Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - Tolkien and his Characters

[Morthoron]

My father simply does not discuss actual combat in WWII. He will reminisce about how fun being stationed in Honolulu was, how being on a ship made him sick (and island hopping offered plenty of nausea), but beyond that....nothing. And I don't believe he suffers from anything like PTSD, although he does have this eccentric habit of complaining about how bad TV is, while watching it for hours -- and I mean full-blown arguments with an inanimate object. *shrugs*

As far as the story, I would definitely say that Frodo had lingering mental affects that went beyond any recurring physical pain. He is the prime example of a war veteran who "can never go home", and perhaps Tolkien is referring to similar WWI vets he knew who returned to England after the war but still felt displaced.

Sam? He, Merry and Pippin seem resilient in the stolid Hobbitish manner. If he did have any pain it was in sympathy for Frodo, and not for himself.