Friendships (contains spoilers)

[HobbitFriend]

I love the strong friendships in The Lord of the Rings. Before the preils of the Ring were revealed, Frodo didn't have many friends in the Shire and many thought of him and Bilbo as "queer."

After the Fellowship was formed, they all became like a second family to each other and became good friends - some closer than others. Some of these pairs were Frodo and Sam, Merry and Pippin, and Gimli and Legolas.
The Gimli and Legolas pair were the most unusual and i could probably go on for a while talking about it. But there's Legolas - a tall, light-haired elf who loves trees and he befriends Gimli - a short, dark-haired dwarf who hates trees, or cuts them down anyway... not exactly a likely pair, but their friendship is strong and shows on several occasions.

Then there is Sam who always liked Frodo, but didn't really become so close until Frodo had to leave the Shire and on their journey their friendship grew.
In The Two Towers, Sam at one point, when Frodo is sleeping, says, "I love him. He's like that, and sometimes it shines through, somehow. But I love him, whether or no." That really shows how close they had become. (like brothers - don't get any wrong thoughts! ;) )

Another part I found really touching was at the end of chapter 8 - The Stairs of Cirith Ungol in The Two Towers. Frodo was asleep in Sam's lap and Sam had his arms on him (to protect him - no bad thoughts here either. :) ). Sam had also fallen asleep when Gollum came back and for a moment, it was like that scene of true friendship really touched him and Smeagol was back and all evil was out of him.
I think Tolkien did such a good job in describing that part and really showed what true love and friendship is all about. :gofatty: :thumbs:

[Illuvatar]

Well said mate! :thumbs:

The Frodo and Sam bond has always struck me as a perfect example of true friendship! Especially on Sams part!! Some folks don't realy feel that Frodo reciprocated the affection, but I think he loved Sam just as much as Sam loved him!!

[HobbitFriend]

thank you. and i agree... i do think Frodo loved Sam just as much.

[A! Elbereth]

awwwww :loveyou: thinking about it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside :loveyou:

[Pil]

It would have been hard for frodo to actually EXPRESS his gratificaton for sam, but i think that inside he still felt the same way. :cuddles: :)

[Bonos-Girl]

i'm sure sam wouldn't mind if he expressed his emotions......ok...trying to control mysel, but it'sw just not wrking!!!

[HobbitFriend]

Well, bonos-girl it's as Beregond says in another "Best Relationships" forum:

"Frodo and Sam's was not a one sided friendship. They were both in different situations. Throughout LOTR, Legolas and Gimli were going through pretty much the same thing. Neither of them had a much more difficult situation than the other. While in Frodo ans Sam's case, Frodo was bearing the ring into Mordor, Sam was not. Had their positions been switched (Sam carrying the ring, Frodo accompanying him) Frodo would of done the same things to help Sam. It was not a one sided friendship, but only appeared that way because of the situation that they were put in."

I absolutely agree! :thumbs:

[A! Elbereth]

Yes so do I.....

*trying to think of what else to put in my post*

Well..um.... I cant WAIT to see how their friendship is portrayed in TTT when Gollum shows up. I REALLY want Frodo to do that thing with his sword. I want him to appear more brave. Like when he does that Sam and Gollum are BOTH surprised at Frodos sudden...(whats the word?) brave spirit?

A little off subject I think

[Pil]

It will be a refreshing 'role reversal' i quite agree. The 'frodo weak, sam pillar of strength' could get a bit old... :huh: :dragon:

[HobbitFriend]

yah :) while i was online i found a site that has a countdown till the TTT hits the theatres... so far it's on 151 days, 7 hours, 59 minutes, and 33 seconds. But that could change depending on where you live. lol

[A! Elbereth]

151 days!?!?! Dear God thats way too long for me to bear!!!! arrrghhh! I think I'll be okay if I dont stray too much in the LOTR official site..... I might get unstopable cravings if I see too much of LOTR information! lol ;)

anyways......

I guess your right about the fellowship being together... but they basically were besides merry and pippin (And of course Boromir... but thats not important *glances around*) So I will change my comment that I wish Merry and Pippin had joined Sam to Aman. *sighs* oh well

[Kwijibo]

:hooray: Very well put, HobbitFriend! :hooray:
I'm really sick of people saying that the friendship between Sam and Frodo is more than friendship. People forget that times were different when LotR was written. People did get that close to each other in the trenches during WW1.

[Ringwraith]

The friendships in Lord of the Rings are something really remarkable, too bad some people nowadays seem to see it with malicious eyes.

I don't know if it can be called friendship, but I think the most cusiour relationship in Lord of the rings is the one between Merry, Pippin and Treebeard.

[Sindarin]

It's very true about the friendship of Frodo and Sam mirroring the friendship of soldiers during war.

Tolkien himself, who fought in the trenches during WWI, wrote ideas for LOTR while a soldier. All that he saw during the fighting, as well as the bond of brotherhood in war, was memorized and written about in the trilogy.

I learned, during his days at univeristy, J.R.R. was a member of a school literary circle where his experiences of close friendships were he translated those trule life relationships into the friendships of LOTR, which are clearly evident in the books.

[TheRingBearer]

So that's where he got his genius from. :grin:

Yeah I agree that Frodo and Sams relationship has every quality you need from a friend.

[Pil]

Tolkein seemed to ALWAYS be in some sort of club or group...wherever he went he either joined or started clubs...That, alondside his WW1 experiences, give a lot of friendship experience, providing him with the power and ability to write about such things so amazingly. :thumbs:

[Sindarin]

Very true indeed.

[Aragorn's Hope]

I also like the Aragorn/Boromir friendship though we still don't see alot. It's clear that they are friends when Boromir is dying.