But so did like… half of Middle Earth. It has almost a life about it, and a kind of draw that brings people in. Many people believe that it only has a draw of power, but that is not so. In many cases, the desire of the ring does not come from power at all; it comes from a desire of hope and change. He wanted to help his people. When the company is almost defeated upon Caradhras, it is Boromir and Aragorn who make a path back to safety and then carry the Hobbits down the mountain. When Gandalf stands alone upon the bridge in Moria, it is Boromir and Aragorn who return to stand with him.
Boromir more than earns his place in the Fellowship. Of course, Boromir is flawed. It is his pride, evident from the start, that is his downfall. He begins, as we noted, by boasting of his feats of arms to the Council. He is focused on returning to Minas Tirith and taking Arargorn with him, regardless of where Frodo goes. He believes so whole-heartedly in his cause that he allows his love for his city and his belief in his own superiority to lead him astray.
He ends trying to attack his own friend—an act that would hitherto have been unthinkable for a man of war, a man who knows just how much loyalty means. This moment is not meant to illustrate Boromir as a villain. Rather, it illustrates just how easy it is to give into temptation. Boromir does not begin as evil; he begins with a smaller flaw that he allows to grow until it consumes him.
He is right; the wise are timid. They are so timid, that they flee from temptation when they see it, because they know exactly how easy it is to give in during a moment of weakness. Boromir, however, is so convinced of his goodness, so convinced he will do only the right thing, that he walks right into temptation and shakes it by the hand.
And he does so, not because he desires evil, but because he desires something good : the defense of his city. No one should hate or insult Boromir. Rather, they should pity him, for Boromir in his weakness represents us all.
Tolkien, however, offers us hope after the fall. What have I done? He knows he has betrayed the Fellowship and he knows that he has failed.
His sense of guilt is so great that, when questioned by Aragorn, he will at first only admit that he tried to persuade Frodo to go to Minas Tirith and that he believes Frodo put on the Ring.
I am sorry…. I have failed. You have conquered…. Be at peace. Boromir, it is true, was proud, and that lead him into error. But still he possessed valuable qualities and performed many deeds that saved lives—ultimately at the cost of his own. Far from being a villain, Boromir is a multi-faceted character, one who could have risen to greatness if he had had time to learn humility. In his capacity for great good and great harm, Boromir is extraordinarily ordinary.
Like Like. Like Liked by 1 person. I LOVE that you posted about this!!! Boromir and Faramir are actually two of my favorite characters from the series, and no one ever gets it when I express my love for Boromir! I'm Julie. Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to drop a message in my ask or submit boxes! To check out my fanfiction, click here. I have some things that aren't on AO3 posted here , but the AO3 is what gets updated, not that post.
Ask me Stuff! I run a Pottermore subblog. Come talk to me! Sara from A Little Princess. Lucy from Narnia. Nancy Drew. Harry Potter. And so many times I would look at myself in the mirror and cry because I knew, I knew if I stood in front of them they would be disappointed in me.
As a kid or even a teenager, we still see mainly who we want to be. Our ideal. And I hope that we never lose sight of that. I love Aragorn and my God am I going to keep trying to be like him, and like all of my other literary heroes. We need those heroes, we need them so badly, and the darker the world gets the brighter we have to make them shine. Because Boromir died convinced he was a failure. Convinced he was, truly, the weakness we find in men.
Lives are made brighter for our presence. The world is better for our gifts and our convictions. And no fight, even a fight lost, is done in vain. I see so much of myself in Boromir. And I take hope. I take inspiration. I cheer through my tears as he is hit again and again with arrows and each time he gets back up on his feet and grits his teeth and you can see him thinking not today.
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