I think that is a reach, personally, especially since Tolkien said that Sam is the true hero of the book, not Frodo.
Sam isnât one the three Christ figures in the series. Sam is more like the beloved disciple.
Forgive me, it sounds like you are saying that the author of the book was wrong about whom he considered the hero of his story? Is that what you are saying or have I misunderstood you?
Edit: again, a summary of Tolkienâs own words about Sam being there hero of the book can be found here.
Just pursuing the Christian/LOTR connection, I wonder if the importance Tolkien placed on Sam is based on his low station. Perhaps he represents the merely faithful who arenât savior material but they carry the crucifix into the world with little more than hope and that not narrowly for themselves. That would make Sam the hero to emulate, whose example could make the world a better place if more widely embraced.
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Why does America need to remember Tolkien again? Because weâre mired in Westeros, playing the game of thrones. When you hear words like âfight fire with fire,â or âmake them play by their own rules,â or âpunch back twice as hard,â or âwield power to reward friends and punish enemies,â youâre hearing an ethos that declares, âwin or die.â
Tolkien wasnât naive. He knew that world. Heâd confronted it directly. Thatâs why characters like Boromir or FĂ«anor resonate so strongly. In the quest to confront the enemy, you become the enemy. Yet faithful people understand, in Faramirâs words, that they âdo not wish for such triumphs.â Instead, they fix their eyes on the âhigh beautyâ that is forever beyond the shadowâs reach.
Thatâs not a retreat. In many ways, itâs the most courageous form of confrontation. Itâs an act of faith that often defies our senses. Everything in us screams at us to claim the ringâto reach for powerâand in our frailty, we often yield to that call. But there are no stakes high enough for such a compromise. Even if America is âfalling in ruinâ and we alone could save her, using the instruments of darkness âfor her good and [our] glory,â we cannot become what we oppose. [Emphasis mine]
I LOVE talking about books I love with people I enjoy. You all are wonderful!
HOWEVER, Iâve been hoping the discussion might come back to the article Merv first directed our attention to. I hope youâll allow a redirect and we can enjoy as lavish a look at this article. It has implications beyond the U.S. I think; we can all be edified. Does any of you need it as much as I do?!
What is this âhigh beautyâ we fix our eyes on?
How do we right now in our individual, current contexts peacefully oppose whatever iteration of âWin or Die!â that we are confronted with right now? What form/s does it take for you right now?
What informs our thinking and molds us into people who in our frailty DO refuse triumphs of power, while actually managing to do real good.
I hope we can get to this part of the discussion and put our heads together. This article asks in different words a question I ask over and over here, there and everywhere.
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- If youâre suggesting that the âfaithful half-witsâ who bumble their ways through the cosmos and, in the process of their bumbling, individually and together less often than not, serve in a bigger beingâs long game, Iâd be inclined to agree. I happen to believe in a bigger being who isnât the cosmos and I believe thereâs a âlong gameâ which occurs in the same cosmos, but is not the cosmosâ âlong gameâ, because I donât believe that the cosmos has a game, long or short. The cosmos just is what it is and does what a cosmos does.
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Isnât Tom the one who changes into a bear and gives them horses to bring them to the start of Mirkwood but with orders to release them there? That guy was in the first movie. But I do remember being impressed with how powerful he was so merely turning into a bear was probably not enough. But then I donât know who that was supposed to be. Anyone else know? Maybe they just let the air out of that character a lot.
Oh I wish someone capable was in charge but the most I can believe is there is something more within capable of recognizing the potential in the moment but thatâs all I can muster. I think whatever it is is stuck with us as the means to any better end; if it had genie powers why wouldnât it just get it done?
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Youâre thinking of Beorn (the Bear-man) of the hobbit. Bombadil doesnât come into the story until Frodo and his friends have begun their journey. But we learn that he is âeldestâ (or something like that). Somebody of immense power (quite beyond Beorn) - and in fact Bombadil made considerable mention as a possible âkeeper of the ringâ in the council of Elrond (at least in the books). But Gandalf and Co. decided that Bombadil would be too careless with the ring, and that even he would not be able to withstand the full might of the dark lord if he alone was left in the world while all else was conquered. But ⊠he ranked highly enough in their esteem to merit that kind of consideration!
Thanks. Did Tom appear in the barrows? I didnât remember which story he was part of but it sounds right his being discussed by the council that met at Elrondâs to discuss the ring.
Makes wonder if Tom was a false start in the story with no real connection to the main arc of the story.
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Yes! I would love for our focus to shift back to such higher things - our gazes to be raised above the petty politics of the moment. I think one of those higher things is friendship - and relationship, which has the potential to transcend petty tribal claims of loyalty. Jesus warns us that his entrance into our world and lives will mean divided families, brother against brother, etc. In other words, in the presence of light and truth, we will sometimes have hard and awful choices to make. While others may devote their lives to partisan party politics, I see Christ bursting in and asking if we are willing to forsake tribalisms and nationalisms and turn toward each other (Him) instead.
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Paraphrasing a yiddish saying, âfrom your keyboard to Godâs eyesâ.
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Yeah - I donât remember Bombadil coming up anywhere else - or having any explained origins in the Silmarilion. Ripe for added in backstory - right? And yes - he came and rescued them from the Barrow downs after they had left the wood. His last appearance in the story as far as I recall (other then him being discussed in the council.)
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I agree. The lack of it is killing some of us.
Maybe we have to think very, very small. As in one relationship at a time over a nearly glacial pace. Since I may find the churchâs doors wide open, but not the congregationâs arms, I may need to temper my desires and hopes, and focus on depth, rather than breadth. So far thatâs been the case. Even that has been challenging.
We need to hear that word from Christ. Or rather listen to what we have already heard. Over and over again. So, I need to be preaching truth to myself, first.
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Interesting theory, Mark, thanks for sharing. I think however that this leans far too much into Christian allegory/fable territory which the book most certainly is not. One common theory for Tolkienâs view of Sam as the hero is that Sam is never tempted by the âpowerâ of the ring.
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Good thoughts! I like Sam a lot, too. I did not know he considered him the heroâŠthat warms my heart, and is consistent with the Christian image of the last being first, the humble servant bring truly noble. Thank you! I thought he did have one swift image and struggle in his mind of Samwise the Strong , striding to free the enslaved, and even if creating endless gardens. He knew it was a mockery, and turned away from it. Thanks.
âŠhere it is ! I think another bit if his nobility may come from a sense of self deprecating humor. Very British, wouldnât you think? I have admired that a lot in him Thanks for teaching me.
I remember learning in college of all the western Christian messianic imagery throughout booksâŠand the analysis almost spoiled enjoyment for me initially⊠But now I find it even better.
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As many of you, I adore Sam as well. Iâll just throw this out, hoping that it leads our discussion back to the point of the OP, while partially fullfiling our deep love for and desire to talk about this book:
Sam represents the (slighly below) average, rather empty-headed, doggedly loyal, cheerful friend, who is never overwhelmed by Big Ideas, because he doesnât think to think about them, or feel capable of comprehending them. He is simply loyal, loving, honest and profoundly good in spite of his flaws. And those qualities are what make Sam the driving force, the engine, that keeps the âquestâ going.
Sam is the single most important character in the book.
Sam is everyman, and his greatness resides in his dogged determination to do the most basic human good possible: support his friend on an impossible task that has to be done.
What is Tolkien telling us in Sam?
âIf a below-average knucklehead like Sam can change the world, so can you. Get on your feet.â
Do you recognize what is good? Do that.
Evaluate peopleâs character carefully, and then stick with the good ones to the end.
Do you have friends? Support them, no matter what it takes.
Leverage your simplicity (stupidity) by keeping your grasp of your task simple, so as not to become overwhelmed.
Share that simplicity of smaller goals with your overwhelmed friend.
Remember what you are laboring for: the people and place you love.
Practice indifference to fame and power; pursue love at all costs.
This may be the practical part of the novel that ties to Mervâs article:
Sam is the perfect example of someone with no power, who in spite of that powerfully does extraordinary things âsimplyâ by plodding along, doing what he knows is right.
Sam rejects the âWin or dieâ philosophy and focusses on completing the task he accidentally got himself involved in.
What other ties are there between LOTR and the point of the article? Iâm sure there are many.
How does LOTR help inform our thinking and action, as we attempt to resist the âwin or dieâ philosophy that seems to be the air we breathe these days?
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Thank you for this, Kendel. I struggle with this, too. What do we give up to save our souls? Anger? Self righteousness? Power? A Focus on the Family dramatization of Bonhoefferâs life imagined him struggling with his catechism teacher about Lutherâs two kingdoms, I think⊠asking what it meant to give in to oneâs enemies. One non Christian religious tradition embraces political power, saying that Christ adapted to powerlessness under the Romans, but Godâs ultimate goal on earth could not have been that. (I disagree, of course, but it is interesting how we explain things away). How should one act as a servant when the other side seems to clearly be mistaken? It is perhaps easier for us who are not in power, but how would a truly virtuous, Christlike governor or politician work? I honestly donât know. Things are not as easy as they seem.
In reading âJesus and John Wayne,â I jived with much of what the author saidâŠbut is there ever a noble warrior? How does the righteous governor bear the Sword? She seemed too black and white to me.
My dad was the humblest man I knew, but he told me if his family were being physically attacked, he felt God would approve of protecting us.
Similarly in the dramatization, Bonhoeffer felt that to strike a racist or join the plot against Hitler would potentially be a necessary sin. However, he ultimately did support the resistance
I love Mullinsâ song at the end of the article
Stuff of earth competes for the allegiance I owe only to the giver of all good things.
It appears, like he says in another song, âwe are not as strong as we think we are.â
In another example, making decisions as a parent often puts me in the position of appearing to be much less than a servant⊠Completely, at times, unlike what I had thought I would be prior to having kids! At the same time, how does one show a servantâs heart? Many times I apologize to them (daily), and say that I might do better when I am 100 years old.
Perhaps it helps to retain grace. Knowing that we all struggle the same way, are alike prone to mistakes, we can retain grace of forgiveness, modeling Godâs attitude toward us
If I stand, let me stand on the promise that you will pull me through
And if I canât, let me fall on the grace that first brought me to you.
I would be interested in your thoughts
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Now thereâs book Iâd be interested in fussing over.
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