[Lord of Angmar]

Very well put, Finwe! I could not have said it better myself.

The Lord of the Rings is an epic about good vs. evil, and as thus all of the good characters can be categorized as heroes in their own rites (even Boromir and, perhaps, Gollum). There is no one hero, but each character represents a piece or several pieces of the quintessence of what we consider a hero.

I do not mean to suggest that he is a bigger hero than anyone else, but certainly in my mind Samwise played a huge and heroic role in the destruction of the Ring. If not for Sam, Frodo's journey to Mordor would almost certainly have proved fruitless. Gollum would have killed Frodo, or orcs would have found him, or he would have despaired and completely given up. Also, Sam rescued Frodo from the tower of Cirith Ungol, a huge feat in itself. It was his part more than any other character's that played the biggest role in the ultimate destruction of the Ring.