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

Tolkien to put together all of his myths and creations. It takes place in a fantasy world full of archetypes. The story takes place in an unknown time and unknown place, also called an illotempore.

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

loyal retainer yet, but foreshadows that he will on this journey. Tolkien’s word choice of using “springing up like a dog” and “Hooray!” shows his great enthusiasm even though they are going into the unknown. The loyal retainer must show loyalty to the hero, and Tolkien shows how Sam has taken the first step in that direction. Sam and Frodo share the similarities of being peaceful yet brave hobbits, so their relationship is already closer which helps them both step into their roles in Fellowship. Next, Sam shows his loyalty to Frodo at the Council of Elrond, when instead of staying back for safety and the chance to go home, he goes with Frodo on yet another journey that’s even more dangerous than their first one. Elrond notices Sam has sneaked into the secret council, showing he really cares about Frodo’s future. Elrond says, “You at least shall go with him. It is hardly possible to separate you from him, even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not” (382), to show the reader that others have taken notice of Sam’s growing loyalty to Frodo and are starting to realize that they have become inseparable friends. As the hero begins on his second journey, Sam cannot help but join him yet again into an even more dangerous adventures than the first journey. Sam does not care how big the danger is, he is still loyal to Frodo and will go with him however risky it may be. He has now evolved into fully becoming Frodo’s loyal retainer as they went through hardships bearing the same weight, and will continue to endure these together through their second journey. Tolkien shows that Sam could have just stayed away from the Council and go home to safety, but Sam refused to leave his master’s side. This shows extreme loyalty as Sam throws the easy way out away and joins Frodo. Thirdly, Sam’s loyalty to Frodo is set in stone when he insists to assist Frodo on his solo and seemingly suicidal journey to Mordor. All throughout the book, Sam has chosen to go with Frodo instead of taking the safe way out. This third and last example shows an extreme test of loyalty as yet another opportunity has arisen to either go with Frodo or stay back for safety. Stubbornly, Sam insists on staying with Frodo. This is shown when Tolkien writes, “’All alone and without me to help you? I couldn’t have borne it, it’d have been the death of me.’” (559). Sam realizes Frodo’s plan and hurries to catch him before he goes. Sam cannot bear the thought of Frodo leaving him alone without his help. Sam will not let Frodo go without him, and Sam will protect him in the most dangerous and suicidal quest in the book. This shows his loyalty because once again, Sam does not care how great the risk is, he only cares about Frodo’s safety. There is no doubt that Sam has the upmost loyalty towards Frodo and will go anywhere with him no matter what at this point of the book. Tolkien has developed Sam as a loyal retainer based on loyalty from the beginning, where he was enthusiastic about an exciting journey with Frodo, to the end, where Sam had no doubt in his mind that he was going to follow Frodo on his seemingly impossible mission. While Sam shows the loyal retainer quality of extreme loyalty towards the hero, he also shows willingness to sacrifice.
As a loyal retainer, Sam has to be willing to sacrifice himself for the hero, and he does many times throughout Fellowship.

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

such a gigantic monster like the Kraken, but Frodo does whatever he can to draw the Kraken’s attention to him and drop Frodo. Sam would not stand a chance against the creature, showing his willingness to sacrifice himself for Frodo. The fact that Sam is the first to aid Frodo as everyone else in the Company stands there shocked shows their true bond. If Sam did not have the loyal retainer quality of being willing to sacrifice himself for Frodo, Frodo could have died right there, and the whole journey would be over. Lastly, Sam is willing to sacrifice himself for Frodo when he throws himself into the water, knowing he cannot swim, to get Frodo to stop and come back. He has fully committed to sacrificing himself to stop Frodo when Tolkien writes, “’Save me Mr. Frodo!’ gasped Sam. ‘Im drownded. I cannot see your hand’” (558) Sam is now at a point where he cares about Frodo’s life more than his. He throws himself into the water in a desperate attempt to get to Frodo, because he cannot bear the thought of them being separated and him not being there to protect Frodo. Sam knows that he is not very strong and would not be able to help that much, but his willingness to sacrifice is strong and that gives him bravery to stand up for Frodo. While Sam is willing to sacrifice, he also has knowledge of the heart.
Sam shows his knowledge of the heart as yet another quality to show how he is Frodo’s loyal retainer. First, Sam shows knowledge of the heart when he does not trust Strider and defies the instinct to trust him. He defends Frodo when he says, “I shall take more care of the secret than you do. And the care is needed!” (214). This shows his knowledge of the heart because the other hobbits are already started to trust him based off of logic but Sam is being absolutely sure and judging with his feelings to keep Frodo safe. If everyone had instantly trusted Strider and he had turned out to be a fake, they all would have died. Sam is there to help the group trust Strider without a doubt to ensure Frodo’s safety. Next, Sam shows knowledge of the heart when he convinces Frodo that they have to keep going on their journey. Frodo is starting to have doubt about the journey and thinking logically about how they will probably die. In Lorien, Sam convinces Frodo when he states, “…All the same, I’m beginning to feel that if we’ve got to go on, then we’d best get it over” (470). Sam is not being harsh to Frodo, he is just letting him know that they must go on. Sam realizes the seduction of staying to be safe in Lorien and convinced Frodo to keep going. Sam knows this because in his heart he understand the depth of how important their journey is. Sam uses his knowledge of the heart and expresses it to Frodo to stop him from thinking pessimistically and start thinking optimistically. Lastly, Sam shows his knowledge of the heart when he uses this knowledge to find out Frodo’s plan and save him before he goes off alone. Sam shows his inner knowledge when he says, “Let me see now! Boromir isn’t lying, that’s not his way; but he hasn’t told us everything. Something scared Mr. Frodo badly. He made up his mind at last – to go” (528). Tolkien shows Sam talking aloud to himself here to show the knowledge he has gained about Frodo throughout the book. Sam can predict what Frodo will do and uses his knowledge of the heart to find out what happened. Sam searches his feelings, trying to find any way that he could get back to Frodo. Sam realized the plan, and without his knowledge of the heart, he would’ve left Frodo on his own because he knew why Frodo had to leave. Sam, as the loyal retainer, would not let this happen and overcame his fears of logic by pursuing where his heart told him to go, and he eventually finds Frodo.
In conclusion, Sam Gamgee, a poor gardener who became essential in one of the most important quests in their time, shows how he represents the archetypal retainer by his loyalty, willingness to sacrifice, and his knowledge of the heart. Sam will not stop at anything and anywhere to be at Frodo’s side, and Tolkien portrays Sam extremely well as a very great loyal retainer.