All you Sam fans
 

Check this out! It's a very spiffy article all about Sam Gamgee, though it doesn't sound like it at first.

The more time I spend here, the more I grow to love that simple hobbit! D'y'know, I'm seriously considering creating a little web page for Sam; he needs one. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Minor imperfections
 

It's a nice article, although the spelling's atrocious and there's the minor matter of its confusing the two World Wars. ;)

I'm quite in agreement: Sam's loyal, humble, brave, practical, wise and self-sacrificing. There never were many like him, but I think there may be fewer these days. After all, humility and self-sacrifice never obtained the keys for a company BMW and who could want more in life than that? ;)

Awww, I really like that [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] Ohhh, i do love Sam...he's lovely

There's another article at The Green Books, under "Quickbeam's Out On a Limb..." entitled "All About Sam" and it's a very good one too!

I love Sam, too. We should all try to be more like Sam.

Hes gorgeous! You just gotta love Sam!!! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

I like him too. He's arguably one of the most noble, most loyal characters in the whole trilogy.

Well said, Rosa. If we were all like sam the world would be much nicer - and everyone would be able to cook a lot better!

Thanks for those articles btw, i enjoyed reading them [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

i believe the world would be a much better place if even half earths population were sams. however: its not going to happen shortly [img]smilies/frown.gif[/img]

Now I really wish I was more like Sam! I can't cook worth beans and I have to live on my own fare. *shudder*

I'm glad everyone likes the articles! You should read more of Quickbeam's stuff, he's good. I particularly enjoyed "...And in the Closet Bind Them". It made me laugh and made a lot of sense; I find myself reading that article a lot whenever I get mad at "certain" things... [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Sam is the BEST CHARACTER - He's loyal, and loving - but I tend to write essays when I get on him (literally:-) So I'll stop now

Very nice articles; thanks for sharing.

I think Sam is a glimse of perfection for us: he's the perfect friend, the perfect hobbit, the perfect cook [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img], the perfect husband, yet he never thinks of himself as being altogether good at any of these things. It's very humbling to think about Sam and all he's done for the sake of another, and yet how little credit he takes, wants, or thinks he deserves for any of it. In fact, it seems all he wants is for the world to give its praise and credit to the master that he loves:

Sam returns to his home as a renowned hero known by Elves, Dwarves, and Men, yet his main concern is his fellow hobbits not noticing all that Frodo went through to save them. He doesn't see the courage and heroism of his acts; to him, all he did was help the real hero, his master.

Arguably.

Why does Sam get all of the praise? Gandalf exhibits the same qualities, including loyalty, humility and compassion. But Gandalf is not simple, and he is not weak or helpless. He therefore has more to lose through sacrifice; more to conceal through modesty; more to offer through bravery.

You talk of Sam's loyalty -- a trait which I would not deny him -- but Gandalf was loyal to his mission and to the Powers that sent him forth for over two thousand years. Sam stuck to Frodo for only a few months of truly trying adversity. On top of that, Did he really even have a choice? He benefited from the companionship as much as Frodo did.

You mention Sam's humility -- and humble he is, indubitably -- but how much more admirable is that humility when displayed by a being of immense might, rather than a simple gardener who has nothing to be haughty about?

You note Sam's self-sacrifice. But what choice did he have? He had no idea what he was getting into when he made the decision to set out with Frodo, and he had no opportunity to take an easier road after that point. Gandalf, on the other hand, had the power to preserve himself. Instead he abnegated himself, accomplishing a truly astounding two-fold demonstration of loyalty: most apparently, he gave his life for his friends. But even more significant is that by observing (The Powers of the Istari) the restrictions placed upon him, he submitted to what was, for all he knew, the utter failure of not only his part in the mission, but the entire mission itself.

Squatter mentioned Sam's wisdom. Wise he is. But mostly, I think, we appreciate Sam's (relative) wisdom because he was so simple. We call it "smart" when a dog can open a screendoor to let himself in. Gandalf was noted as the wisest of the Istari, and that puts him easily in the running as one of the wisest in all of Arda.

Are not all these virtues that Sam possesses present to a far greater degree in Gandalf?

I do understand Sam's appeal, however. He has no grand purpose other than sticking to his master through everything. And Hobbits -- especially simple ones, it seems -- are just naturally charming. Sam is a wonderful character, but I believe Gandalf has been slighted here.

Not that he would resent it. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

[ June 17, 2003: Message edited by: obloquy ]

Excellent points, obloquy, and I do hope that you didn't think we were trying to take any credit away from Gandalf. He indeed deserves a great amount of praise and respect, as do many other characters inside and outside of the Fellowship, and none should be overlooked. Take another glance at the quote:

I think it's safe to say that every character in the book, no matter how small their contribution or for what side, made the destruction of the Ring possible, and there are many that showed great bravery and heroism throughout the fight. Sam is the common favorite, but I'm sure Gandalf hasn't gone ignored (at least I would hope not).

Those are great points, obloquy, but I think that reason that Sam get recognized more for those qualities is because he did not start out great. Gandalf was great from the beginning... it was through pain and sacrifice that Sam became everything that he was. I don't think he ever had a chance to express such things before then.
It's kind of like today, people look up more to those that make something of nothing... rather than starting with a lot and ending with a lot as well.
Gandalf was sent to Middle Earth to be great... it was a big part of his purpose on that land. Sam was just an ordinary gardner... nothing great was ever expected of him; but nevertheless, he did great things.

also, I would say that Gandalf is really not the most humble character in LotR (by a long shot) I love Gandalf, but he is very self assured. Take for example his conversation with frodo when he wakes up in rivendell. Gandalf has much to be proud of, but he is not so humble.

Wrong.

He was not self-abasing -- by which definition Grima or Smeagol would have been the humblest characters -- but Gandalf was humble. He did his duty, nothing more. Him and his actions being great, and him knowing it, does not de-humble him. It was not his power but the way he bore it that made him humble.