Welcome back to my series detailing how J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Lord of the Rings is vastly superior to its film adaptations. Did you know that Samwise Gamgee actually put on the One Ring several times? If you’ve only seen the films, the answer is likely no—just one of many reasons to read the book.
In the Film
In the film, we don’t even learn that Sam had the Ring at all till he gives it back to Frodo. This is in keeping with the film’s decision to treat Frodo as the main character, which is one of the foremost ways the films differ from their source material. In the book, the protagonist is undoubtedly Sam.
We’ll see this in many of the posts in this series, starting with the very first one. There, I talked about why Sam was eavesdropping on Frodo and Gandalf. This time, I’m going to look at another chunk of the story that the films left out. And we’re just getting started!
The Choices of Master Samwise
As Shelob chased Frodo, Sam fought with the treacherous Gollum, each desperate to kill the other. For a moment, Sam was overcome with the desire to kill his enemy, but Gollum escaped into a tunnel. Before he can pursue the wretched creature, Sam suddenly remembered that Frodo needed his help more than he needed to kill Gollum.
When Sam caught up with Shelob, however, Frodo was already bound in her webs. With Frodo’s sword Sting in hand, Sam did battle with the monster Shelob, the spawn of Ungoliant. With Shelob coming for him, Sam suddenly remembered Galadriel and the singing of the elves, and faced with the light of Galadriel’s Phial, Shelob retreated into her tunnels.
It’s left ambiguous what happened to Shelob after that, but Sam found Frodo seemingly dead from the spider’s sting. Realizing that this was what he’d seen in the Mirror of Galadriel, Sam lost awareness of everything around him.
After he recovered somewhat, Sam contemplated abandoning his quest so he might hunt down Gollum. But knowing that revenge would not bring Frodo back, he rejected the idea. After arguing with himself for a while, Samwise Gamgee resolved to take the Ring to the fires of Orodruin and destroy it himself.
Ringbearer
After taking Sting and the Phial of Galadriel from Frodo’s body, Sam only got a short ways before he heard the voices of orcs. Scarcely aware of what his hands were doing, Sam put on the Ring for the first time. With the Ring on, Sam felt the Eye searching for him, but he also found that he could understand the language of Mordor.
When he heard that the orcs had discovered Frodo’s body, Sam couldn’t bear the thought of leaving Frodo to the orcs. He followed the orcs and listened to their conversation. One of them, called Gorbag, believed there must be an mighty elven warrior about, as only the most dangerous of fighters could have wounded Shelob.
Sam heard the orc named Shagrat tell Gorbag that their prisoner—Frodo—was alive and would wake up in a matter of hours. The orcs carried Frodo into the tower of Cirith Ungol, but the doors closed and knocked Sam senseless before he could follow them.
The Ring’s Temptation
Sam put on the Ring once more, and though he felt its power more strongly than before, this allowed him to hear the orcs fighting in the tower. After taking off the Ring and looking out over Mordor, Sam started to imagine what he might do with it—much like Boromir before he tried to take it from Frodo.
As Sam stood there, even though the Ring was not on him but hanging by its chain about his neck, he felt himself enlarged, as if he were robed in a hige distorted shadow of himself, a vast and ominous threat halted upon the walls of Mordor. He felt that he had from now on only two choices: to forbear the Ring, though it would torment him; or to claim it, and challenge the Power that sat in its dark hold beyond the valley of shadows.
The Lord of the Rings (Book Ⅵ, Chapter Ⅰ)
Sam began to imagine himself as a mighty hero, destroying evil and using the Ring for good. Again, this is much the same as what happened to Boromir:
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.
The Lord of the Rings (Book Ⅵ, Chapter Ⅰ)
But, unlike Boromir of Gondor, Samwise son of Hamfast ultimately resisted this temptation:
[
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.
‘And anyway all these notions are only a trick,” he said to himself. ‘He’d spot me and cow me before I could so much as shout out. He’d spot me, pretty quick, if I put the Ring on now, in Mordor. Well, all I can say is: things look as hopeless as a frost in Spring. Just when being invisible would be really useful, I can’t use the Ring! And if ever I get any further, it’s going to be nothing but a drag and a burden every step. So what’s to be done?”
The Lord of the Rings (Book Ⅵ, Chapter Ⅰ)
Sam then made his way along the wall till he reached the gate, but he found that a malevolent power prevented him from entering.
There’s more still to talk about when it comes to Sam’s rescue of Frodo from the tower of Cirith Ungol. That will have to wait till another day, though, as next time we’ll be looking at something else entirely.
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