Why Sam Could Resist the One Ring in The Lord of the Rings (2024)

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, such as Aragorn. He thought it was safer -- both for himself and for Middle-earth -- if he carried out the rest of his quest alone. But try as he might, he was unable to leave his stalwart friend Samwise Gamgee behind. They traveled together for months during The Lord of the Rings, and Sam spent nearly the entirety of 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 did eventually take the One Ring, but not out of any personal desire. After Frodo's encounter with the spider-like monster Shelob, Sam mistakenly believes that she has killed him with her venomous sting. Part of him wanted to return home, but he remembered the reason that 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 was Sam able to do what so many others throughout the history of Middle-earth could not?

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

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 it otherwise affected him little. Not long after, he heard a band of Orcs approaching. He had no way to escape, so he used the One Ring's power of invisibility by slipping it on his finger. He hated the feeling of 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, his plan worked. He crawled into a crevice of the mountain, and the Orcs paid him no mind as they moved through the area.

Sam then overheard that the Orcs had discovered Frodo's body. He feared what vile things they might do to it, and he immediately put the One Ring out of his mind. Tolkien wrote, "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." As he followed the Orcs, he learned that Shelob's venom had only paralyzed Frodo, not killed him. This steeled his resolve, and he swore that he would 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. He believed that such wise individuals could have predicted that he would do so.

The One Ring Tempted Sam With Power and Glory

• Cirith Ungol meant "Cleft of the Spider" in the Elvish language of Sindarin.
• The Orcs in the Tower of Cirith Ungol 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 there were no Orcs nearby. He 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, his 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 once more. 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 him that he could transform the dark, volcanic wasteland of Mordor 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 without any help from the One Ring, he rescued Frodo.

Not Even the One Ring Could Corrupt Sam's Spirit

• Though the One Ring improved Sam's hearing, it made his vision foggy.
• 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, and that 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 most likely just 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 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 it had the other Ringbearers. Additionally, the One Ring probably wanted Sam to give it back 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 on the brink of giving in to its influence. He was more likely 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 both to his bond with Frodo and to the strength of ordinary folk.

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is a series of epic fantasy adventure films and television series based on J. R. R. Tolkien's novels. The films follow the adventures of humans, elves, dwarves, hobbits and more in Middle-earth.

Created by

J.R.R. Tolkien

First Film

The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

Latest Film

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Upcoming Films

The Lord of The Rings: The War of The Rohirrim

First TV Show

The Lord of the Rings The Rings of Power

Latest TV Show

The Lord of the Rings The Rings of Power

First Episode Air Date

September 1, 2022

Cast

Elijah Wood , Viggo Mortensen , Orlando Bloom , Sean Astin , Billy Boyd , Dominic Monaghan , Sean Bean , Ian McKellen , Andy Serkis , Hugo Weaving , Liv Tyler , Miranda Otto , Cate Blanchett , John Rhys-Davies , Martin Freeman , Morfydd Clark , Ismael Cruz Cordova , Charlie Vickers , Richard Armitage

Character(s)

Gollum , Sauron

Video Game(s)

LEGO Lord of the Rings , Lord of the Rings Online , The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum , The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age , The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers , The Lord of the Rings: War in the North , The Lord Of The Rings: Battle For Middle-Earth , The Lord of The Rings: Battle For Middle-Earth 2 , The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Genre

Fantasy , Action-Adventure

Where to Stream

Max , Prime Video , Hulu