Instructor Spotlight: Nathaniel Smith

What drew you to The Lord of the Rings initially?

I was introduced to The Lord of the Rings by my parents at a young age, but I wasn’t all that interested in the books or the author before I got into historical linguistics. In the world of the novel, the author J.R.R. Tolkien fleshed out an extensive internal history of many invented languages and their grammatical and phonological developments. When I came across this aspect of the world at 15, I was immediately inspired and became obsessed with Tolkien, his languages, and the novel.

Who is your favorite Lord of the Rings character and why?

Pretty basic response, but I would say Frodo. I have always been drawn to the patience and humility he shows throughout his quest to destroy the One Ring, but what I like most is his willingness to sacrifice his life and his own desire for the ring for the people he loves, and to put himself at risk consistently. He knows his choice to take up the One Ring may cost him everything and offers an interesting subversion of the role of the hero. He doesn’t come to save the day, brandishing a sword to fight enemies and doesn’t have anything to show for his quest afterwards besides the fact that he is scarred for life—unable to feel whole again after losing the ring. He is a sacrificial lamb, not a knight in shining armor. Frodo doesn’t even enjoy the company of the people or country he nearly gave his life to save for very long, as his wound is so deep that he has to leave his home forever. Frodo puts it better than I ever could when talking to Sam, the deuteragonist: “It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: someone has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them.”

What lessons can we glean from The Lord of the Rings that are applicable to our lives now?

I feel like there are a lot of great lessons to be learned, but the one that speaks to me the most is the celebration of humility and contentment over ambition. This is most clearly shown in the danger of the One Ring. The One Ring is so dangerous because it feeds delusions of grandeur to anyone nearby—it promises to grant to everyone their deepest wishes, but ultimately, it only does this so people bring the Ring back to its master. The people least susceptible to it are the people who desire the least—people like Frodo, who are content with a simple and humble life. I feel like this idea is an excellent antidote for the culture we live in, where ambition and self-aggrandizement—as well as the accumulation of wealth and responsibility—are seen as virtues. The world is in need of loyal and kind people, not ambitious ones.