From a purely movie stand point, I think this could have been very, very powerful. We still would have had the coronation & recognition of our surviving heroes. Hmm…
On the other hand, in the book it was necessary for many thematic reasons for Frodo to survive for a while. We see how he has grown and matured, as when he shows mercy to Saruman, and pretty much becomes a pacifist. We have to see how much the loss of the ring as well as the exposure to its evil has harmed him psychologically. We have to see how he could no longer enjoy the homeland he had tried so hard to save. Etc.
(Last post because my SDMB membership is running out and – although I have the cash - I don’t have a credit card now to renew it)
I think that, while powerful emotionally, losing the Scouring and such loses quite a bit of…what’s the word I’m looking for? I’m not sure. It frives home the idea that we are seeing only a snippet of a huge history of a world, not just a short story.
Also, if you’re interested, I can cover your re-subscription with paypal if you want to mail me a check or mail order, or some such.
You don’t need a credit card to pay. I made the same mistake myself. Get a paypal account, and they can transfer the money right out of your bank account.
It’s much better if Sam and Frodo survive the destruction of the Ring and the eruption of Mount Doom.
It’s more dramatically satisfying if Sam receives the reward of (in the books) planting Elvish seeds in the Shire to replace the trees cut down by Saruman’s minions, and (in the books, and in the movie) “gets the girl,” Rosie Cotton, whom he’s long loved from afar. He goes on to become highly respected and prosperous, with a big family.
Frodo also sees his beloved Shire again, and has the satisfaction of having saved it for others, even though he has been so deeply wounded by the Morgul-blade and the ordeal of being Ringbearer that he will only know peace by passing into the West.
Sam and Frodo coming home give the story closure and help echo Bilbo’s return from his own adventures.
BUT if they had not survived Mt Doom, I imagine that there would have been some serious memorials dedicated to them in Minas Tirith while at the Shire, Funny ol’ Mr. Baggins and young Sam would be fondly remembered over half-pints of ale.
It’s sort of a moot point since JRRT just could not bring himself to kill off such beloved characters as Sam and Frodo. In fact, he was unable to even let Frodo or Bilbo be capable of dying so instead let them journey off to the west for all time.
Tolkien was writing great folkloric history. You might as well ask, “What if the Giant, falling down from the beanstalk, landed on and squished Jack?” or “What if the seven dwarves, thinking Snow White was dead, buried her?”
Mortals who journey to the Undying Lands still die; the Gift of Men is not that easily given back. Bilbo, Frodo and Sam just experience peace and bliss until the end of their allotted days.
Merrie & Pip would have lead the scouring of the shire, but the hobbits would have killed all of Saruman (Sharkey)'s men, buried them in a mass grave and planted an orchard on top of the grave. It would have been called the ‘victory orchard’ or some such, and they would have marketed Victory cider to the big folk in bree, smiling in delight at the knowledge that the trees that grew the apples were nurtured with the blood of the kinfolk of their customers.
If you read “HOMES” (the first drafts of LOTR), you’ll discover that JRRT toyed with lots of people dying during the War of the Ring: Frodo, Sam, Pippin, Eowyn, to name a few more mainline characters.
He considered quite a few possibilities, and until late in the writing, even planned to have Aragorn marry Eowyn (Arwen was a late addition). But in the end, he often found himself telling the tale in such a way that he felt himself sometimes just the instrument for the actual story to get told, and not really so much the story’s author.
