An open worn journal lies in moss with a single green leaf on a blank page.

Original artwork, not a still

Frodo

My dear Sam: You cannot always be torn in two. You will have to be one and whole for many years. You have so much to enjoy and to be and to do. Your part in the story will go on.

— The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King • 2003

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker urges Sam to move beyond being torn in two and imagine a full life ahead. Enjoyment, action and identity are all included in that future. Describing his part in the story as continuing gives the encouragement a sense of possibility beyond the present pain.

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