Dear Everyone,
Friendship is one of the relationships that figures prominently in “Gabriel’s Inferno.” Julia and Rachel are friends, Paul and Julia are friends, Professor Emerson appears to be friends with Katherine Picton, the villains of the story (seen and unseen) used to be friends with some of the other characters …
Friendship is a kind of love, but it’s a love that is asexual and chaste. Friendship reminds us that human beings can love each other deeply without that love being sexual or romantic.
In my story, Julia muses about what she is willing to do for the man who stole her heart when she was young. An analogy is drawn in her mind to the friendship between Samwise Gamgee and Frodo Baggins in J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy The Lord of the Rings.
If you’re searching western literature for examples of friendship, there are many examples to choose from. But there’s something about the friendship between Sam and Frodo that typifies what a great friendship can be. While Frodo is usually considered to be the hero of the trilogy, it is Sam who is the shining example of a good friend. He is loyal and constant. He shows tremendous fortitude and courage. His character qualities are tested and tried over and over again, but Sam’s commitment to his friend persists, despite conflict and fatigue and the inevitable personality changes that Frodo experiences as the ring-bearer. On several occasions, Sam could have abandoned his friend to finish the quest alone. But he didn’t.
There are many reasons to read Tolkien’s Rings trilogy. One of them should be because it provides a thought-provoking presentation of true friendship. Another would be because it unashamedly presents goodness and evil in stark terms. Few novels in the twenty-first century do that. Nevertheless, the trilogy also presents the way good creatures can be seduced and lured into evil.
(It’s possible that there are a hobbit and elf or two in my story. See if you can pick them out)
As I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve been honoured to be nominated on Goodreads list of Best Break Out Authors Novels. If you have a moment, you can vote for your favourites here.
All the best and thanks for reading,
SR.
PS. If you see a review of my work somewhere and you’d like to tell me about it, please email me here. Thank you. I should also mention that I endeavour to reply to every email, although sometimes it takes me a few days.
I am honoured to have had all three of my novels appear on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller lists. I was a Semifinalist for Best Author in the 2011 and 2012 Goodreads Choice Awards. {
I definitely need to finish the Hobbit and then get on to the trilogy. That was such a beautiful statement about friendship, Sylvain. I love that now that you have been posting these I find more and more as I read it again and again that just make me smile because I see them clearly now.
I do not try to pump you up when I say this book is amazing and that your words fill us all up. We can’t get enough.
Thank you!!
I completely agree with Lucky Canadian. You always offer new insights into things I thought I already knew and I love reading your thoughts.
Thank you, sir, for another great post!
hugs,
anna
Excellent analogy, SR! I have not come across a better example of TRUE friendship than in the LoTR trilogy. And I love reading your posts. Keep them up, PLEASE!
🙂
AKA EdwardsVampTramp
Thanks LC, Miss Anna and Miss Pawwla for your comments. I’m glad you’re enjoying the posts. I’ll be continuing my discussion of literature for the next two posts, I think, before moving to discuss music.
All the best and thanks for reading,
SR
Thank you SR for another lovely post. I read “The Lord f the Rings” when I was about 15 and I think that one of the things that strikes you the most when you read it is the beautiful friendship between Sam and Frodo, a friendship made even stronger by the adversities and obstacles they both face together. What I like of The LOTR is that, even though it’s set in a fantasy world, it’s not just a fantasy story. It deals with important themes that affect everyone of us in every day life, such as faith, temptation, strength, trust and of course friendship. One can learn a lot by reading this trilogy..
Like you said in this post, Sam is a true friend to Frodo and I believe that friends are truly gifts to cherish.
Keep up the good work, sir! Your posts are always welcome.
Elena_twiarcady
Thanks Miss El. All the best, SR
I love the world that Tolkien created – so detailed and intricate. The themes are very simplistic, but always told in a way that is intriguing. I love that you love his work. I still have to get through The Silmarillion, but I’ve read everything else. I’ve read lots of fan fic in the LOTR genre too.