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In most respects, I think the books were loosely centered around Sam. Now, hear me out before you start disagreeing with me. Sam was the one character that I believe most of us can relate to.
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So,
arianrod, you believe that Lord of the Rings is about Sam and some other people? [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] Sam is quite reachable, but I find other characters reachable in this way as well, including the earlier Frodo. Didn't Billy Boyd say the books were all about Pippin and some other people? [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] I suppose it is all in your point of view. I do believe that Tolkien drew Sam to be a viewpoint character, one that is down-to-Earth and accessible to most readers, and he is also a hero. But the story is really focused on Frodo and his journey with the Ring to its destruction. Everything else grows out of it. Frodo was made to be the central focus, which is why Aragorn's character seems more sketchy and incomplete or one-dimensional to many readers. He is also a hero, but he is not the main focus. And Sam is only the focus when Frodo has gone so far "out there" that we cannot follow him. In the last parts of the story, the viewpoint shifts to Sam because, if we were to remain in Frodo's mind, all we would see would be the "wheel of fire" all the time...no landscape, no reality, nothing we can hold on to. We would be lost; Tolkien cannot take us to the end through Frodo's eyes; he must have Sam to tell it in a way we can follow.
This is not to say that Frodo is the only hero; but he is the main one, the focus of the story on an overall level. He has a supporting cast of thousands, but in the end, he is alone and called upon to do the most impossible thing in Middle Earth. Those who say he failed, I must cordially disagree with. For none could throw the Ring into Mount Doom of their own volition; the heroism of Frodo is that he maintains a pure heart and pure purpose through every trial and he is saved by grace in the end. Gollum is the instrument of grace, but he is not saved and ends in "persistent wickedness" following the concept of "evil will will evil mar." His actions are motivated by evil intent but turn to the good.
I enjoy a good debate, and all my views could be biased by the fact that I adore Frodo and won't hear a word against him! Feel free to argue my points though! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]
Cheers,
Lyta