He’s quite as aware as Sam is that Gollum’s not to be trusted, but he’s willing to give him a chance. True charity never writes off a fellow-creature as valueless, but Sam can see no worth in Gollum.įrodo, on the other hand, treats Gollum very differently than Sam does. True charity doesn’t know superiority, but you’d think Sam would get dizzy looking that far down his nose at Gollum. Yet Sam voices his disdain and disgust for Gollum at every opportunity, often when he could perfectly well have kept his mouth shut. True charity, for one thing, is not acquainted with disdain. I didn’t notice it till this reread myself, but Sam is not perfectly charitable in his treatment of the small gibbering monster-hobbit. If you don’t believe me, reread The Two Towers and pay attention to how he treats Gollum. I am going to say something now which has the potential to bring down on my head the ire of Sam-lovers everywhere: Sam is not, in fact, perfect. If it’s a bit of a downer to read, how much more, I should like to ask, would it have been to experience? You can’t blame Frodo for being tired or Sam for being crabby. There is betrayal, despair, and a giant evil disgusting spider. There’s something bleak even about the hobbits’ meeting with Faramir, perhaps because it is then that Frodo loses Gollum’s trust in what is, to my mind, “the most heartbreaking moment in the Tale” – Tolkien’s nominee for that distinction (the scene with Gollum and the sleeping Frodo) being a runner-up. Darkness unvanquished by day overtakes Middle-earth. They journey dispiritedly through the Dead Marshes, which are even worse than they sound. They take up with a wretched, slimy, gabbling creature called Gollum. Sam and Frodo stumble around the bleak mountainsides of the Emyn Muil, trying to find a way down. The second half of The Two Towers is not exactly uplifting reading. Let us begin, not at the beginning (I’d love to begin at the beginning and all, but we only have so much time), but with The Two Towers. Now, I’ve never disagreed with the popular opinion that Frodo and Sam are FRIENDSHIP GOALS – it is one of those rare occasions when I can say unreservedly that the Hype is Real – but on this latest reread of The Lord of the Rings, I’ve found myself agreeing with it more than ever. Legolas and Gimli – Merry and Pippin – Gandalf and Bilbo – Éomer and Aragorn – and of course, most iconic of all, Frodo and Sam. You are a ruffian and a fool.It is a fact almost undeniable, I imagine, that Tolkien had a knack for writing friendships. ‘You are speaking to the King’s friend, and one of the most renowned in all the lands of the West.
He cast back his cloak, flashed out his sword, and the silver and sable of Gondor gleamed on him as he rode forward. His thoughts went back to the Field of Cormallen, and here was a squint-eyed rascal calling the Ring-bearer ‘little cock-a-whoop’. And’ - he snapped his fingers in Frodo’s face - ‘King’s messengers! That for them! When I see one, I’ll take notice, perhaps.’ But that won’t stop us living in this fat little country where you have lazed long enough. ‘Oh, is he indeed? Swagger it, swagger it, my little cock-a-whoop. The King’s messengers will ride up the Greenway now not bullies from Isengard.’ And Isengard has been destroyed, and your precious master is a beggar in the wilderness. The Dark Tower has fallen, and there is a King in Gondor. Your day is over, and all other ruffians’. Much has happened since you left the South. ‘For one thing, I see that you’re behind the times and the news here. With a ping and a pong the fiddle-strings broke!Īnd the little dog laughed to see such fun, The cow and the horses stood on their heads Now quicker the fiddle went deedle-dum-diddle While the landlord shook the Man of the Moon:
He squeaked and sawed and quickened the tune, So the cat on his fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle,
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