In J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings , Samwise Gamgee can resist the One Ring throughout the entire journey to Mordor.
Even when wearing the One Ring, Sam did not give in to its influence, and he returned it to Frodo without hesitation.
Sam’s personality, combined with several external factors, allowed him to do what so many other characters could not.

Near the end of The Fellowship of the Ring from J. R. R. Tolkien‘s The Lord of the Rings, Frodo Baggins made the difficult decision to part ways with the rest of the Fellowship. The One Ring’s corrupting influence had caused Boromir to attack him at Amon Hen, and he feared that it would do the same to his other companions. He thought it was safer for himself and Middle-earth if he carried out the rest of his quest alone. But try as he might, he could not leave his stalwart friend Samwise Gamgee behind. They traveled together for months during The Lord of the Rings, and Sam spent nearly all that time near the One Ring. Yet throughout the journey to Mordor, Sam resisted the urge to take the One Ring from Frodo. The novel does not indicate that he even felt such a temptation as Boromir had.

Sam eventually took the One Ring, but not out of personal desire. After Frodo’s encounter with the spider-like monster Shelob, Sam mistakenly believed she killed him with her venomous sting. Part of him wanted to return home, but he remembered the reason the Council of Elrond had formed the Fellowship in the first place: to ensure the destruction of the One Ring no matter what. He knew that Frodo would want him to finish the mission in his stead, so with a heavy heart, he hung the One Ring on its chain around his neck. Unlike in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King film adaptation, he also wore the One Ring on his finger from time to time, which Gandalf had warned Frodo against earlier in the story. But even when wearing the One Ring, Sam was able to resist its pull, and he later relinquished it to Frodo without hesitation. So how could Sam do what so many others throughout the history of Middle-earth could not?

Updated on August 25, 2024, by Ajay Aravind: Although nearly every fan acknowledges the positive influence of Samwise Gamgee, the mild-mannered Hobbit gardener is often relegated to the status of side-kick or BFF. However, Sam was much more than how he was depicted in the story — with the clues in favor of this argument scattered across the subtext. The plain and simple fact is that Middle-earth would have been doomed if Sam hadn’t accompanied Frodo to Mordor. As such, we have updated this article with more information supporting Samwise Gamgee’s heroic character arc. 

Sam Did Not Want to Use the One Ring’s Power

He Was but a Simple Gardener with Simple Tastes

Actor Name
Sean Astin

Birthplace
Santa Monica, California, United States of America

Birthdate
February 25, 1971

First Film Acting Role
The Goonies (1985)

Awards Won for The Lord of the Rings
MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Team with Elijah Wood (2003), Visual Effects Society Award for Best Performance by an Actor in an Effects Film (2003), Utah Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor (2003), Golden Schmoes Award for Best Supporting Actor of the Year (2003), Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor (2004), Sierra Award for Best Supporting Actor (2004), Seattle Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor (2004), Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male or Female Actor in an Effects Film (2004)

Sam first placed the One Ring around his neck in the chapter “The Choices of Master Samwise” from The Two Towers. It felt heavier than it looked, which Frodo had also noticed earlier in The Lord of the Rings, but otherwise, it didn’t affect him much. Not long after, Sam heard a band of Orcs approaching. He could not escape, so he used the One Ring’s power of invisibility by slipping it on his finger. Sam hated being in the wraith world: “He did not feel invisible at all, but horribly and uniquely visible, and he knew that somewhere an Eye was searching for him.” Despite this discomfort, Sam’s plan worked. He crawled into a mountain crevice, and the Orcs paid him no mind as they moved through the area.

He flung the Quest and all his decisions away, and fear and doubt with them. He knew now where his place was and had been: at his master’s side, though what he could do there was not clear.

Sam then overheard that the Orcs had discovered Frodo’s body. He feared what vile things they might do to it and immediately put the One Ring out of his mind. As Sam followed the Orcs, he learned that Shelob’s venom had only paralyzed Frodo, not killed him. This steeled his resolve, and he swore to rescue Frodo from the Tower of Cirith Ungol, even if it meant sacrificing himself or the One Ring. He hoped that the members of the Council of Elrond would forgive him for prioritizing Frodo’s life over the mission. Sam believed that such wise individuals would have predicted that he would do so.

The One Ring Tempted Sam With Power and Glory

It Showed Him a Vision of a Magnificent Garden

Cirith Ungol meant “Cleft of the Spider” in the Elvish language of Sindarin.
The Orcs in the Tower of Cirith Ungol initially mistook Sam for an Elven warrior.
Sam sang to himself while traversing the Tower of Cirith Ungol.

In the chapter “The Tower of Cirith Ungol” from The Return of the King, Sam begins to feel the influence of the One Ring. He slipped it on his finger again, this time “without any clear purpose,” as no Orcs were nearby. Sam still felt the searing intensity of the Eye of Sauron, but he also took note of the benefits that the One Ring offered him, such as enhanced hearing; he could tell there was a scuffle between Shagrat and Gorbag at the top of the Tower of Cirith Ungol. Wearing the One Ring still made him uncomfortable, but less so than before, which was the first step on the dangerous path towards the sort of obsession that had taken over Gollum’s mind before The Lord of the Rings. However, Sam’s single-minded determination to save Frodo kept his head clear.

His love for Frodo rose above all other thoughts… He took off the Ring, moved… by some deep premonition of danger.

That was Sam’s last time wearing the One Ring, but he needed to overcome its influence again. When he saw Mount Doom in the distance, the One Ring’s power suddenly grew, reacting to the fires that had forged it so long ago. It gave Sam a vision of the incredible power it could grant him. He saw himself wielding a flaming sword and leading a massive army through Mordor to topple Sauron’s tower of Barad-dûr. The One Ring also preyed on his love of gardening.

It showed Sam that he could transform Mordor’s dark, volcanic wasteland into sunny fields of flowers and fruit trees. Tolkien wrote, “He had only to put on the Ring and claim it for his own, and all this could be.” But again, Sam resisted the evil temptation. He bravely strode through the Tower of Cirith Ungol and rescued Frodo without any help from the One Ring.

Not Even the One Ring Could Corrupt Sam’s Spirit

He Understood the Difference Between Power & Friendship

Though the One Ring improved Sam’s hearing, it fogged his vision.
In Jackson’s The Return of the King film, Sam killed four Orcs in the Tower of Cirith Ungol, while he only killed one in the novel.
In the film, Sam hesitates before handing the One Ring back to Frodo, which he does not do in the novel.

Tolkien attributed Sam’s resistance to the One Ring to two main factors: “In that hour of trial, it was the love of his master that helped most to hold him firm, but also deep down in him lived still unconquered his plain hobbit-sense.” Ultimately, Sam’s greatest desire was not to defeat Sauron or transform Mordor into a paradise; he only wanted what was best for Frodo, which meant ignoring the One Ring’s temptations.

Like most hobbits, he lived a simple, humble lifestyle. Tolkien explained that “the one small garden of a free gardener” was all Sam needed to be happy. Further, Sam knew that if he claimed the One Ring, Sauron would likely kill him. Throughout The Lord of the Rings, he proved himself a capable fighter, but he was not a trained warrior, and the One Ring did not make him invincible. Even Isildur had lost his life to a random band of Orcs while carrying the One Ring.

Some external factors kept Sam from succumbing to the One Ring’s corruption. The most important thing was that he carried the One Ring for less than two days; it did not have time to wear down his body and spirit like the other Ringbearers. Additionally, the One Ring probably wanted Sam to return it to Frodo. The One Ring had a will of its own, and its utmost desire was to return to Sauron.

The One Ring had already spent months corrupting Frodo, and he was evidently on the brink of giving in to its influence. He was likelier to give it to Sauron — even if unintentionally — than Sam was. But this did not diminish Sam’s resilience. His ability to resist the most powerful item in The Lord of the Rings was a testament to his bond with Frodo and the strength of ordinary folk.

Tolkien Imagined Sam As The “Chief Hero” Of His Story

Sam’s Rustic Simplicity Was Highlighted As An Example Of Homely Heroism

Other works by Tolkien:

“Leaf by Niggle” (1945 short story)
Farmer Giles of Ham (1949 medieval fable)
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (1962 poetry collection)
Smith of Wootton Major (1967 short story)

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote and received many letters about the world of Middle-earth, some of which carry his personal thoughts about certain characters and events. The author received a letter from a real-life man named Sam Gamgee in 1956, who hadn’t read The Lord of the Rings. In his reply, Tolkien said, “the ‘Sam Gamgee’ of my story is a most heroic character, now widely beloved by many readers, even though his origins are rustic.” From the beginning, Tolkien had already intended for Sam to be the story’s “chief hero.”

In Letter 131, the author once again used the word “rustic” while referring to Samwise Gamgee and favorably compared the “simple ‘rustic’ love of Sam and his Rosie” to the “highest love story, that of Aragorn and Arwen.” He further added that Sam’s unpretentious romance “is absolutely essential to the study of his character, and to the theme of the relation of ordinary life (breathing, eating, working, begetting).” As such, Sam’s unsophisticated character arc was always meant to be one of the fulcrums of the story.

No matter how many battles are fought between mighty armies and magical beings, the crux of life always comes down to the basics. In other words, there is no better representation of wholesome heroism than Samwise Gamgee.