Nobility in the books

[Eruanna]

Some of the societies in Middle Earth have echoes of the medieval period of England. In those times, war and the great decisions were seen as the province of kings and nobles and only affected the working class if they were directly involved (i.e. having to fight on their lord's behalf)

Sam is the most obviously working class member of the Fellowship. All the rest, if not nobility, were at least 'landed gentry'.
I always regard Sam as the 'everyman' character, he is meant to be us. Through his eyes we see all of the problems that beset the fellowship and we discover that nobility of heart is worth far more than a 'noble' lineage.

There is an old saying about some being born great, some achieving greatness whilst some have greatness thrust upon them. This surely sums up Sam's situation perfectly.