Samwise Gamgee

Samwise Gamgee, known as Sam, was a hobbit of the Shire. He was Frodo Baggins' gardener and best friend. Sam proved himself to be Frodo's closest and most dependable companion, the most loyal of the Fellowship of the Ring, and played a critical role in protecting Frodo and destroying the One Ring.
==Biography==
===Early life===
Sam was the youngest son of Hamfast and Bell Gamgee, and had many brothers and sisters. A gardener by trade, Sam seemed to be a simple Hobbit of plain speech. However, his love for Elves, his gift for poetry, and his belief that the world contained greater wonders than most hobbits were aware of (all nurtured by his tutor Bilbo Baggins) set him apart from the beginning. It was Sam who first introduced (in J.R.R. Tolkien's novels) the theme of the Elves sailing from Middle-earth, a subtle foreshadowing of Bilbo and Frodo's final journey across the sea from the Grey Havens. He lived with his father, Hamfast Gamgee, known commonly as "The Gaffer", on Bagshot Row in the Shire, close to Bag End. He had five siblings: Hamson, Halfred, Daisy, May, and Marigold.
===Quest of the Ring===
As "punishment" for eavesdropping on Gandalf's conversation with Frodo regarding the dangers of the One Ring while trimming the grass of Bag End, Gandalf chose Sam to be Frodo's companion on his journey to Rivendell. Sam saved Frodo's life more than once during the quest to destroy the Ring, and would accompany him all the way to Mount Doom.After leaving Bree, Sam became very close to the pony Bill. On arrival at the Doors of Durin Bill had to be set loose as he could not pass through the Mines of Moria. This caused Sam great distress. In Lothlórien Sam was given a gift by the Lady Galadriel; a small box containing soil from her garden along with a Mallorn seed.
After Shelob attacked and seemingly killed Frodo, Sam took the Ring, intending to complete the quest on his own. Because he held the Ring for a time, he was considered one of the Ring-bearers and during the time he possessed it the Ring tempted him with visions of a great garden all for himself. Being humble, Sam never gave into the treacherous visions and temptations of the Ring, and returned it when he discovered Frodo alive in the Tower of Cirith Ungol.The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Ch. I: "The Tower of Cirith Ungol" He and Bilbo were the only ones ever to have given up the Ring willingly, and only Sam surrendered it readily.
When Orcs took Frodo's body, Sam overheard one of them saying that Frodo was still alive, so he followed them into the Tower of Cirith Ungol, determined to rescue Frodo. Once there he found that competing bands of Uruks and Morgul Orcs had rioted and killed one another over the possession of Frodo's Mithril coat, thus making it easier for Sam to get to Frodo and escape the tower with him.
Sam and Frodo made their way to Mount Doom, disguised as Orcs along the way. The way to Mount Doom was filled with fiery rocks and pillows of ash which made it almost impossible for the hobbits to pass. When Frodo collapsed from weakness, Sam carried him up the slopes of Mount Doom, only to be stopped by Gollum. Sam delayed Gollum while Frodo continued towards the Cracks of Doom. Sam then rushed to follow Frodo, only to see Frodo renounce the quest and claim the Ring as his own, putting it on his finger. Unbeknownst to Sam, Gollum had followed in his tracks, and attacked him from behind. In the moments while Sam was dazed, Gollum attacked Frodo, and after a brief struggle took the Ring by force by biting off Frodo's finger. Gollum began to celebrate regaining the Ring, but in doing so slipped and fell to his death in the fiery chasm below, destroying the Ring in the process.The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Ch. III: "Mount Doom"
The destruction of the Ring triggered a violent upheaval of Mount Doom, but with Sam's assistance, the two hobbits escaped from Sammath Naur onto the mountainside. Though they attempted to descend, the hobbits were trapped by the issue of lava and fiery ash from the mountain. Before the fire reached them, however, Gwaihir the Lord of the Great Eagles, come at the behest of Gandalf, spotted the hobbits from afar. Landroval and Meneldor, Gwaihir's companions, rescued Sam and Frodo and flew them to the safety of Ithilien.The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Ch. IV: "The Field of Cormallen"Sam and Frodo were healed of their wounds, while still unconscious, by Aragorn upon reaching Ithilien. Sam awoke, to his surprise, to find Gandalf watching over him. Gandalf led Sam and Frodo to the Field of Cormallen, where they were met by a large crowd, who praised the hobbits in many tongues for their heroism and sacrifice. There they met also Aragorn, who revealed himself to the hobbits as the true King of Gondor and Arnor. In the following days, Frodo and Sam were reunited with the surviving members of the Fellowship, and at length, those assembled traveled to Minas Tirith for Aragorn's coronation.
Some months afterwards, Sam, along with a great company including Aragorn, Gandalf, Galadriel, and the other hobbits, left Minas Tirith, traveling towards the Shire by way of Rohan, Isengard, and Rivendell. All but Gandalf left them by the time the company reached Rivendell, and from there the four hobbits returned to the Shire.The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Ch. VI: "Many Partings"The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Ch. VII: "The Return Journey" Upon reaching their native country, however, they found it to be usurped by Ruffians and unfriendly hobbits under the rule of Lotho Sackville-Baggins, who had begun the process of turning the Shire into an industrial center. Sam, Frodo, Merry, and Pippin played an instrumental role in what afterwards became known as the Scouring of the Shire, in which the Shire was freed from its ruinous occupation by Ruffians. It was also discovered that Lotho was in fact a puppet of Saruman, who had come north to play his last bit of mischief. Both met their demise in the events prior to and following the Battle of Bywater.The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Ch. VIII: "The Scouring of the Shire" 
===After the War of the Ring===
Following the Scouring of the Shire, Sam married Rose (Rosie) Cotton. They had thirteen children: Elanor the Fair, Frodo, Rose, Merry, Pippin, Goldilocks, Hamfast, Daisy, Primrose, Bilbo, Ruby, Robin, and Tolman. When Frodo Baggins announced that he was leaving to the Undying Lands, west of Middle-earth, he gave Sam the Red Book of Westmarch and Bag End where he and his large personal family, later called the Gardners, would live for many years.The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Ch. X: "The Grey Havens" After Will Whitfoot resigned his post as Mayor of Michel Delving, in SR 1427, Sam was elected Mayor of the Shire for seven consecutive seven-year terms.
===Later years===
After his wife died in the year 61 of the Fourth Age (SR 1482), Sam entrusted the Red Book to his daughter, Elanor, and left the Shire. It was a tradition handed down from Elanor that he went to the Grey Havens, and because he was also a Ring-bearer (albeit for a short time), he was allowed to pass over the Sea to be reunited with Frodo in the Undying Lands.The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B: The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands), "Later Events concerning the Members of the Fellowship of the Ring"
==Etymology==
J.R.R. Tolkien took the name from , a surgical dressing invented by a surgeon called . "Gamgee" became the colloquial name in Birmingham for cotton wool; Tolkien described why he had chosen that name for his character:
It is possible that Tolkien may have subconsciously recalled Dr. Gamgee (who died in 1886, but is commemorated by a plaque at the , only yards from Tolkien's childhood home), but he claimed to be genuinely surprised when, in March 1956, he received a letter from one Sam Gamgee, who had heard that his name was in The Lord of the Rings but had not read the book. Tolkien replied on March 18:
The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, In the long summary-letter sent to Milton Waldman, published in as in Letter 131.
He proceeded to send Mr. Gamgee a signed copy of all three volumes of the book. However, the incident sparked a nagging worry in Tolkien's mind, as he recorded in his journal:
In Appendix F of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien states that the Westron form of Sam's name is Banazîr Galbasi (also spelled Galpsi). Banazîr comes from elements meaning "halfwise" or "simple"; Tolkien replaced it with Samwise, a modernization of the ancient English samwís which corresponds closely in meaning. Galbasi comes from the name of the village Galabas. The name Galabas uses the elements galab-, meaning "game", and bas-, corresponding somewhat to "-wich" or "-wick". Tolkien's English translation, Samwís Gamwich, could have come to Samwise Gamgee in modern English. Sam is also known as Perhael in Sindarin.The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F: Family Trees (Hobbits), II: On Translation
==Commentary==
Many regard Sam Gamgee as the "true hero" of The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien himself expressed this view in one of his letters, referring to him as the "chief hero", with special emphasis placed on Sam's "rustic love" for Rosie. The quest to destroy the Ring would have failed without Sam, who repeatedly saves Frodo from disaster (rescuing him at Cirith Ungol and carrying him up Mount Doom).
The relationship between Frodo and Sam was, in many respects, at the centre of The Lord of the Rings. To the modern reader, it seems archaic - it is clearly extremely class-oriented: Sam's humbleness and "plain speaking" is frequently emphasized in contrast to Frodo's "gentility", and he often shows deference to Frodo, calling him "Mister Frodo". At the same time, a strong bond of love and trust grows between them, portrayed most poignantly during the events of Cirith Ungol, where Sam vows to return to his (apparently) dead master, to be reunited with Frodo in death.
Tolkienologists regard Sam as Frodo's batman. In the , a batman was an orderly who acted as the personal servant of an officer. It was a role with which Tolkien (who served as an Army officer in the First World War) would have been extremely familiar. Sam undertakes all of the typical roles of a batman - he runs errands for Frodo, he cooks, he transports him (or at least carries him), and he carries his luggage. Tolkien confirmed this interpretation when he wrote in a private letter that:
Compare with the relationship between and his squire , and the gradual "Quixotization" of Sancho. Jim Butcher also describes Samwise in his book Changes:
==Portrayals in adaptations==
===1978 and 1980 adaptations===
 voiced the character of Samwise Gamgee in the 1980 animated short of The Return of the King, made directly for television. In Ralph Bakshi’s animated version, originally released in 1978, Michael Scholes voiced the character.
===The Lord of the Rings film trilogy===
In the Peter Jackson movies The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Sam was played by Sean Astin. It is not clear whether Astin had heard Nighy's radio performance, but both actors bring very similar characterizations and accents to the role.In The Two Towers, Faramir brings Frodo, Sam and Gollum into Osgiliath where an ongoing war is occurring with the forces of Minas Morgul. During the chaos of the winged Nazgûl's arrival, Faramir leaves Frodo's side to assist the defenders, and Frodo is uncontrollably lured by the proximity of The Witch-king of Angmar at one of the bridges of the city. He walks to the bridge, and the Ringwraith arises before Frodo on his Fellbeast. Frodo, in a trance, starts extending the One Ring to him, until Sam intervenes and rescues him, and Faramir repels the Fellbeast. Sam gives Frodo extended encouragement after the battle subsides. 
Later, as Sam and Frodo walk away from Osgiliath on the other side of the river, after Faramir has freed them, Sam wonders whether he and Frodo would ever be mentioned in songs and stories, pondering how future Hobbits would want to hear about Frodo and his journey to Mordor. Frodo replies that they "would want to hear more about Samwise the Brave", as Frodo "wouldn't have gotten far without Sam". 
Then, in The Return of the King, Sam and Frodo keep on their journey to Mordor, where Gollum schemes to divide Sam and Frodo so that he can more easily reclaim the One Ring. Sam has suspected Gollum and his devious ways from the beginning, ready to oppose Gollum's plans as their guide to protect Frodo, being firmly loyal to him. 
On the steep stairways toward Cirith Ungol, Sam and Gollum's mutual hate and distrust escalate, and, while the Hobbits sleep, Gollum frames Sam of consuming the last of their lembas bread. Frodo is convinced of this when he awakes, believing also Gollum's lie that Sam desires the Ring for himself, and thus derides Sam angrily and abandons him, proceeding up the stairs with Gollum. Sam is heartbroken, and while descending the stairs in despair, finds the lembas bread that Gollum had tossed at night, realizing his trickery. He finds the courage to turn around, ascend the stairs after them, and try to find and aid Frodo. 
After Frodo is forsaken by Gollum in Shelob's lair, Shelob stuns and entangles him in her webs, immediately before Sam arrives, bearing the Phial of Galadriel. He heroically contests with the giant spider, and battles her with the piercing Elvish light and Frodo's sword, Sting. After driving Shelob away, Orcs from the Tower of Cirith Ungol come to the cave and find Frodo's body. They carry it away to the Tower, and Sam follows them, soon rescuing Frodo from being killed by Gorbag after the Orcs have slaughtered each other over Frodo's mithril coat. Frodo repents of having rejected Sam, and the two press on toward Mount Doom, without food or water. While they walk up the desolate slopes of the mountain, Frodo's burden of the One Ring intensifies extremely, and he collapses, but Sam musters all his strength, and carries Frodo on his back. 
Sam saves Frodo from death again, by helping resist Gollum's last, vicious attempt to kill Frodo and reclaim the Ring at the Sammath Naur. As Frodo falls from the precipice within Mount Doom with Gollum, Sam helps Frodo back up as Gollum falls to his death with the Ring. 
Weeks later, after the coronation of Aragorn, Sam bids Frodo a difficult, fond farewell at the Grey Havens before Frodo and others depart for the Undying Lands. Sam returns to the Shire, and The Return of the King ends with his last words: "I'm back." 
===Radio===
*Victor Platt voiced Sam in the 1955 BBC Radio radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings.
*Lou Bliss voiced the character in the 1979 The Mind's Eye radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings.
* voiced the character in the 1981 BBC Radio serial of The Lord of the Rings.
* Edgar Hoppe voiced the character in the 1991-1992 German radio serial adaptation of The Lord of the Rings.Der Herr der Ringe (hörspiel). (German: "The Lord of the Rings (radio play)". Ardapedia.org (German-language wiki of Tolkien's Legendarium). Retrieved/cited 30 May 2021.
* Jonathan Adams voiced the character in the 1992 radio series Tales from the Perilous Realm in the two episodes of "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil". Sam was portrayed with a very rustic accent.
* Stano Dančiak voiced the character in the 2001-2003 three-season Slovak radio serial adaptation of The Lord of the Rings.Pán prsteňov. (Slovak: "The Lord of the Rings) Slovak 2001-2003 radio play. Tolkien Gateway.net (English-language wiki of Tolkien's Legendarium). Retrieved/cited 30 May 2021.
===Video games===
*Sam appears as a supporting playable character in the 1994 SNES J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Volume 1 and requires the player to look for Gaffer Gamgee's glasses in the Shire caves before he can join you.
*Sam appears as a playable character in the action/adventure video games The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). These both follow Peter Jackson's movie trilogy, and were made by New Line Cinema (owned by Warner Bros.), published by Electronic Arts, and licensed by various companies such as Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony.
*Sam appears also in The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest, but as narrator of the story of the War of the Third Age, telling it to his children after Frodo has left Middle-earth. Sean Astin once again reprises his role as Samwise.
*Sam also appears in minifigure form in LEGO The Lord of the Rings: The Video Game (2012). His dialogue is from the film trilogy.
*In Electronic Arts' Battle for Middle-earth strategy game series, Sam can be summoned temporarily, along with his three companions, by good factions who use the "Summon Hobbit Allies" power.
*In The Lord of the Rings Online, Samwise is first found in Rivendell, preparing for the departure. Later, he is found on Cerin Amroth in Lothlórien, alongside Frodo. A series of session plays depicts Sam, Frodo and Gollum's journey through the Dead Marshes, the Pass of Cirith Ungol and Mordor. The player later meets Sam and Frodo again at the Field of Cormallen.
==Voice dubbing actors==
Foreign Language 	Voice dubbing artist
Japanese 	Shingo Yatsuda (谷田 真吾)
Korean (SBS TV Edition) 	Sang Bum Lee (이상범)
French (Québec) 	????
French (France) 	Christophe Lemoine
Spanish (Latin America) 	Irwin Daayán
Spanish (Spain) 	David Jenner
Catalan 	David Jenner
German 	Patrick Bach
Italian 	Massimiliano Alto
Portuguese (Brazil) (Television/DVD)	Wendel Bezerra
Polish 	Mieczysław Morański (1978)
Turkish 	Engin Alkan
Czech 	Jiří Krejčí
Slovak 	Michal Domonkoš
Hungarian 	Kerekes József
Tagalog (Flipino) 	????
Russian 	Gennaduy Karpov (Геннадий Карпов)
Ukrainian 	????
Mandarin Chinese (China / Taiwan) 	Tian Bo (田　波)
Cantonese Chinese (Hong Kong) 	Chen Jian Hao (陳健豪)
Thai 	Suphap Chaiwisutthikun (สุภาพ ไชยวิสุทธิกุล) (Kapook)Wanchai Paowiboon (วันชัย เผ่าวิบูลย์) (Channel 7)
Hindi 	????
Tamil 	????
Telugu 	????
Arabic (MBC TV Edition) 	????
Persian 	????
Punjabi 	????
Urdu 	????
==Gallery==
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Amharic 	ጻምዊሰ ጛምጌ
Arabic 	ساموايز غامجي
Aragonese 	Samsagaz "Sam" Gamyi
Armenian 	Սեմուայզ Գեմջի
Asturian 	Samsagaz Gamyi
Belarusian Cyrillic 	Самўісе Гамгее
Bengali 	স্যামওয়াইজ "স্যাম" গ্যামজি
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Самознай Майтапер
Burmese 	ဆမ်ဝိုက် "ဆမ်" ဂမ်ဂျီး
Catalan 	Samseny Gamgí
Chinese (Hong Kong) 	山姆衞斯·詹吉
Czech 	Samvěd "Sam" Křepelka
Danish 	Samvis Gammegod
Dutch 	Sam Gewissies
Estonian 	Tobajuss Mängla
Faroese 	Samvísi Gamban
French 	Samsagace "Sam" Gamegie (First translation)
Samsaget "Sam" Gamgie (Second translation)
Galician 	Samsagaz Gamllí
Georgian 	სემუაიზ გემჯი
German 	Samweis "Sam" Gamdschie
Greek 	Σάμγουαιζ "Σαμ" Γκάμτζι
Gujarati 	સંવિસે ગંગી
Hebrew 	סמוויז "סאם" גמג'י
Hungarian 	Csavardi Samu
Italian 	Samvise "Sam" Gamgee
Japanese 	サムワイズ・ギャムジー
Kannada 	ಸಾಮ್ವಯ್ಸ್ ಗಮ್ಗೀ
Kazakh 	Сэмуайз Гэмджи (Cyrillic) Sémwayz Gémdjï (Latin)
Korean 	감지네 샘와이즈
Kurdish 	Samways Gamçî (Kurmanji)
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Сэмвайс "Сэм" Гамги
Macedonian Cyrillic 	Семвајз Гамџи
Malayalam 	സാംവൈസ് ഗാംജീ
Marathi 	षम्विसे ङम्गेए
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Самвайз (Сэм) Гамжи
Nepalese 	षम्विसे ङम्गेए
Norwegian 	Sam Vismann Gamgi (Werenskiold tr.)Samvis "Sam" Gamgod (Bugge Høverstad tr.)
Pashto 	صامویسې عامګېې ?
Persian 	سم‌وایز گمجی
Polish 	Samwise "Sam" Gamgee (Skibniewska tr.)
Samlis Gaduła (Łoziński tr.)
Portuguese 	Samwise "Sam" Gamgi (Brazil)
Russian 	Сэмуайз Гэмджи
Sanskrit 	षम्विसे ङम्गेए
Scottish Gaelic 	Samglic "Sam" Gaimdsidh
Serbian 	Самwисе Гамгеe (Cyrillic) Samwise Gamgee (Latin)
Sinhalese 	සමුප් ගැම්බි
Slovak 	Samved "Sam" Mukro
Slovenian 	Samoglav Gamgi
Spanish (Spain and Latin America)	Samsagaz "Sam" Gamyi
Swedish 	Sam Gamgi
Tajik Cyrillic 	Самwисе Гамгее
Tamil 	சம்வைஸ் கேஜ்ஜீ
Telugu 	సమైఖ్య గేజి
Thai 	แซมไวส์ แกมจี
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Самwісе Ґамґее
Urdu 	سیموائز گامجی
Uzbek 	Самwисе Гамгэ (Cyrillic) Samwise Gamge (Latin)
Yiddish 	סאַמוויסע גאַמגעע
==References==
Category:Hobbits
Category:Gamgees
Category:Fellowship members
Category:Mayors of Michel Delving
Category:The Lord of the Rings characters
Category:The Fellowship of the Ring (film) characters
Category:The Two Towers (film) characters
Category:The Return of the King (film) characters
Category:Bearers of the One Ring
Category:Major characters (The Lord of the Rings)
de:Samweis Gamdschie
es:Samsagaz Gamyi
fr:Samsagace Gamegie
he:סאם גאמג'י
it:Samvise Gamgee
nl:Sam Gewissies
pl:Samwise Gamgee
pt-br:Samwise Gamgee
ru:Сэмуайз Гэмджи
tr:Samwise Gamgee
uk:Семвайз Грунич