Posted on 12/17/2002 7:32:02 AM PST by HairOfTheDog
But it's not really a gardener's speech, is it? It fits Aragorn, maybe. Or Gandalf, or even Frodo if he weren't so worn down. But Sam doesn't think in grand terms. He has good common sense. Hobbit sense.
Here's Sam's real speech. I pasted in the whole thing because even though it's long, it makes most sense in context.
`And we shouldn't be here at all, if we'd known more about it before we started. But I suppose it's often that way. The brave things in the old tales and songs, Mr. Frodo: adventures, as I used to call them. I used to think that they were things the wonderful folk of the stories went out and looked for, because they wanted them, because they were exciting and life was a bit dull, a kind of a sport, as you might say. But that's not the way of it with the tales that really mattered, or the ones that stay in the mind. Folk seem to have been just landed in them, usually – their paths were laid that way, as you put it. But I expect they had lots of chances, like us, of turning back, only they didn't. And if they had, we shouldn't know, because they'd have been forgotten. We hear about those as just went on – and not all to a good end, mind you; at least not to what folk inside a story and not outside it call a good end.... But those aren't always the best tales to hear, though they may be the best tales to get landed in! I wonder what sort of a tale we've fallen into? '
`I wonder,' said Frodo. 'But I don't know. And that's the way of a real tale. Take any one that you're fond of. You may know, or guess, what kind of a tale it is, happy-ending or sad-ending, but the people in it don't know. And you don't want them to.'
'No, sir, of course not. Beren now, he never thought he was going to get that Silmaril from the Iron Crown in Thangorodrim, and yet he did, and that was a worse place and a blacker danger than ours. But that's a long tale, of course, and goes on past the happiness and into grief and beyond it – and the Silmaril went on and came to Eärendil. And why, sir, I never thought of that before! We've got – you've got some of the light of it in that star-glass that the Lady gave you! Why, to think of it, we're in the same tale still! It's going on. Don't the great tales never end? '
'No, they never end as tales,' said Frodo. `But the people in them come, and go when their part's ended. Our part will end later – or sooner.'
'And then we can have some rest and some sleep,' said Sam. He laughed grimly. 'And I mean just that, Mr. Frodo. I mean plain ordinary rest, and sleep, and waking up to a morning's work in the garden. I'm afraid that's all I'm hoping for all the time. All the big important plans are not for my sort. Still, I wonder if we shall ever be put into songs or tales. We're in one, or course; but I mean: put into words, you know, told by the fireside, or read out of a great big book with red and black letters, years and years afterwards. And people will say: "Let's hear about Frodo and the Ring! " And they'll say: "Yes, that's one of my favourite stories. Frodo was very brave. wasn't he, dad?" "Yes, my boy, the famousest of the hobbits, and that's saying a lot."'
I can probably find something here after they move but whether it'd be something I like or not is another question.
Gosh you folks have been chatty!! I'm making my way through the posts, Hair and saw this one. If several of us are all staying at the same hotel/motel, maybe we could talk the place into renting us a small conference room and we could watch the first two movies there, THEN go to the theater to see RoTK. If we're controlling the DVD player, we can pause it for potty breaks, etc. when we feel like it! We could watch the first two in the morning and go see RoTK in the afternoon, or watch the first two one evening, then go see RoTK the next day.
I apologize if several folks have already said this, as I said, I'm just now making my way through the posts. I didn't realize how busy I'd been the last couple of days!
And I think Hair is right about the camera action during the speech -- it makes the statement an exposition, a summation of the movie's premise. That is not Sam's place. He would never have comfort with that.
Sam's real speech is surprising in that he shows an intimate knowledge of lore -- something else that surprises you just a little about Sam...Sam's love of stories and adventure shows at times throughout. You want to pidgeon-hole Sam, but he won't quite let you. He seems embarrassed by his love of lore, which is so, so Hobbit-like.
But other than that little surprise, his real speech is plain Sam, partly because you know it isn't a "speech", it's just a poignant discussion between close friends. In the movie, it's a "speech". And Sam is a person who likes to deal with people one to one, not one to many. He's too humble and wouldn't care to expose himself that way.
Where is his part of the story? Not in the big battle, dealing with large groups of people, neither leading nor working amongst them. When he becomes involved in large groups, he tends to meld into the background. His part of the story is sharing the lonely road with his one great friend -- relating to Frodo person to person. That's Sam.
Congratulations!
For your freeping time, and as someone said earlier, you should look at getting a large coffee mug for your computer time. If you go shopping at Bed Bath and Beyond, see if you can find their 32-ounce mug. At $3.99 it might be a wise investment:
If that ever happens again, just tell them you're going to see the manager to have them thrown out if they don't cut it out! Then DO it! There is absolutely NO excuse to miss out on a movie because of the rudeness of others, especially children!
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