[Folwren]

I think that, all in all, Samwise, over Frodo, is the hero. . .I didn't just read the entire thread (I'm sorry, Boromir88, if you happen to read this, but I don't have time, but I really want to post now and not later), but I glanced over the posts and I see where most people stand.

Sam is the ultimate cause of the Ring's destruction. Someone said (won't pull up quotes because that, too, takes time) that Sam would have killed Gollum if it hadn't been for Frodo and he really wanted to. I won't deny that, before he bore the ring himself for a little time, he would have, but after he did carry the ring, he realized something of what Gollum felt, and he did have mercy on him that one time that Frodo was not there to defend Gollum.

More than that, Sam was actually someone who over came the influence of the ring. He bore it for about twenty-four hours, and I know that's not a long time, but no one can say he wasn't terribly tempted when he looked out over Mordor with it on. Yet he over came it and gave it back to Frodo immediately (in the book) when he was asked.

Without Sam, Frodo really, honestly, couldn't have made it. Samwise Gamgee was Frodo's strength. It’s not so much who the readers sympathize and grow to like the most – that’s not the question – the question is, who, out of these two, was the hero. Frodo may have born the weight of the ring, but he didn't bear it well, and in the end, it over came him. Sam bore, in my opinion more than that. He felt, briefly, the power of the ring, so he knew what it was like. But Sam had to be the strong one. At times when there was absolutely no hope whatsoever, Sam had to be the one to still hope, to get up and make his master go on, even though he wanted to let Frodo rest. He had to be the one who watched Frodo transform from his beloved master to something that he hardly knew. And in the end, he had to carry him up the slope.

Another thing that strikes me is this. Often when I read books, and when I really like them, I would like to be able to find characters that point to Christ or other great people from the Bible. In the LotR it's extremely hard because Tolkien didn't write a direct allegory. There are several Christ like figures - Gandalf and Aragorn are two obvious ones. But is Frodo or Sam one as well? Sam is an excellent picture of an overcomer and just maybe a type of Christ, but what is Frodo? He may have born the burden, but he didn't succeed in the end. Sam saw his job to the end, but Frodo didn't. He failed. Does this make him not a hero? I don't know. It's just my opinion that Sam was more of a hero than Frodo.

But to differentiate between the two of them is hard, because it couldn't have taken place without one or the other.

-- Folwren