Frodo Baggins, a hobbit who lives in the Shire, acquires a Ring from Bilbo Baggins. This Ring is the “One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them in the Land of Mordor where the Shadow lies” (Tolkien The Fellowship of the Ring). Bilbo did not know that the Ring he had brought back from his journey was the Ring of Sauron, a dark lord who wishes to enslave all of the Middle-earth. Gandalf the Grey, a wizard, suspected that the Ring was indeed Sauron’s and advised Frodo to leave the Shire as it would not be safe there with Sauron out searching for it fiercely. Frodo is the “bearer” of this Ring; it is his job to go to the place where the Ring was created, only so he can destroy it.
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Sams “devotion to his master is so absolute that he never thinks of himself or of stealing the Ring” (“The Lord of the Rings” Novels for Student). Tolkien creates Sam as a character who readers are able to relate to more. He creates Sam as a secondary main character who is the opposite of Frodo: a character that’s never concerned with owning the Ring for himself. J.R.R Tolkien even states in The Letters of J.R.R Tolkien that “Sam is the most closely drawn character, the successor to Bilbo of the first book, the genuine hobbit” (Tolkien 105). He goes further on to say “Frodo is not so interesting, because he has to be high-minded, and has a vocation” (Tolkien 105). Tolkien expresses his dislike for Frodo as a character here. Tolkien even ends his novels with Sam, as he returned to his life in the Shire and lived a normal life with his family. As stated previously, Sam is a character readers can relate to more often than Frodo. Sam teaches us about the power of friendship. He expresses friendship as devotion to another person. Readers see this through Sam’s actions, such as carrying Frodo up Mount Doom or continuing with Frodo when Frodo believed he should go by himself, that Sam will sacrifice anything for Frodo. In the end, the character readers learn most from is Sam, not Frodo. Frodo’s attitude change from the beginning of the book to the end. He succumbs to Rings power, losing the noble attitude he had in the beginning, thus making his role tragic. Sam grows into a character that “transformed beyond what he recognizes in himself. In the end he becomes the subject of all his dreams” (Broadway). Readers can relate to a character like Sam more, one that strived to better himself into what he wanted to be, than to Frodo, one who had a tragic
Sams “devotion to his master is so absolute that he never thinks of himself or of stealing the Ring” (“The Lord of the Rings” Novels for Student). Tolkien creates Sam as a character who readers are able to relate to more. He creates Sam as a secondary main character who is the opposite of Frodo: a character that’s never concerned with owning the Ring for himself. J.R.R Tolkien even states in The Letters of J.R.R Tolkien that “Sam is the most closely drawn character, the successor to Bilbo of the first book, the genuine hobbit” (Tolkien 105). He goes further on to say “Frodo is not so interesting, because he has to be high-minded, and has a vocation” (Tolkien 105). Tolkien expresses his dislike for Frodo as a character here. Tolkien even ends his novels with Sam, as he returned to his life in the Shire and lived a normal life with his family. As stated previously, Sam is a character readers can relate to more often than Frodo. Sam teaches us about the power of friendship. He expresses friendship as devotion to another person. Readers see this through Sam’s actions, such as carrying Frodo up Mount Doom or continuing with Frodo when Frodo believed he should go by himself, that Sam will sacrifice anything for Frodo. In the end, the character readers learn most from is Sam, not Frodo. Frodo’s attitude change from the beginning of the book to the end. He succumbs to Rings power, losing the noble attitude he had in the beginning, thus making his role tragic. Sam grows into a character that “transformed beyond what he recognizes in himself. In the end he becomes the subject of all his dreams” (Broadway). Readers can relate to a character like Sam more, one that strived to better himself into what he wanted to be, than to Frodo, one who had a tragic