BlueWizrd
New Member
As the hobbits travel along in the forest to the point where their path intersects with the Withywindle, they are all suddenly struck by feelings of overwhelming drowsiness, to the point of falling into a stupor. Their fears of lingering in the forest seem to subside, and all they now want is a nap in the shade. All of the hobbits are stricken this way, but Sam is the only one seemingly strong enough to keep his wits about him and avoid near death at the hands (or branches) of Old Man Willow. Initially Frodo does voice concerns about stopping, but ultimately he succumbs to the spell and is almost drowned in the process. What is it about Sam that allows him to avoid this same fate? We can see that Sam is not impervious to the affects of the spell--he is described as yawning and blinking stupidly. But rather than laying down for a snooze, he is off looking for the ponies, which enables him to observe the other hobbits getting trapped, and helping to rescue them. Is it his powerful sense of duty and devotion that override other influences? Or perhaps he is just more wary than the others? He seems to be the only one who even perceives the fact that the tree is singing about sleeping. Its particularly interesting to see that the hobbit which is the most provincial and that has the least travel experience is the one who manages to adeptly avoid this trap.
