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Sam carrying frodo drawing11/18/2023 Such service is hard to conceive in contemporary culture in which even our friendships are often competitive in nature and in which service is often considered to be servile unless shaped by contract and a job description. What gives meaning to Sam’s life is that he lays it down in free service to the hobbit he admires and loves. There is nothing competitive in their relationship. Sam believes that Frodo is “the wisest person in the world (with the possible exception of Old Mr Bilbo and of Gandalf” but his admiration does not carry with it any desire to be like Frodo even less to be Frodo. However, Sam’s loyalty is not because of his father’s precepts although he holds them to be true himself, but because he admires, even loves Frodo. He may not always approve of the actions of the masters and he will say so if he is not happy but he will remain loyal even when he does not agree and he expects his son to do likewise. Gaffer Gamgee believes that the relationship between master and servant is part of the natural order of things. Sam’s father, the Gaffer, worried greatly about where learning to read and write would take his son but of one thing he would have approved and that is that Sam stays faithfully by his master through thick and thin. Later in the journey he will say this to Sam: “Frodo wouldn’t have got far without Sam.” And he is right. Frodo himself agrees with this assessment. Many argue that Sam is the true hero of the Quest of the Ring and that Frodo could never have reached Mount Doom without him. Next week we will think about how Frodo carries Sam to Mordor but this week we will begin by thinking of how Sam carries Frodo. The gift of lembas that will sustain them on many weary marches is given because the lady of the wood did not hide from the travellers but opened her home and heart to them.įrodo and Sam could not take a step towards Mordor and the accomplishment of their task without this communion and in the weeks ahead we will be reminded of many that they cannot see as they stumble the weary miles that lie now before them. The elven rope by which they descend to the lowlands and which returns to them when Sam calls it is the fruit of long years of craftsmanship placed at their service at a moment of need. They are in communion with so many others living and departed and without that communion they would not be able take a step further upon their journey. They cannot even descend from its heights into the marshlands below that lie between them and the northern walls of Mordor. As we begin this journey Frodo and Sam are hopelessly alone in the Emyn Muil. They need to be carried there and in the postings on this blog over the next few weeks we will see who carries them and how. It is even too great for them to achieve together. The task of getting there is too great for either of them to achieve alone.
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