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<blockquote data-quote="Brother MacLaren" data-source="post: 3940217" data-attributes="member: 15999">As far as Sam resisting the lure of the ring, YES, that's an &quot;ordinary&quot; feat.&nbsp; In fact, he can only do it because he's so ordinary.&nbsp; He's just a country gardener.&nbsp; He resists the lure of the ring not because he's got a +25 Will save, but because he is just a humble guy who doesn't want power at all.&nbsp; As I read the book, at least, JRRT is telling a story in which the smallest and most unassuming people save the day precisely because they aren't ambitious.&nbsp; We tend to think of ambition as a good thing (at least in the USA), but it's really a double-edged sword, and I think JRRT looked more skeptically on it.&nbsp; Considering his Christian scholarship, that makes a lot of sense -- after all, what was Lucifer's failing?&nbsp; Pride and ambition.&nbsp; But look at Sam's request of a gift from Galadriel.&nbsp; He just wants some nice dirt in which to grow plants.&nbsp; All he wants to be is a gardener, and THAT is his salvation -- he is content with his life and doesn't suffer from ambition, so the Ring has no hold over him. Sam is from the lowest social class among the four hobbits (the book has him often calling Frodo &quot;Master&quot;), and that's why JRRT makes him the hero.&nbsp; JRRT had &quot;the common man&quot; triumph, and I think he'd be rolling over in his grave if he heard readers interpreting LotR as a fantasy story in which the hero triumphs because he's tougher/smarter/luckier/braver than everybody else (as in, say, Greek myth).&nbsp; That's how I read it, anyway.&nbsp; I may not be explaining myself as well as I'd like, but I hope you can see what I'm getting at here.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Brother MacLaren, post: 3940217, member: 15999"] As far as Sam resisting the lure of the ring, YES, that's an "ordinary" feat. In fact, he can only do it because he's so ordinary. He's just a country gardener. He resists the lure of the ring not because he's got a +25 Will save, but because he is just a humble guy who doesn't want power at all. As I read the book, at least, JRRT is telling a story in which the smallest and most unassuming people save the day precisely because they aren't ambitious. We tend to think of ambition as a good thing (at least in the USA), but it's really a double-edged sword, and I think JRRT looked more skeptically on it. Considering his Christian scholarship, that makes a lot of sense -- after all, what was Lucifer's failing? Pride and ambition. But look at Sam's request of a gift from Galadriel. He just wants some nice dirt in which to grow plants. All he wants to be is a gardener, and THAT is his salvation -- he is content with his life and doesn't suffer from ambition, so the Ring has no hold over him. Sam is from the lowest social class among the four hobbits (the book has him often calling Frodo "Master"), and that's why JRRT makes him the hero. JRRT had "the common man" triumph, and I think he'd be rolling over in his grave if he heard readers interpreting LotR as a fantasy story in which the hero triumphs because he's tougher/smarter/luckier/braver than everybody else (as in, say, Greek myth). That's how I read it, anyway. I may not be explaining myself as well as I'd like, but I hope you can see what I'm getting at here. [/QUOTE]

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