Why Sam?!

[Crispin Hill]

At the risk of incurring substantial wroth I'd like to draw you back to chapters 1 and 2 to address something that has bothered me on and off for 35 years. Namely, why does Gandalf, upon in-fenestrating Sam Gamgee in Chapter 2 seem to suddenly decide to send Sam off with Master Frodo on what is potentialy the most serious, perilous and important task laid before anyone in the Third Age?

At first glance it appears to be a mightily impulsive decision, made on the spot, and seemingly made possible only by Sam's lurking under the window in the Bag End garden. Of course we are given some background to Sam with his fruitless debate in the pub and his "sailing, sailing..." moment, but there seems precious little to suggest that Sam is the perfect companion to Frodo in this journey. Yes, he's a loyal servant and yes he is interested in "Elves Sir!"; but even if Galdalf knows these things about Sam (which he may as he visited The Shire over the years - though I haven't spotted any mention in the text that Gandalf knew the Gamgee lad was something special) is this enough to pick him out and send him?!

As another way of looking at this, and an interesting thought experiment, what do you think might have happened had Sam not been there to in-fenestrate in Chapter 2 to be sent off with Frodo?

 

[NotACat]

I tend to think that the person who in his previous persona of Olorin was wont to wander around giving people inspiring dreams might be particularly open to a spot of inspiration himself.

Recall that it was Gandalf himself who told Bilbo and Frodo about how their little adventures were all part of the overarching ongoing scheme? He's the one who keeps going on about coincidence and chance not really being such, and he's the best suited to spot the appropriate moment to apply a bit of carpe diem

As for your latter question, if Sam had not been there then there would have been no Conspiracy to Unmask and Frodo would have needed to find a different method to choose his Companions for the long stroll towards Mordor. Presumably providence, or near equivalent thereto, would have provided

 

[Crispin Hill]

Yep, I do see the points made. And I am sure there is more to it than meets the eye in the back stories of Gandalf and Sam. I suppose I just find that this is a rare moment in the book when I find myself finding it a tad difficult to remain in the moment and go along with wht I am reading. Of course this only happened once I had read the whole trilogy through; not the first time! I'd love a really thorough explanation as to why and how Gandalf does what he does in those moments.