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Originally Posted by littlemanpoet
Sam seems to have come through it all relatively unscathed, but Frodo is a mess.
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I was fascinated to learn, in "Now It Can Be Told" by Philip Gibbs (WWI correspondant) some of the WWI details regarding shell shock, especially extreme shell shock.. The picture that stays in my mind was of soldiers (grown men) sitting glassy-eyed in a corner, rocking, clawing at their mouths and whimpering. When I read that I thought, "Beyond help and hope. Surely they'll be dropped off at Mom's with a brief apology, and forgotten."
I was very happy to read that this was not the case. They found that the men were greatly helped by putting them to work on-- ready for this?-- rabbit farms. Taking care of soft, non-threatening, small furry creatures, slowly brought the men around to being men again. Eventually they were greatly improved. (I can't say if they could return to life as they knew it before.)
Back to Frodo and Sam.
What, or whom, did Frodo now have, to take care of? He'd been so entirely focused on the Ring that he had nothing else in his sights. Sam, on the other hand, was taking care of Frodo. Constantly.
I think it's very significant that Bilbo AND Frodo went west. Frodo needed someone to care for. Bilbo was it.