Samwell Tarly, or simply Sam, is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones, where the character is portrayed by English actor John Bradley. Introduced in A Game of Thrones (1996), Samwell is the elder son of Lord Randyll Tarly of Horn Hill and his wife Lady Melessa Florent. A self-professed coward with a love for books and songs, Samwell was forced by his father to abandon his birthright and join the Night's Watch so that his younger brother could become heir to Horn Hill. While at the Wall, he meets Jon Snow and quickly becomes his closest friend and ally. Samwell subsequently appeared in the second book A Clash of Kings (1998) before becoming a point-of-view character in the third book A Storm of Swords (2000) and the fourth book A Feast for Crows (2005).
Character
Description Samwell Tarly is the elder son and firstborn child of Lord Randyll Tarly of Horn Hill and his wife Lady Melessa Florent, and has four siblings — younger sister Talla, two other unnamed sisters, and a younger brother Dickon. Through his mother, Samwell is also second cousin to Shireen Baratheon and Edric Storm, who were born to Melessa's first cousins Selyse and Delena, respectively. He has dark hair, pale eyes and a large moon-shaped face, and is very obese. Jon Snow originally comments that Sam is the fattest boy he has ever seen, and estimates him to weigh twenty stone (130 kg; 280 lb). A gentle young man, Samwell is fond of music and songs, and prefers books over weapons, and is afraid of blood and violence, which earned his father's intense contempt. After being frustrated at Samwell for years, Randyll's attentions turned to grooming his more promising younger son Dickon, who showed all of the physical vigor that Samwell lacked, and decided to have Dickon inherit the Tarly title. On Samwell's fifteenth birthday, Randyll forces him to join the Night's Watch and renounce his birthright of heir to Horn Hill, threatening death if he was to refuse. After arriving at Castle Black, Samwell was bullied for being overweight and unskilled in combat, and was often called "Ser Piggy" and "Lord of Ham". However, his new-found friendship with a sympathetic Jon Snow allows his character to start unfolding positively, and earns him the position as the personal steward of Maester Aemon. While lacking his friends' fighting abilities and having self-professed cowardice, Samwell is highly intelligent, observant, resourceful and loyal, and eventually becomes Jon Snow's most trusted sidekick. In the fourth book, Sam is sent by Jon to the Citadel at Oldtown and becomes accepted as a novice trainee supervised by Archmaester Marvyn and acolyte Alleras. According to George R. R. Martin, the character Samwell Tarly is the most relatable to him. When asked why, Martin said in a 2014 interview: because Sam's "the fat kid who likes to read books and doesn't like to go up a lot of stairs." Just like Tarly, George R. R. Martin both “had troubled relationships with their fathers and neither is a fighter at heart” (Barnes). George R. R. Martin refused to go to the Vietnam War, because he “believed it was stupid — a sentiment that is reflected throughout the entire Song of Ice and Fire oeuvre.” (Cian) If given the option, Samwell Tarly would choose not to fight, just like Martin.
Storylines
In the books Samwell Tarly is a background character in the first two novels of the series, and his actions and thoughts are interpreted through the eyes of Jon Snow. He then becomes a point of view character in the third novel A Storm of Swords and the fourth novel A Feast for Crows, with total of ten chapters told from his point of view.
A Game of Thrones Upon arriving at the Wall, Sam is soon bullied by Ser Alliser Thorne and the fellow recruits for his weight, shyness and clumsiness in training. Jon Snow takes pity on Sam and defends him in arms training. Later on, Sam confesses his life story to Jon, who sympathizes with Sam and secretly uses his influence among the recruits (making violent threats when necessary) to protect Sam from harm. When Sam fails to progress in fight training and is not deemed worthy to join the Night's Watch, Jon persuades Maester Aemon take in Sam as a personal steward to help in the rookery and library. Sam is the first person to notice something strange about the recovered corpses of rangers Othor and Jafer Flowers, who are actually wights sent by the Others to assassinate Lord Commander Jeor Mormont. When Jon tries to abandon the Night's Watch to join Robb Stark's army and avenge the death of his father Eddard Stark, Sam alerts their fellow recruits, who intercept Jon and convince him to not break his vows to the Night's Watch.
A Clash of Kings Sam takes part in the Great Ranging beyond the Wall, to take care of the ravens as Lord Commander Jeor Mormont's aide. While stopping at Craster's Keep, Sam befriends one of Craster's daughter-wives, Gilly, who is pregnant and fears that Craster will sacrifice him to the Others if her child is a boy. Sam is horrified, but unable to help. Later, at camp at the Fist of the First Men, Sam and Jon's direwolf Ghost discover a cache of dragonglass weapons buried under the snow.
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