[LotR] On Valentine's Day, better a hobbit's heart than to lust after a lord

[Squire James]

Samwise's lack of ambition was clearly demonstrated during the short time he bore the Ring. "You can be the greatest gardener of the world" is rather pathetic as a temptation, but it was all the Ring had to work with!

As for all that stuff heaped on Sam afterwards was all in the Appendix for a good reason. All those honors bestowed upon him were over a long period of time, and were bestowed mostly because Aragorn himself probably lusted after the "simple life" that Sam embodied, and used any excuse to go visit! "I have this huge diamond I don't need, so I think I'm going to the Shire to give it to someone. Wanna come along, Arwen?"

As for the "romantic ideal" favoring Arwen over Rosie, keep in mind that Rosie really didn't give up much by marrying Sam (no more than any married person would), while Arwen pretty much made the ultimate sacrifice (which she later regretted, I might add). If I were a woman, I'd much rather take Rosie's deal than Arwen's!

As for why "hobbit husbands" are hard to find, all you need to do is watch some TV and movies. How many "hobbits" do you see, and if you see any, how many are something else besides the butt of jokes by people who think they're Legolas?

I should also note that the computer field does not like to employ Samwises (though it would make more sense)... it seems they want a bunch of Aragorns and Boromirs! Hmm... maybe I should put "Samwise Gamgee, not Strider or Boromir" on my resume, now that more people might know what I'm talking about!

 

[Zander]

Something my girlfriend should read.....

And mine!

 

[Atticus_of_Amber]

Clarifications

(1) Actually, much of the stuff that I mentioned as being heaped on Sam is detailed in the last two chapters ratehr than the appendix.

(2) In any case the big hint of what is to come is in the final chapter when Frodo points out to Sam that he is as famous and respected as Merry and Pippin (which just pisses Sam off becasue he thinks that Frodo should be more respected than any of them).

(3) What I'm saying is that Rose's marriage *is* a fairey tale affair. This hunky gardner she had been flirting with up and duissapears for a year and she's very put out and, though she's not the sort to show it, heartbroken. Then the Shire gets taken over by half-orcs and evil men and life becomes very miserable. Then Sam turns up - wearing chain mail and carrying a sword no less! - pops in to her house to see if she's safe ok (yeah, and ask her father to help raise an army, but he really went there just to see her) and then leads a small army of working class hobbits (with the help of a small army of Tooks and followers lead by Pippin and a small army of Brandybucks and others lead by Merry) and kicks the invaders out! Then all that other stuff I mentioned happened. It's sort of like lusting after the local hunky heart of gold gardner only to discover that he's actually a bit of a knight in shining armor...

(4) Yep, Sam has a *very* realistic view of his own abilities. "You can be the greatest gardner in the world" *was* the only thing the ring could come up with. That is why Gandalf was so clever to trust in hobbits to carry the ring.