Samwise Gamgee

Samwise Gamgee (T.A. 2980The date of Sam's birth in "The Longfather-Tree of Master Samwise" (Appendix C) is S.R. 1380 (equivalent to T.A. 2980), however, "The Tale of Years" (Appendix B) gives it as T.A. 2983, which is incorrect. In S.R. 1476, Sam is said to have been ninety-six years old, so 2980 is more correct than 2983. Also, the birth year of his sister, Marigold, is given S.R. 1383 (T.A. 2893), and it is most unlikely that they were born in the same year. In the Fellowship of the Ring, Merry and Pippin is said to be younger than both Sam and Frodo, so Sam's birth year must be in T.A. 2980, since Merry was born in T.A. 2982. – F.A. sometime after 61), later Samwise GardnerAppendix C to The Lord of the Rings and commonly known as Sam, is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world Middle-earth. Sam is Frodo Baggins' servant, and proves to be the most loyal of the Fellowship of the Ring. A gardener by trade, Sam seems 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 is Sam who first introduces the theme of the Elves sailing from Middle-earth, a subtle foreshadowing of Bilbo and Frodo's final journey across the Sea. He lives with his father, Hamfast Gamgee, known as "The Gaffer", on Bagshot Row in the Shire, close to Bag End. Sam's mother is Bell Goodchild; he has five siblings: Hamson, Halfred, Daisy, May, and Marigold.

Biography

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 The Lord of the Rings. They were later accompanied by Merry and Pippin.

In Rivendell Sam eavesdropped again during the Council of Elrond and gives himself up when he hears that Frodo is taking the ring to Mordor, refusing to let Frodo go without him. Along with seven other characters they form the Fellowship of the Ring.

At first Sam serves little more than a good companion and a carrier of luggage. However, as the book repeatedly shows, friendship and loyalty can go further than mere strength of arms. When Frodo decided to leave the rest of the fellowship Sam refused to let him leave alone and correctly predicts where Frodo is and convinces Frodo to let him come along. With Frodo and Sam on the journey alone Sam took up the personal duty of looking after Frodo. He carries most the luggage, cooks, keeps watch at night whenever he can, and is always suspicious of Gollum. Sam also rationed out the food to make sure Frodo has enough for the journey.

After Gollum leads them to Shelob's lair and she attacks and seemingly kills Frodo, Sam takes the Ring, intending to complete the quest himself. Because he holds the Ring for a time, he is considered one of the Ring-bearers. When he hears from Shagrat that Frodo is merely temporarily paralysed and not dead, he decides to heroically rescue Frodo from the top of the Tower of Cirith Ungol where the orcs took him. Sam also gave the Ring back to Frodo; being only the second Ring-bearer ever able to willingly give up the ring (the other being Bilbo Baggins).

Sam then accompanied Frodo into Mordor. There was hardly any food or water in Mordor and the two hobbits had to eat as little as possible while making the journey across Gorgoroth. Safe passage across the plains was insured because the forces of Mordor were lured to the Black Gate by Aragorn and Gandalf.

As they move deeper into Mordor the temptation starts becoming too much for Frodo. He can't help but try to put on the ring against his own will and Sam had to stop him again. When Frodo had no energy left in him to go any further Sam, aroused by memories of home, actually carries Frodo up Mount Doom until Gollum attacks. Sam has the chance to kill Gollum, but as a former Ring-bearer, he finds the pity that Frodo saw in him all along. This proves to be an ill move (more accurately a blessing in disguise when analyzing pity and fate in the story) as Gollum hits Sam over the head with a rock. When Gollum steals the ring and slips into the lava of Mount Doom the mountain started to erupt and Sam and Frodo are able to escape the lava long enough for Gandalf and the Eagles of Manwë to save the hobbits.

However the War of the Ring wasn't over for the Shire. Saruman took over the Shire and claimed it for himself after the ring was destroyed. When the four hobbits came home and discover what is going on, they become the catalyst for the final battle of the War of the Ring, which is known as the Battle of Bywater. Other than making sure his father (the Gaffer) and Rosie are safe, Sam's individual exploits are not described in detail. However, after the battle Sam travelled the length and breadth of the Shire replanting trees that had been cut down during the devastation of Saruman. In this labour he used the gift of magic earth given to him by the lady Galadriel, which caused the saplings he planted to grow at an accelerated rate. The magic dust remaining after he had completed his plantings he took to the Three-Farthing Stone (roughly the centre of the Shire) and cast into the air, prompting the bountiful period of growth starting in the spring of the year 1420 (Shire Reckoning).

After the War of the Ring, he marries Rose "Rosie" Cotton and moves to Bag End with Frodo. They have thirteen children: Elanor the Fair, Frodo, Rose, Merry, Pippin, Goldilocks, Hamfast, Daisy, Primrose, Bilbo, Ruby, Robin, and Tolman.

After Sam and Rose's first child is born it is revealed that Frodo will leave Middle-earth along with Bilbo, Gandalf and most of the remaining Elves for the Undying Lands. Before Frodo leaves, he gives the Red Book of Westmarch to Sam to finish and all of Bag End.

After Will Whitfoot resigns his post as Mayor of Michel Delving (the largest town in the Shire and the "unofficial capital"), in F.A. 7 or S.R. 1427, Sam is elected Mayor of the Shire for the first of seven consecutive 7-year terms. At some point during these terms he changes his last name to Gardner, the name his descendants would bear.

After his wife dies in the year 62 of the Fourth Age (Shire Reckoning 1482), Sam entrusts the Red Book to Elanor and leaves Middle-earth to sail across the Sea and be reunited with Frodo in the Undying Lands. Being one of the Ring-bearers he was able to do so.

Portrayal in adaptations

In Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated version of The Lord of the Rings, Sam was voiced by Michael Scholes. Billy Barty was the model for Sam, as well as Frodo and Bilbo, in the live-action recordings Bakshi used for rotoscoping. This version of Sam is considerably "dumbed-down", and almost universally unpopular.

In the 1980 animated version of The Return of the King, made for television, the character was voiced by Roddy McDowall.

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

In the Peter Jackson movies The Fellowship of the Ring (film) (2001), The Two Towers (film) (2002) and The Return of the King (film) (2003), Sam was 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.

On stage, Sam was portrayed by Peter Howe in the 3-hour long Toronto, Canada stage production of The Lord of the Rings, which opened in 2006. In the United States, Sam was portrayed by Blake Bowden in the Cincinnati productions of The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003) for Clear Stage Cincinnati. In Chicago, Dale Inghram played Sam in the Lifeline Theatre production of The Two Towers in 1999.

Name

Tolkien took the name from a colloquial word in Birmingham for cotton wool. This was in turn derived from Gamgee Tissue, a surgical dressing invented by a 19th century Birmingham surgeon named Joseph Sampson Gamgee. Tolkien originally used it as a nickname for a man living in Lamorna Cove, England before adapting it into his stories:

"There was a curious local character, an old man who used to go about swapping gossip and weather-wisdom and such like. To amuse my children I named him Gaffer Gamgee... 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 #257, ed. Humphrey Carpenter)

Tolkien 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)

After publication of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien traced the origin of the name back to Dr. Gamgee and eventually to the earlier English surname 'de Gamaches'.

In the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, 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 been corrupted as Samwise Gammidgy and eventually come to Samwise Gamgee in modern English.

Commentary

Sam Gamgee is by many regarded 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.In the long summary-letter sent to Milton Waldman, an extract of which was published in the Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien as #131 and was reproduced in its entirety in A Reader's Companion. 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" (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Humphrey Carpenter).

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

References

External links

Samwise Gamgee at The Thain's Book
Samwise Gamgee at theonering.net