1. L ORD OF THE R INGS : T HE F ELLOWSHIP OF THE R ING Lesley Hardwick Mr. Kelly Writing 421 Omega January 31 2014

2. A BOUT THE N OVEL The Fellowship of the Ring is book one of a trilogy called Lord of the Rings. It was written by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, better known as J.R.R Tolkien. This story is considered to be fantasy and adventure, with small doses of romance at times.

3. S AMWISE “S AM ” G AMGEE

4. Sam Gamgee is a hobbit who works as a gardener in The Shire, a beautiful and happy place on the Northwestern side of Middle Earth. Sam is a respectable and very well liked hobbit. He has a wonderful life and is very content. His adventure starts when he overhears one of his customers, Mr. Frodo Baggins, talking about the dangers of a ring and a place called Mordor as he’s trimming Frodo’s bushes one night. As a punishment for eavesdropping, Sam in sentenced by a great wizard named Gandalf the Grey to travel with Frodo to Mordor to destroy the deadly ring that’s in Frodo’s possession.

5. W HEN I THINK OF S AM, I THINK OF …

6. P LAY D OH As the happy hobbit begins a possibly life-consuming adventure, many frightening side stories take place which Sam cowers at. These events lead to the opening of Sam’s eyes. They make him realize that for all his years in the Shire he was blind to the evil that lurks in the shadows. In realizing this, just as Play Doh starts out soft, fun, and mushy, and then becomes cold, hard, and cracked, as does Samwise.

7. A S UNRISE

8. H OURGLASS The main character in this novel and the carrier of the ring is named Frodo Baggins. Due to the powerful forces of the ring, it turns people against Frodo, making him very paranoid through the entire book. Frodo starts hearing things, sensing things, and turning against friends. Throughout the hysterics of Frodo, Sam remains loyal, understanding, and most of all, patient. I think that a symbol to represent Sam is an hourglass to symbolize the patience that Sam has for Frodo on their journey.

9. T HE S HIELD OF A CHILLES If the lore is correct, the Shield of Achilles was the first and only shield that the historically famous Achilles had used. Through all the fights that Achilles was in, his shield never broke, splintered, or shattered. Sam is this shield, because he’s the protector of Frodo. Though all evil in Middle Earth is trying to hurt Frodo Baggins, Sam gives his heart, soul, and body to try to protect Frodo no matter what. Like the Shield of Achilles, Sam never broke. He never gave anything but his all. To me, Sam is the ultimate protector, much like this shield.

10. Y ODA Living up to his name, Samwise Gamgee certainly is wise. An example from the book where he is really wise is when Frodo says “No, Sam, I’m doing this alone.” and Sam states, “Of course you are. And I’m coming with you!” In those few words that Sam says, readers realize that Sam is wise enough to see that Frodo can’t succeed without help. After saying all this, I think that Yoda is a symbol of how wise Sam is. Yoda, a fictional character from Star Wars, is a symbol worldwide as being wise.

11. N OTE TO THE A UDIENCE