Samwise Gamgee

"There's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for."

- Sam Gamgee

Samwise Gamgee (TA 2980 (SR 1380) - after FO 61 (SR 1482) ?), also known as Sam, was initially Frodo Baggins' gardener and friend. Sam proved himself to be Frodo's closest and most dependable companion, the most loyal of the Fellowship of the Ring, and also the true hero of the books. He was the youngest son of Hamfast and Bell Gamgee, and had many brothers and sisters.

Character
"I didn't eat the elven bread, Frodo!"

- Sam Gamgee

A gardener by trade, Sam seemed to be a simple Hobbit of plain speech. However, his love for Elves, his gift for poetry, and his belief that the world contains greater wonders than most hobbits are aware of (all nurtured by his tutor Bilbo Baggins) set him apart from the beginning. It was Sam who first introduced the theme of the Elves sailing from Middle-earth, a subtle foreshadowing of Bilbo and Frodo's final journey across the Sea. He lived with his father, Hamfast Gamgee, known as "The Gaffer", on Bagshot Row in the Shire, close to Bag End. Sam's mother was Bell Goodchild; he had five siblings: Hamson, Halfred, Daisy, May, and Marigold.



As "punishment" for eavesdropping on Gandalf's conversation with Frodo regarding the dangers of the One Ring, Sam was made Frodo's first companion on his journey to Rivendell in the beginning of Frodo's journey. Sam saved Frodo's life more than once during the quest to destroy the Ring, and he accompanied him all the way to Mount Doom.

After Shelob attacked and seemingly killed Frodo, Sam took the Ring, intending to complete the quest. Because he held the Ring for a time, he was considered one of the ring-bearers. After thinking Frodo was dead, orcs came and scavenged the body explaining that he's still alive. Sam followed the orcs into the tower of Cirith Ungol. The Uruks and Morgul Orcs were rioting and killing each other making it easier for Sam to get to Frodo. Sam eventually saved Frodo and made their way to Mount Doom, disguising as orcs along the way. The way to Mount Doom was filled with fiery rocks and pillows of ash which made it almost impossible for the hobbits to pass. Frodo was collapsing and Sam carried him up to Mount Doom, only to be stopped by Gollum. Sam weakened Gollum and the hobbits ran to the volcano. As Sam yelled for Frodo to destroy the ring, Frodo was corrupted. Gollum attacked them by knocking out Sam with a rock, and biting off Frodo's finger in the process. Gollum was reunited with his treasure for a short time before being pushed off the rocky ledge by Frodo. The two hobbits were rescued by Gandalf and the eagles. The four hobbits then made it back to the Shire and settled there once again.

After the War of the Ring, he married Rosie Cotton. They had thirteen children: Elanor the Fair, Frodo, Rose, Merry, Pippin, Goldilocks, Hamfast, Daisy, Primrose, Bilbo, Ruby, Robin, and Tolman. Sam accompanied Frodo to the Undying Lands trip. Frodo then announced that he was leaving, and then gave Sam the Red Book of Westmarch. After Will Whitfoot resigned his post as Mayor of Michel Delving (the largest town in the Shire and the "unofficial capital"), in SR 1427, Sam was elected Mayor of the Shire for seven consecutive 7-year terms.

After his wife died in the year 61 of the Fourth Age (SR 1482), Sam entrusted the Red Book to Elanor and left Middle-earth to sail across the Sea and be reunited with Frodo in the Undying Lands.



In the books

 * The Fellowship of the Ring
 * The Two Towers
 * The Return of the King

In the movies

 * The Fellowship of the Ring
 * The Two Towers
 * The Return of the King

Name
Tolkien took the name from Gamgee Tissue, a surgical dressing invented by a 19th century Birmingham surgeon called Joseph Sampson Gamgee. "Gamgee" became the colloquial name in Birmingham for cotton wool; Tolkien described why he had chosen that name for his character:

"'The choice of Gamgee was primarily directed by alliteration; but I did not invent it. It was caught out of childhood memory, as a comic word or name. It was in fact the name when I was small (in Birmingham) for 'cotton-wool'. (Hence the association of the Gamgees with the Cottons.) I knew nothing of its origin.' (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Humphrey Carpenter)"

It is possible that Tolkien may have subconsciously recalled Dr. Gamgee (who died in 1886 but is commemorated by a plaque at the Birmingham Medical Institute, only yards from Tolkien's childhood home) but he claimed to be genuinely surprised when, in March 1956, he received a letter from one Sam Gamgee, who had heard that his name was in The Lord of the Rings but had not read the book. Tolkien replied on March 18:

"'Dear Mr. Gamgee,"

"It was very kind of you to write. You can imagine my astonishment when I saw your signature! I can only say, for your comfort, I hope, that the 'Sam Gamgee' of my story is a most heroic character, now widely beloved by many readers, even though his origins are rustic. So that perhaps you will not be displeased at the coincidence of the name of this imaginary character of supposedly many centuries ago being the same as yours.' (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Humphrey Carpenter)"

He proceeded to send Mr Gamgee a signed copy of all three volumes of the book. However, the incident sparked a nagging worry in Tolkien's mind, as he recorded in his journal:

"'For some time I lived in fear of receiving a letter signed 'S. Gollum'. That would have been more difficult to deal with.' (Tolkien: A Biography, Humphrey Carpenter)"

In the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, pages 1109 and 1111, it is mentioned that the Westron form of Sam's name is Banazîr Galbasi (also spelled Galpsi). Banazîr comes from elements meaning "halfwise" or "simple". Galbasi comes from the name of the village Galabas. The name Galabas uses the elements galab-, meaning "game", and bas-, corresponding somewhat to "-wich" or "-wick". Tolkien's English translation, Samwís Gamwich, could have come to Samwise Gamgee in modern English.

Actors
Roddy McDowall voiced the character of Samwise Gamgee in the 1980 animated short of The Return of the King, made directly for television. In the more popular animated version, originally released in 1978, Michael Scholes voiced the character.

In the 1981 BBC radio serial of The Lord of the Rings, Sam is played by William Nighy.

In the Peter Jackson movies The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Sam is played by Sean Astin. It is not clear whether Astin had heard Nighy's radio performance, but both actors bring very similar characterizations and accents to the role.

Sword
Sam uses a short barrow-blade for melee combat in books, movies and video games, but for a time after Frodo was attacked by Shelob and sent to the tower of Cirith Ungol, Sam used Frodo's Sting to rescue him.

Frying Pan
Sam uses his frying pan when he has to knock out orcs as shown in the Movie in Moria.

Throwing Weapons
Sam can use rocks to hit opponents from a distance. In The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (video game), he uses throwing knives instead of rocks.

Commentary
Many regard Sam Gamgee as the "true hero" of Tolkien's story. Tolkien himself expressed this view in one of his letters: Sam is referred to as the "chief hero", and special emphasis is placed on Sam's "rustic love" for Rosie. The quest to destroy the Ring only succeeds because of Sam, who repeatedly saves Frodo from disaster (such as rescuing him at Cirith Ungol and carrying him up Mount Doom). He was one of two Ringbearers strong enough to surrender the Ring voluntarily.

The relationship between Frodo and Sam is, in many respects, at the centre of The Lord of the Rings. To the modern reader, it seems archaic - it is clearly extremely class-oriented: Sam's humbleness and "plain speaking" is frequently emphasized in contrast to Frodo's "gentility", and he often shows deference to Frodo, calling him "Mister Frodo". At the same time, a strong bond of love and trust grows between them, portrayed most poignantly during the events of Cirith Ungol, where Sam vows to return to his (apparently) dead master, to be reunited with Frodo in death.

Tolkienologists regard Sam as Frodo's batman. In the British Army, a batman was an orderly who acted as the personal servant of an officer. It was a role with which Tolkien (who served as an Army officer in the First World War) would have been extremely familiar. Sam undertakes all of the typical roles of a batman - he runs errands for Frodo, he cooks, he transports him (or at least carries him), and he carries his luggage. Tolkien confirmed this interpretation when he wrote in a private letter that:

"'My Sam Gamgee is indeed a reflexion of the English soldier, of the privates and batmen I knew in the 1914 war, and recognized as so far superior to myself' (J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography, page 89, ed. Humphrey Carpenter)."

Compare to the relation between Don Quixote and his squire Sancho Panza, and the gradual "Quixotization" of Sancho.

External link


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