Boromir was the only member of the Fellowship who tried to take the ring. He was vain and entitled, believing that he alone, of the Fellowship, was worthy of the ring. He was a thief and a traitor.
Boromir was a Lord of Gondor, and he wanted everyone to know it. “His garments were rich, his cloak was lined with fur, and he had a collar of silver in which a single white stone was set.”
Boromir did not redeem himself. He failed to protect Merry and Pippin from the orcs, who wouldn’t have found the hobbits wandering alone if it weren’t for Boromir’s actions in the first place.
Boromir would not have felt remorse or apologised if he had succeeded in taking the ring; he only did because he was caught. His image was so important to him that his “heroic” death was staged to create sympathy and goodwill so that he would not be remembered through the ages as a thief and a traitor.
Boromir got what he deserved.
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Every single member of the fellowship would have turned against Frodo at one point. It’s what he realized after Boromir and why he decided to leave them. Recall, he also saw it in the water with Galadriel.
Boromir was the first to be corrupted because he was the most desperate. The others didn’t have homelands that were under siege yet.
The others didn’t have homelands that were under siege yet.
Well, they already passed through Moria by this point, Id assume Gimli would be the next character to be tempted had the party continued together.
Well, Moria was a different case. The expedition to retake Moria was a long time ago (25 years before Fellowship). And Moria had been lost a long time ago in the first place.
I havent read the books, but movie Gimli is utterly shocked and devastated that the place is not dwarven territory. He was expecting great feasts and all so why wasnt he aware of Morias current state?
Because Jackson didn’t understand/mischaracterized Gimli, quite frankly. Movie Gimli matches the modern fantasy idea of a gruff 'n ruff dwarf fairly well but book Gimli is far more thoughtful.
They knew something bad had happened in Moria in the novels, and they even had a fairly good idea of what it was (the Balrog was called Durin’s Bane for a reason). Gimli held out hope because it was family and his ancestral home but he, and everyone else, knew it was unlikely that they were alive.
Really, it was Gandalf at fault for the whole thing. The others might have thought they understood the risks, but they couldn’t as mortals. Gandalf should have damn well known the Balrog would be awake as Mordor builds its strength again, though you might accuse him of the same flaw as Gimli, simple denial in the face of tragedy.
Imagine being the leader and hero of your people, groomed from the day you were born to lead and protect. You’re fighting a losing war against an enemy that will brutally slaughter every Man and child they come across. You are about to lose the last line of defense in Osgiliath and your once great father is quickly losing hope, and his mind.
In a final desperate attempt you ride West to seek aid from an old ally that has set its sight on leaving you behind to an inevitable doom.
Once there, you stumble upon your one and only chance to save your people, but to your dismay the secluded people that you have protected with your people’s blood for centuries refuses to give this weapon. Instead they are sending the weapon with some “children” who have never seen war on a suicide mission that everyone believes will fail.
For weeks on end as you trek through hostile land while an impossibly powerful corrupting force is slowly tearing down your mind, reminding you of your people’s struggles and telling you how it alone can give you the power to save them, and the world.
And then disaster happens and the leader of the suicide mission and the only one who could lead the way dies and you’re left directionless. Finally you break and try to take the weapon needed to save your people.
How are you a bad person in this scenario?
The wisest angel in the world didn’t even dare to touch the object in fear of its corrupting power. The most powerful elf on Middle-Earth earned back her spot in heaven by resisting its influence once. Boromir was the only human in the group, and the one most weary and desperate by the war, the perfect target for the ring.
Boromir was a great man, but unlike the rest of the fellowship he was also human, and with that come flaws. Your characterisation of Boromir is of him under the influence of the one ring, which is unfair. Free of the ring’s influence we see him as a selfless hero willing to give his life to protect the hobbits from harm.
It’s a shame this scene never made it to short edition of the films.
I don’t know the lore too well, but long life and invisibility that the ring bestows on mortals ain’t going win any war.
That ring’s primary domain is domination, with other extra powers given depending on person. In the hands of someone like Gandalf or Galadriel the war would most likely have turned before the ring inevitably betrays them, or they themselves becomes as bad as Sauron.
Aragorn was still a human despite more elf blood than typical but otherwise sure.
Of course, to Tolkien, being a bit of a divine monarchist simp, Aragorn’s resistance in comparison is supposed to be a slight against the effectively (small r) republican Boromir’s worthiness to rule.
Boromir’s corruption is political commentary and all discussions about his character flaws are missing the point without acknowledging that.
While I do agree with what you said, none of that really detracts from Boromir’s character. I personally think Faramir would be the only other Man capable of resisting the ring’s temptation in that fellowship.
Mortal men cannot long resist the influence of the Ring at such close proximity. Replace Boromir with any other human, dwarf, or elf, and some member of the Fellowship would still have turned on the ring-bearer by the end.
Hobbits are more resilient, but with long enough exposure even they can be swayed. It was only a matter of time.
This is how I see it too. His intentions were pure - he wanted the ring’s power to save Gondor. The Ring corrupted and exploited those desires. In the books, we know his immediate thoughts were for the people of Gondor and the hobbits he felt like he failed, and he gave his life to defend their escape.
No that’s a pretty common view.
I mean, that was essentially the point of Boromir’s death: the allure of the Ring corrupted him and he became an example for the Fellowship (and the reader) for the insidious power of the One Ring.
The movies gave him a much more pronounced Forlorn Hope scene but Boromir is really meant to embody why it had to be one the most unlikely creatures to succeed.
Ring to human: “You will rule all of Middle Earth!”
Ring to hobbit: “You will have…the best gardens covering all Middle Earth? What the fuck is wrong with you??”
The fact the hobbits became invisible and unnoticed when using it is probably no coincidence.
It made Isildur invisible too.
embarks in hours long LOTR lore research
Well then. Yes.
Boromir is a desperate man. Gondor is getting its ass kicked, and losing the war. His actions are consistent with that.
He did, and that’s why the movies did Faramir dirty. Faramir was supposed to be better than his brother, the movies made him just the same. :(
I felt like the movies did that just fine. Faramir was able to resist the pull of the ring when he knew it was fully within his grasp if he chose.
Boromir failed almost immediately. He barely tried to resist it, and so he fell the fastest.
Yes, Faramir had learned that his brother fell to the ring’s temptation but Boromir was already walking down that road too.
I’ve never read the books. But it’s hard not to feel bad every time seen been’s character gets killed off.
Did you misspell Sean Bean on purpose?
It threw me through a loop.
That name needs to choose. It’s either “Shawn Bon” or “Seen Bean”. Pick a side, name.
upvote from me. boromir did redeem himself as the ring is a corrupting influence. Its a fantasy world so morality is not just a construct of emerging sentience. Its a world with actual metaphysical things like magic that can actually do things like mind control. Its more limited than high fantasy but its a thing that exists in the world. Not just some belief passed around.
OP couldn’t last three minutes with the ring.
I never got why people were so attached to him. Sure, he had reason to literally be the weakest link in the party, being desperate and all, but they also only gave him like two scenes where he comes across as a likeable guy, and one of them wasn’t even in the theatrical cut
