April 23, 2003

Response to Mehtare on Sam's God Reference
Olorin

You do ask an interesting question, and I can only speculate as to the answer since it was Peter Jackson that inserted the reference to "God" in Sam's dialogue. But, if you are familiar with the Silmarillion and the origin of Middle Earth, isn't there a supreme being known as Iluvatar? And isn't that supreme being responsible for the creation of the Valar, and consequently, all of Middle Earth and the creatures living in it. I would say that Iluvatar falls under our more general reference of "God".

Don't we sometimes refer to different religion's versions of God as "God"? We don't always use the name Yahweh, or Allah for instance. We acknowledge them as a supreme creator by calling them "God". I can only assume that Peter Jackson was trying to help us relate to Sam and Frodo by using the term "God". After all, even many LOTR literary fans have not read the Silmarillion, nor are familiar with the story of Arda's creation. I think a reference to Iluvatar would have been lost on the great majority of the viewing audience.