THE RING and corruption

[Dininziliel]

Regarding Sam's seeming extreme animosity toward Gollum, Grounds-Keeper Willie wrote:

Usually if you are like Sam and you meet someone like Gollum, you usually don't like them at all. However, you really don't hate him. If you hate him, he has to have done something to you that sparks the hatred.

This is another reference to Letters of JRR Tolkien again--Tolkien made a brief mention of Sam's being jealous of Gollum. I think that if I had slogged through muck & mire slogging and toiling away on his behalf and Frodo was getting a bit testy w/me, and then I see Frodo trusting and having all that pity and special consideration for Gollum, I might be a tad sharp-tongued myself.

And when I am tempted to be sharp with either pen or tongue in "real" life, it helps me to remember the effect of Sam's behavior toward Gollum.