Life or Honor?

[MatthewM]

Originally Posted by littlemanpoet

Two follow-up questions:

1. Is Honor always, necessarily linked to Pride?

2. Tolkien has said in his Letters that Faramir and Gandalf speak most clearly for his own view. What do they say and do that gives us an indication as to what he thought (granted this question has already been answered to a large degree in terms of Gandalf)?

To answer #1, I don't think so. Although I don't think that pride is always a bad thing, you can have honor without it. It is honorable to save someone's life. As Boromir lay dying, Aragorn tells him that he has "kept his honour". In a way, Boromir sacrificed his pride to keep his honor. So no, I do not think honor is always linked to pride.

I would like to bring up Aragorn- there are many times within the story where I find Aragorn's words full of pride. As I said, I don't think it is a bad thing. Aragorn may be an example where pride and honor work together. I think Aragorn's character is very close to Faramir's. Both are lords of men, great power lies within them and they are wise. I think the quote "Speak softly but carry a big stick" (Teddy Roosevelt) applies well with both Aragorn and Faramir.

I think that somewhat answers for me question #2, although some may like to elaborate more.