LotR -- Book 5 - Chapter 10 - The Black Gate Opens

[arcticstorm]

There are a few things I would like to point out about the MoS. When I read through the book I really enjoyed this scene btu I knew that Sauron did not have the ring, because we left off from book four with Sam taking the ring in "The choices of Master Samwise." However this would be torture to the men of the west not knowing if Sauron had retrieved the ring. I beleive Gandalf at first was mortified, but then realized, wait, they brought out Sam's sword with all Frodo's gear. The trained observer could tell that Sauron did not have the ring, even if they skipped book four and read from 3 to 5 to 4 to 6. The reason Ia m bringing this out is because a blade of Gondolin woul dbe more telling than a blade of the downfallen west. Even the MoS's words point to the fact that Sam is still free if Frodo is not. I do not have my books on me, but the MoS says something along the lines of

and a spy out of that rat-land called the shire

or something along those lines. If Sauron had caught them both, he would have said some spies. I b eleive Gandalf after thinking about everything realized this and knew that Sam was wise enough to realize that the quest cannot fail. evidenced by the fact that he would have taken Galadriel's light and Frodo's sword, this can be seen by the fact that Galadriel's light was not a token brought out to be shown. This is why I think Gandalf rejected the terms.