Tolkien's hobbits show basic goodness of people

During a discussion I recently had with a Tolkien fan, he informed me that we are all like Gollum, selfish and prone to evil. I think he missed Tolkiens message in LOTR. Certainly we are all tempted by evil, but the moment Tolkien introduced us to Samwise Gamgee he was saying quite the opposite. No character is as clearly prone to good as he is. Down to earth and common as the soil he worked in, Sam ws Tolkiens tie to his readers. He wasn't the noble son of a king, or the adopted son of an eccentric millionaire. He was a gardener, like his father before him and the one character in the book we could all understand.

Sam. Even his name is simple. Not so complicated as Meriadoc Brandybuck nor so noble sounding as Peregrin Took. Uncomplicated as his name, no character is either hated or loved with such pasion as Samwise Gamgee. Perhaps the reason he evokes such passion is that he reflects those traits in ourselves we either hate or love.

Tolkien made his first impressions of Sam those we could relate to most. Sam was ever interested in Bilbo's tales, in the same things that interested us in the Hobbit. His Gaffer even says: "Elves and Dragons! I says to him. Cabbages and potatoes are better for me and you." Suddenly we *are* Sam. Being told like children who read books with a flashlight under the covers to get our head out of the clouds. But it's too late, for us and Sam. We are already in the story.

Sam appeals to that nitpicking side of us that asks: "Where do they go to the bathroom?" You know what I mean. Sam is practical. He thinks of things that are necessary and even essential. Frodo while understanding his quest certainly wasn't prepared. He had nothing but the ring. It was Sam who was ready for the journey: Rope and cooking utensils. They hardly seem important, but anyone who has been on a camping trip without them knows you can not survive without them.

Sam was also the optomist. He didn't lead Mordors horros darken his heart. He proves to be the constant motivator for Frodo. While Frodo mourns for the loss of friends Sam is there to reassure him that they will be seen again. When Frodo complains of the burden or the ring and insists he must still carry it, Sam does not try to talk his master out of the task. Instead of letting Frodo bear it alone, he bears it's burden by carrying Frodo.

Sam is the only ring bearer to emmerge unscathed by the ring. The ring so changed Bilbo that he left the Shire. Those who saw Frodo after the quest could not help but realize the mark the ring had left on him was the same that had been left on Sauron. It is Sam who understands the ring and he who bears it best.

While we fret for poor Frodo throughout the book, without Sam the ring is forfeited to evil and the hero dies.

People mistakingly think that The Lord of the Rings is about Frodo and the one ring. It is is not. Aragorn will be King. Gandalf will become the great wizzard we always imagined him to be. Legolas and Gimli will continue their lasting friendship. Merry and Pippin will be great hobbit warriors. Sam, who remains remarkably unchanged throughout the book, will continue to be the simple hobbit he is.

Sam is given the respect he is due by his superiors, but nothing more. In the end, he is left without much further concern, to take care of remaining problems without aid. Frodo's says, "The rest I've left for you to finish." We never wonder how Sam will fare. We know he will do well.

Tolkien's love for the simple and hard working people he knew was never more clear than when he created Sam. The admiration for the people he served with in WWII could not have been more evident. No finer tribute could he have made them than the creation of Samwise Gamgee. In him we see the people we can and should be. Good people who can destroy evil, where others have struggled for years with swords and magic, with frying pans and rope.