Was Frodo a Hero?

I had surgery on my leg last week, and when I wasn't sleeping or watching football on my new television (HD football in widescreen is so bloody awesome!), I was catching up with old friends in Middle Earth. But after 12 hours of watching Frodo carry his burden, I'm wondering if he was a hero in the end.

I mean, let's face it, he carried that damn ring like a champ, but didn't he give in to its power at the end? If Golum hadn't have mucked things up, would Frodo have tossed that ring into the lava? It sure as hell didn't seem like he was going to. If anything, he was going to force his good friend Sam to do something drastic, like toss dear ol' Frodo into the pit.

Don't get me wrong, I love the films (despite never being able to get passed page 100 or so of the first novel). Great entertainment. And yes, having Frodo show weakness in the end added a sense of, I don't know, frailty or humanity to the whole experience. But c'mon, sending Golum and the ring into the lava was a complete accident. There was a scuffle, the combatants got too close to the edge, and suddenly the ring was melting. Where's the hero in that situation?

I always hate when the hero accidentally saves the day in key scenes. The Phantom Menace had lots to dislike, but the real kicker for me was seeing young Anni destroy the droid ship by pressing random buttons in the cockpit of his fighter. Good grief. What a let down. I want to see the hero win through effort, tenacity, wits, or strength, not luck.

Was Frodo a hero? He certainly was throughout the story, right up until the end. I'd say he was a hero right up until the point where I lost interest in the story, actually. Which is too bad, because 12 hours is a lot of time to invest in something that's just going to let you down at the end.