Basics not in the FAQ

[Jason Whittle <whittle tartarus cse psu edu>]

I've looked for the answer to this, and only found hints, so please don't
flame me. I'm not clear on the specific relationships between X, GNOME,
and WMs. The default for RH5.1 seems to be fvwm running directly over
XFree86. Am I missing something (i.e. Is there a GNOME equivalent that is
acting transparently on my distribution?) or does GNOME provide
functionality beyond what a WM can offer? Is GNOME also a WM, or does it
require a separate WM on top? Where does X stop and GNOME begin? The goals
of GNOME and Enlightenment seem to overlap to a good extent; is this
intentional or even desirable? 

I am a competent programmer who is familiar with UNIX and has made a
commitment to GNU/Linux, and I am now attempting to integrate myself with
the community. Any light you can shine on this subject would be greatly
appreciated. 

Thanks, 
 J <jaw269@psu.edu>