Debate on Frodo's Success

I really enjoyed our debate in class last week, as it seemed most of us did.  I had a lot to think about after the debate, and I think that both sides made a lot of good points.  It occurred to me that Frodo did not succeed in the sense that he did not exactly follow what he planned to do as he set out from Rivendell, but he did ultimately succeed in contributing to the destruction of the Ring.  Gollum took the Ring forcefully from him, and he did claim it as his own, but sometimes things do not turn out the way we plan.  Take for example, the debacle with Caradhras as the Fellowship attempts to cross the Misty Mountains.  Eventually, they are forced to change their specific actions, but this does not mean that the quest has ended.  They find another way around.  I do argue that Frodo himself did not succeed, but that the quest succeeded overall.  With Sam's service and Gollum's "help" it would not have gone so well.  Perhaps this comes full circle to the theme of friendship and the emphasis on not doing difficult things alone, but rather relying on the friendship and loyalty of others.