Dangerous Names

The names people give us matter because they might be true.

“Don’t take names to yourself, Sméagol,’ said Frodo. ‘It’s unwise, whether they are true or false.”

That quote comes from a relatively obscure passage late in The Two Towers. Frodo was sleeping, and Sam, our somewhat unappreciated hero, took the chance to tell Gollum how he felt.

It’s genuinely a “blink, and you’ll miss it” gem that can leave you pondering for eons.

On the one hand, Sam is right to be wary of Sméagol. He does betray Master, the journey itself, and all of Middle Earth, after all. But Frodo is right, too; true or not, some names should never be repeated.

Especially names given to us by others. Descriptions that, if we’re not careful, we end up becoming.

It makes you wonder what would’ve happened if Sam had spoken kinder to poor Gollum. Or if Gollum would’ve refused to keep living into the same addicted narrative until it consumed him.