Samwise Gamgee: A true friend if there ever was one

Many of us are familiar with J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic adventure series “The Lord of the Rings”. It’s strange how easy it is to identify with this world of Hobbits, Elves, Men, Dragons, Orcs, Goblins, Trolls, talking Trees and even the odd Wizard thrown in.

Tolkien tells a story about us, the readers, just as much as those who inhabit Middle-Earth. He seeks to fill a gap in our souls. A gap that craves for adventure, heroic battle, belonging and hope.

It is rather odd that in such a world of intimidating creatures, that it’s in Men and their cousins the Hobbits, in which we find the best expressions of these life giving pursuits.

Tolkien speaks to us directly and he chooses to do this not through the mightiest of warriors or most powerful of kings but a simple Hobbit. Not Frodo Baggins, the protagonist of his epic adventure story, but his loyal friend Samwise Gamgee.

Sam embodies all the virtues that a true friend should have. He never abandons his friends, his motives are pure and he tells his friends what they need to hear, not what they’d like to hear.

Just like no person is perfect, none of Tolkiens characters are perfect. Sam has his flaws just like the rest of us. However it is with these flaws and numerous limitations, that he finds the interior strength to struggle and overcome adversity.

Even when the odds seem hopeless, it is Sam who puts everything into proper perspective and displays a truly selfless sacrificial attitude. It is almost as if Tolkien speaks through Samwise and we the reader take the perspective of Frodo.

This is best depicted in the screen play from the film adaptation of Tolkiens work, where, when all seems lost and despair raises its head, Sam in one of the best speeches ever written, explains the entire endeavour on which Tolkien embarked upon when writing The Lord of the Rings;

Frodo:

“I can’t do this Sam”

Sam:

“I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are.

It's like in the great stories Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you don't want to know the end, because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end it is only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass.

A new day will come and when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think Mr. Frodo, I do understand, I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going because they were holding on to something.”

Frodo:

What are we holding on to Sam?

Sam:

“That there’s some good in this world Mr Frodo and it’s worth fighting for.”

Here, Sam gives a direct antidote to the nihilistic post modernism that haunts our world today. We all at times feel so small in the face of intimidating challenges.

When we, in our own time, in our own world, are confronted with similar evils, we too face the same choice, turn back or keep going. To march into the heart of Mount Doom, renounce all earthly power and save the day or take the easy option and pursue power at the expense of others.

The Fellowship of the Ring by Natasa Kourti (tansa)

Tolkien knew well the importance of stories and the meaning that they contain. They express something about who we and are who we’d like to be. These stories inspire and call us to action, to heroism. We understand ourselves in the context of the narrative of our own story.

Friendship isn’t aimless, it has a goal, to will the best in the other. To truly be a good friend we must want whats best for the other. Sam wants what’s best for Frodo. He wants it so much that he’s willing, out of love, to tell him uncomfortable truths. Out of fraternity he corrects Frodo and helps him stick to the right path.

He puts Frodo’s needs before that of his own. When supplies run low on their journey he makes sure that Frodo eats even if that means that he must go without.

Sam never abandons Frodo, even when the Fellowship is scattered and Frodo makes for a boat to go to Mordor alone. Despite not being able to swim, Sam runs into the water in order to join him. Frodo, rowing away, must turn back and reach into the water to pull out the drowning Sam.

The imagery is striking. The cultural context is important here. Tolkien wishes to invoke the relationship of Jesus and Peter. Frodo like Christ must carry a cross, in this case in the form of the “One Ring to rule them all”, to the top of mountain and upon making a sacrifice will conquer evil.

Just as evil was defeated in our world by a humble carpenter from Galilee, it is one of the most humble of creatures, a Hobbit who carries the hope and salvation of all of Middle-Earth.

Sam and Frodo from The Lord of the Rings ©New Line Cinema

These stories have meaning. There is a clear juxtaposition of good and evil. There is no negotiating with evil. Those who do (Gríma Wormtongue) and corrupted and become themselves evil.

The corruptible nature of man, his greatest weakness, his pride, makes him much less capable of fulfilling the task of destroying the Ring. Hobbits in comparison have no such big notions, they crave a life of simplicity, being content with a nice second breakfast, fishing by the stream, gardening and a half-pint of ale.

Gandalf, a powerful wizard, knowing his strength and his limits, doesn’t even dare touch the Ring for fear of succumbing to its temptation. The mighty giant eagles, the messenger of Manwë, for the same reason cannot take the ring and simply fly to Mordor.

Many laughed at the idea of entrusting the hopes of all mankind in the hands of two Hobbits. Yet others like Gandalf and Aragon saw the strength of moral character that made Frodo and Sam ideal for such a task. Frodo and Sam, who seeks not personal glory but to aid his friend Frodo in his Quest, have a certain disposition to virtue, in this case humility, that provides them with protection from the Ring.

Aristotle also has a lot to say about virtue and friendship. He distinguishes three types of friendships, friendships based on usefulness, friendships based on pleasure and friendships based on virtue. The first two are temporary, a persons usefulness comes and goes, as do the good times, where life is easy and all seem well.

These types of friendships are fundamentally superficial, not based on something deeper. Only when someones usefulness expires and the hard times come, are friendships put to the test and one can then disguise what is and what is not a true friendship. Friendships based on virtue in contrast is intentional, not accidental.

In the end it is not armies of knights, axemen and bowmen that save Middle-Earth, even if they certainly have an important part to play, but it is two humble Hobbits that defeat evil with the conquering power of true perfect friendship.

Niall Buckley

April 2020