49 Did Sam follow Frodo into the West? (Tolkien)
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This article is from the Tolkien Newsgroups FAQ, by Steuard Jensen sbjensen@midway.uchicago.edu with numerous contributions by others.
49 Did Sam follow Frodo into the West? (Tolkien)
While LotR strongly implies that Sam eventually sailed West, it
never says so explicitly. In "The Grey Havens", Frodo says to Sam,
"Your time may come." Appendix B says that in S.Y. 1482, Sam was last
seen by Elanor in the Tower Hills, and that "the tradition [was] handed
down from Elanor that Samwise passed the Towers, and went to the Grey
Havens, and passed over Sea". However, Letter #154 makes Tolkien's
intent clear. In it, he writes that
certain 'mortals'... may pass with the Elves to Elvenhome. Thus
Frodo ... and Bilbo, and eventually Sam.
Whether Frodo was still alive when Sam reached Elvenhome is uncertain,
but it does seem possible: in the same letter, Tolkien says that
mortals in the West "can and will 'die' - of free will", so Frodo may
have waited to pass on until Sam arrived.
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