Been years too but yes, he gets to live back on earth and shacks up with his girlfriend if I remember correctly. I remember even as a kid thinking it was tonally a bit weird but I need to re-read the entire series with adult eyes.

I was going to reply to jacquesm's comment above about Forrest - they both embody some stoic qualities - but you touched on that anyway.

> Bilbo, yossarian, Rincewind

Yossarian! Outstanding. Bit of a cynic more than a stoic perhaps? You're right about Bilbo. Frodo I think not so much. And Samwise of course is pure American.