, it never would have met its end without Sam saving Frodo emotionally, physically and morally. Sam is the real hero in the Lord of the Rings.

        Emotionally Frodo carried a heavy burden in the Ring. It toyed with him, messing with his mind and emotions. This may seem like the nobler burden to bear, but Sam bore the emotional burden of the Ring just as much as Frodo, through Frodo’s behavior toward him. Frodo, once a good friend of Sam’s, now grew snappish, despondent, and hopeless, flaring up at his companion for nothing and dropping into black depressions. Sam watched the downhill slide of his best friend, not with hatred or fear of who Frodo was becoming, but with a steady anger toward the Ring. Despite Frodo’s behavior, Sam always had a good word, an encouraging thought, a wry remark with which he tried to lift Frodo from his despair. Through this selfless encouragement, Sam bore the Ring just as much as Frodo did.

        Morally Sam was one of the only two Ring-Bearers to willingly give the Ring up. The Ring had a strong, addictive pull. It was Sauron’s very soul, and it wanted to get back to its master. It whispered lies to its carriers, enchanting them and pulling them under a spell, while at the same time extending their lives so that one day, after drowning their personalities and lives in a fake view of success and power, it could manipulate them back toward its real master, Sauron. The Ring made itself beautiful, something to be wanted and craved. Out of the nine people said to have touched the Ring, only two were able to give it up without a fight: Bilbo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee. After Frodo was captured by Shelob, Sam thought he was dead. Sam took the Ring from Frodo’s still body and planned to take it up to Mount Doom himself. On his way, he heard two orcs speaking of Shelob’s latest prey as alive. Sam rescued Frodo, who immediately searched for the Ring frantically. Sam pulled it from his pocket and gave it up when Frodo demanded it. This act of selflessness shows a peek into Sam’s good character.

        Physically the conditions of their journey were far from favorable. The two hobbits endured sleet, heat, rain, and bogginess. Their terrain was rough and physically taxing: mountains, swamps and forests. They crossed rivers, climbed mountains, trekked through clouds of gnats that ate them alive. Frodo volunteered for this first, Sam only did so after he heard Frodo had decided to. Despite all this, and despite his own homesickness, Sam never abandoned Frodo. He did all the cooking, carried all the luggage, bore up and did whatever “Mr. Frodo” needed him to. Not only did he stay on the quest when a less devoted friend would have given up and gone home, but Sam physically saved Frodo’s life more than once. If Sam had not been with Frodo during the quest for the Ring, Frodo would have either have been absorbed by the ring when the Nazgul showed up and just given it to them, he would have been killed by Gollum, he would have been tortured and died a slow death at the hands of Sauron’s minions. Sam saved his friend every time, from every grizzly death. He never thought twice about the possible costs of his actions, if Mr. Frodo was in trouble, his Sam would be there to help him. Not only was this assistance invaluable to Frodo, but all of Middle-Earth should be grateful to Samwise, for if Frodo died, the Ring would have been lost and the mission a failure. Sauron would have gotten it back and gone on to rule all of Middle-Earth. In these ways, Sam proved his worth. He supported Frodo for months, emotionally, morally and physically, hardly ever thinking of himself or his own safety.

        In the end, Frodo is invited to sail away with the elves to the undying lands, leaving Sam back in Middle-Earth. Frodo doesn’t invite Sam, though Sam probably wouldn’t have gone if Frodo had invited him. Sam didn’t save Middle-Earth for the rewards it would give him, fame and fortune and grandeur, he did it all for the love of a friend, a much more worthy cause.