Fellowship Of The Ring Archetypes

In Fellowship of the Ring, a young gardener, Sam Gamgee, rose from his normal life to do the extraordinary by being a loyal retainer on the most important quests in his history. Sam was only one of the great characters shown in Fellowship, with many more showing different themes throughout the book. J. R. R. Tolkien, living in an age of war and industrialism which led to the creation of this book, was the author of this great novel. He was inspired by his wife Edith and how he had suffered from the war. Tolkien wanted his country to have a great story to call theirs to increase nationalism if war ever started again, so he came up with Fellowship, the first out of the series that Tolkien would work on for 12 years. Fellowship was created by

The theme of Fellowship of the Ring is to express archetypes throughout the story of heroic actions and deeds as a hero must go through a mental and physical adventure, much like you do in life. One of the archetypes it focuses on is the loyal retainer, shown by the character Sam Gamgee. In Tolkien’s novel, Fellowship of the Ring, Sam is revealed as the archetypal retainer because he is loyal, willing to sacrifice, and thinks with his heart. Sam shows the qualities of being loyal to Frodo throughout Fellowship to express his role as an archetypal retainer. First, Sam expresses the loyal retainer quality of loyalty to Frodo when he accepts the supposed “punishment” that Gandalf gives him to go with Frodo on his quest. Sam’s reaction to his upcoming quest is shown when Tolkien states, “’Me, sir!’ cried Sam, springing up like a dog invited for a walk. ‘Me go and see Elves and all! Hooray!” (84). Gandalf’s intended this to be a punishment, but Sam shows his loyalty for Frodo by showing his excitement for the opportunity to go on a journey with him. Gandalf’s surprise to his response shows that Sam has not proved himself as the

First, Sam sacrifices Bill, the pony he has become very fond of, for Frodo which expresses his willingness to sacrifice himself in any way to save Frodo. Sam expresses the sadness of his choice but showing he will stand by Frodo when he says, “’Poor old Bill! Wolves and snakes! But the snakes were too much for him. I had to choose, Mr. Frodo. I had to come with you’” (431). Sam fights an emotional battle between Frodo and his fondness towards his pony. Sam realizes that Frodo is more important and sacrifices the pony to continue on with Frodo. While this may seem like nothing, this was a very big deal for Sam, and him overcoming the emotional battle to stay by Frodo’s side shows his loyal retainer qualities of sacrificing. This pony was very important to Sam, and the fact that he abandoned it for Frodo shows that Sam will put Frodo’s safety over him in every situation, which shows his willingness to sacrifice. Next, Sam shows his willingness to sacrifice when he slashes at the Kraken in a desperate attempt to save Frodo, sacrificing his life for him. Tolkien expresses this sacrifice when he writes, “Its fingered end had hold of Frodo’s foot, and was dragging him into the water. Sam on his knees was now slashing at it with a knife” (432). Sam is shown to be the first one taking action here in a frenzy to save Frodo. A knife would not do much against