Great Characters: Samwise Gamgee (“Lord of the Rings”)
There are multiple characters from which to choose in the movie trilogy of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy novel “The Lord of the Rings,” but at the suggestion of my son Will, I’m going with Samwise Gamgee. As portrayed by actor Sean Astin from a script adaptation by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson, the character goes from this:
To this:
A metamorphosis from perhaps the sweetest of the hobbits to the bravest. For whereas Frodo had no choice in his taks, chosen as the Ringbearer and drawn inexorably toward Mordor, at any point Sam could have turned back from their prospective date with death. But he had committed himself to a task and he was determined to see it through:
I made a promise, Mr Frodo. A promise. “Don’t you leave him Samwise Gamgee.” And I don’t mean to. I don’t mean to.
Indeed it is Sam who in the darkest moment somehow finds the inner strength to go on:
Sam: [Both are overcome by exhaustion] Do you remember the Shire, Mr. Frodo? It’ll be spring soon. And the orchards will be in blossom. And the birds will be nesting in the hazel thicket. And they’ll be sowing the summer barley in the lower fields… and eating the first of the strawberries with cream. Do you remember the taste of strawberries?
Frodo: No, Sam. I can’t recall the taste of food… nor the sound of water… nor the touch of grass. I’m… naked in the dark, with nothing, no veil… between me… and the wheel of fire! I can see him… with my waking eyes!
Sam: Then let us be rid of it… once and for all! Come on, Mr. Frodo. I can’t carry it for you… but I can carry you!
“But I can carry you.” In that line and through his actions in the story, Sam proves himself to be a character at the emotional core of the story and therefore I would argue an Attractor to Frodo’s function as Protagonist.
All the Hobbits deserve plaudits and praise for their courage, especially of course Frodo. But without Sam to breathe life into Frodo’s heart and soul, again and again, and to protect his beloved friend, the One Ring might never had made it where it belonged, the fiery pits of Mordor:
http://movieclips.com/e/iu3R9/
To Samwise Gamgee, a great character.
