Why didn't Sam have a problem giving The Ring back to Frodo?

[SamwiseGamgee]

It's a question I've often wondered about: when samwise returns The Ring to Frodo at Cirith Ungol why doesn't he have trouble doing it? Surely even in such a short time as Sam had held The Ring it would have had some sway over him, being so close to Barad Dur.
I think there are two possibilities: firstly, Sam was not affected by The Ring's evil, that he had a higher resistance (supported by Sam being the most resistent hobbit in the Old Forest) or suchlike. The second possibility I see is that Sam realised that it was Frodo's task to destroy The Ring, and thus it must be returned to him.
What do you guys think? I'd appreciate criticisms or agreement with my own suggestions or indeed new ones.

[Sparrow]

' Here it is!' Slowly he drew the Ring out and passed the chain over his head. 'But you're in the land of Mordor now, sir; and when you get out, you'll see the Fiery Mountain and all. You'll find the Ring very dangerous now, and very hard to bear. If it's too hard a job, I could share it with you, maybe?'

'No, no!' cried Frodo, snatching the Ring and chain from Sam's hands. 'No you won't, you thief!'

I don't know if this scene has been discussed before (it seems like it would make a particularly good topic), but to my mind Sam does not actually relinquish the One Ring of his own will. Frodo snatches it from him, only after Sam offers to 'share' the burden. This could seemingly be construed as a sign that the Ring was having an effect on Sam, but we will never know because Frodo snatched it away before Sam could react.

~Sparrow

[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

It seems to me that the Ring is attempting a new line of attack with Sam. Earlier it has tried to tempt him with a vision of power, but this has failed in the face of his humility and devotion:

Already the Ring tempted him, gnawing at his will and reason. Wild fantasies arose in his mind; and he saw Samwise the Strong, Hero of the Age, striding with a flaming sword across the darkened land, and armies flocking to his call as he marched to the overthrow of Barad-dûr. And then all the clouds rolled away, and the white sun shone, and at his command the vale of Gorgoroth became a garden of flowers and trees, and brought forth fruit. He had only to put on the Ring and claim it for his own, and all this could be.
In that hour of trial it was the love of his master that helped most to hold him firm; but also deep down in him lived still unconquered his plain hobbit-sense: he knew in the core of his heart that he was not large enough to bear such a burden, even if such visions were not a mere cheat to betray him. The one small garden of a free gardener was all his need and due, not a garden swollen to a realm; his own hands to use, not the hands of others to command.

I would lay particular emphasis on the idea of sharing the burden, which seems to imply that the Ring is taking Sam's concern and love for Frodo, which was formerly his greatest bulwark against its temptation, and perverting it to try to make him claim it as his own. 'The road to Hell,' as the saying goes, 'is paved with good intentions', and moreover in Tolkien's writing evil's greatest delight is in leading the virtuous astray, probably because of the tragedy of the fall. Nowhere is this more apparent than in chapter XI of the Silmarillion:

And [the Valar] mourned not more for the death of the Trees than for the marring of Fëanor: of the works of Melkor one of the most evil. For Fëanor was made the mightiest in all parts of body and mind, in valour, in endurance, in beauty, in understanding, in skill, in strength and subtlety alike, of all the Children of Ilúvatar, and a bright flame was in him. The works of wonder for the glory of Arda that he might otherwise have wrought only Manwë might in some measure conceive.

Fortunately Sam has an advantage that Fëanor did not: he is not the mightiest of the children of Ilúvatar and at bottom he knows it. This gives him the humility which, when combined with the hobbitish virtues of resilience and common sense, is enough to carry him back to his master, the Ring's appointed bearer. Frodo is by this time sufficiently under the Ring's control to snatch it back jealously, relieving Sam of the need to resist it again.

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 3:48 PM January 16, 2004: Message edited by: The Squatter of Amon Rûdh ]

[The Saucepan Man]

Thank you for providing the full quote, Sparrow. I was going to look it up myself, but you have saved me the bother. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

The Ring has had very little time to work on Sam. As Squatter has pointed out, it does seek to corrupt him while he bears it. And so it does have an influence on him, albeit one which he is able to resist. But, since he has borne it for such a short while, its hold over him is not strong enough to prevent him returning it to Frodo relatively easily.

But, as Squatter has also pointed out, there is a measure of resistance here. I do not see Sam's offer to share the burden as solely indicative of his loyalty and love for Frodo. Rather, I see it as the seed of a notion in his head, brought on by the Ring's influence, that he should be able to keep it for himself. It is playing on his loyalty and love for Frodo to bring about a situation whereby it will be in a position to work on him further.

So, while Sam does give the Ring up with relative ease, I do not believe that he does so completely freely. (Incidentally, I thought that this was portrayed very well in the film by Sean Astin - the expression on his face when Frodo demands the Ring back betrays a momentary reluctance to give it up.)

Of course, being a Hobbit, Sam has a stronger resistance to the Ring than most. Boromir, for example, succumbs to its wiles without ever having touched it. But I do not believe that Sam would have been able to resist it had he borne it for a prolonged period. Certainly, vital though his contribution to the Quest was, I do not believe that he would have been able to carry it as long as Frodo did without succumbing to it. Frodo was "meant" to be the Ringbearer, because he was the only one who could have resisted it as long as he did.

[davem]

But Tolkien may have had in mind the instruction, 'Bear ye one another's burdens'. This is something Charles Williams placed a great deal of emphasis on, with his idea of co-inherence, that not only is it right, but also quite possible, to take another person's sufferings onto oneself, in order to free up the other person. It is possible the point Tolkien is making is that Sam honestly wanted to take on the burden of carrying the Ring, or at least to share it, but that Frodo, at that point was so closed off, so obsessed with the Ring that he could not share it. The Ring is a closed circle, there is no opening, nothing can be let in. Frodo also becomes completely closed off. Even if Sam's offer was completely altruistic, Frodo could not have seen it in that way.

Is Sam's love for Frodo stronger than his desire for the Ring? This is my feeling. He is freed by his love from desire for what the Ring could offer him. Its interesting that the only thing the Ring can symbolise for him - Samwise the Strong - is so ridiculous even he can't take it seriously. I don't think he's 'clever' enough to come up with a serious temptation, something which would hook him. Maybe the Ring feels he's not suitable material, & stops trying with him. I wonder whether Sam hadn't already overcome any temptation the Ring could offer way back in Lorien, when he chose not to go back home & stay with Frodo.

[SamwiseGamgee]

Davem, that's a really interesting idea you brought up about Sam overcoming The Ring's temptation in Lothlorien:

'There's some devilry at work in the Shire,' he said. 'Elrond knew what he was about when he wanted to send Mr. Merry back.' Then suddenly Sam gave a cry and sprang away. 'I can't stay here,' he said wildly. 'I must go home. They've dug up Bagshot Row, and there's the poor old gaffer going down the hill with his bits of things on a barrow. I must go home!'
'You cannot go home alone,' said the Lady. 'You did not wish to go home without your master before you looked in the Mirror, and yet you knew that evil things might well be happening in the Shire. Remember that the Mirror shows many things, and not all have yet come to pass. Some never come to be, unless those that behold the visions turn aside from their path to prevent them. The Mirror is dangerous as a guide of deeds.'
Sam sat on the ground and put his head in his hands. 'I wish I had never come here, and I don't want to see no more magic,' he said and fell silent. After a moment he spoke again thickly, as if struggling with tears. 'No, I'll go home by the long road with Mr. Frodo, or not at all,' he said.

I also definately agree with you that Sam's love for Frodo far outweighed anything else. Sam, as a character, is almost completely defined by his love for Frodo. Sam wouldn't be what he was without Frodo, and equally Frodo wouldn't be what he was without Sam.
Saucepan Man, on a little aside I felt the scene in Cirith Ungol would have been fine had that deep heartbeat not been present, you know the one which is spoken about in the FoTR EE bonus dvds as being a kind of theme tune for The Ring. That, of course, is because I always read the text that Sam wasn't being tempted, but that, I guess, is almost completely subjective. I in fact think the films are great, and hope to contribute to the defense of PJ in the trial on ME Mirth.

[Lily Ahern]

I think that it shows how pure Sam's intent was. That his only ambition was to help his friend. Plus the fact that he didn't have it for more than a couple of hours.

[Keeper of Dol Guldur]

I always had thought of Sam's thoughts of the Ring and his subsequent use of it were a lot more like Bilbo's in The Hobbit, the chapter The Tower of Cirith Ungol has him thinking fast and reacting, and using it as a Magic Ring, thinking back to how Bilbo had once used it to sneak by, and using it and his 'Sting' in conjunction. There was one quote; "he put it back on without any clear reason for doing it," which shows that it had him doing things habitually instead of wilfully, but then he took it off he thought because it was foggy to see with, but the author mentioned maybe he had a slight inkling or premonition that he had to. I just don't think Sam ever really thought of the One Ring as more than a magic ring, regardless of how serious all the talk was about it - he knew that they needed to toss a magic ring into a fiery pit in Mt. Doom, and that it was a burden on his master, and that was all he thought particularly about it; like mentioned above, the Ring tried, but it didn't get a chance.

[Altariel]

One could give Sam the benefit of the doubt, as it were, and say that perhaps his concern and love for his master was stronger than the urge to submit his will to the power of the One Ring...

Then again, maybe not. [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img]

[Teleri]

I just don't think Sam ever really thought of the One Ring as more than a magic ring, regardless of how serious all the talk was about it

I like that idea. It fits in perfectly with Sams earlier character. Remember he almost forgets that Gollom wants the ring while they are traveling the marshes, only to be reminded when he witnesses Golloms debate with him self. remember this?

Sam had lain still, fascinated by the debate, but watching every move that Gollom made from under his half-closed eye-lids. To his simple mind ordinary hunger, the desire to eat hobbits, had seemed the cheif dangerin Gollom. He realized now that it was not so:Gollom was feeling the terrible call of the ring.

I think that Sam doesn't really understand anything about the ring until he is tempted, and then he is able to guess what Gollom might be feeling, which is why he showed pity on Gollom, and didn't hurt him with "cold steel".

I think that the ring's only way to get at Sam would be the love of his master, and given the Frodo's situation, Sam could hardly walk off , and leave...

[Angry Brandybuck]

I just don't think Sam ever really thought of the One Ring as more than a magic ring, regardless of how serious all the talk was about it

I agree with this, and it fits quite nicely with Sam's chief reason for embarking on the journey to "see elves". Throughout the book Sam represents the normal, homely values of eating a good meal and always being polite and nice. This, in itself, is kind of its own sort of chivalry, or Hobbitry.

Maybe it is this sort of love for everyhting that is good in life is what foxes the ring, considering that it is an object created out of evil?

[samrohan]

Sam had not carried the ring for long enough, it had yet to assert itself over him.
Secondly, Sam was made rather naive in a very nice way. He all the while had accepted the fact that his master Frodo was the ring bearer and he was only taking care of it when Frodo could not himself.
The ring was never passed to him so he had no problem giving it back.

The quote reminds us that he does not really give it back but offers it and also offers to continue carrying it. He gives a choice to Frodo. The ring then sees a chance to regain control, for it never had control over SAM and forces Frodo to lunge out and grab it back.

I personally believe that Sam was made of sturner stuff and would prove a difficult target for the ring.