[greyhavener]

I'm intrigued with the question about Gollum aging. I'd love to see that pursued here. I need to think about it for awhile.

On Sam, I think in addition to his deep loyalty to Frodo, Sam was affected by the elves. He had a life-long fascination with them and I believe his encounters with them resulted in a faith in them that approached the intensity of his loyalty to Frodo.

Consider Sam's experiences in Shelob's cave. I think it was he who reminded Frodo that they had Galadriel's light. Sam used Frodo's elvin blade to disable Shelob then Sam used the light again. When Shelob's threat would have been sure death for him, Sam called out to Galadriel for help and spoke in a elvin tongue he didn't understand. This resulted in Shelob's retreat.

In Sam's one experience with putting on the ring, he felt "exposed" and felt it's weight. He was tempted:
He felt that he had from now on only two choices: to forget the Ring...or to claim it, and challenge the Power that sat in its dark hold...Already the Ring tempted him...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. While he didn't completely understand "this story we are in", he accepted the authority of Gandalf and the elves in their assessment of the ring as an evil that must be destroyed and the role of the Fellowship in it's destruction. He further accepted his own role in this quest and did not seek to enlarge it, passing the same test that Galadriel passed.

[ December 31, 2002: Message edited by: greyhavener ]

[ December 31, 2002: Message edited by: greyhavener ]