Those qualities certainly made him an excellent second should something have happened to Frodo, but remember how the ring works. Even Gandalf, a solid lawful good, recognized he would have good intentions were he to give it a whirl, but the result would be absolutely horrible. I submit that Sam had an incredibly strong will, and an incredibly strong protective instinct. The ring would have glommed onto that–protect the shire, grow the best flower patch the world has ever known, annihilate the dandelion scourge, won’t Ms. Cotton be impressed!
I give him 50/50 odds at best if he’s had it less than 24 hours.
We’ve come a long way since the days of Martin Luthor, and nowadays, there isn’t actually any fundamental difference between the Catholic and Protestant views… if you look at them with full nuance on both sides. The conflict really only persists at the catchphrase and soundbite level.
And to those suggesting a wagon with mule teams, or tongs, or whatever, it doesn’t work that way. Even if nobody ever makes direct skin-to-gold contact with the Ring, someone still has control of it. Put it in the back of a wagon, and the wagon-driver is the Ringbearer. Tie it around a sheep’s neck and have someone else carry the sheep, and that guy is the Ringbearer.
That isn’t totally true, according to the book. Sam was in fact tempted, but shook it off (for the moment). He was tempted by the power to “set things to rights”, get rid of those awful Orcs and other nasties, and to make the whole world into a garden.
I think anyone who could turn it down could also destroy it, as long as they are in a position to destroy it before being corrupted by carrying it for a period of time.
In fact, I think a good plan for destroying the ring would be to have one of these noble, powerful people escort Frodo to Mt. Doom, then kill him and take the ring from him when it is apparent that he is unable to destroy it. Galadriel, Gandalf, Aragorn or Faramir should be able to handle it.
Just a contingency plan, in case Frodo goes all power-mad at the last moment. But of course they didn’t foresee that at all. Also, I suppose they would try to take the ring from him forcibly before killing him, although that would likely drive him mad.
Now there’s a plot twist. What sort of world would The Watcher have envisioned had it assumed ownership of this mighty gift, borne to it by these 9 companions? Maybe in another universe that’s where Cthulhu came from?
The Last Ringbearer is an alternate take on the entire Lord of the Rings story. Written from the point of view that Mordor is a peaceful land interested in scientific discovery and rejecting magic, in this story the One Ring is powerless and Gandalf and the Elves are evil hegemons.
