Character Analysis Thread

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Skip Spence

So put yourself in his shoes.

Of course, those of us who are hobbits might politely decline this command as an unnecessary encumbrance.

Originally Posted by Boromir88

Coming to that realization that you are personally to blame for your own failings is something extremely difficult to do (I'll admit there's lots of times when I like to throw the blame at others). It is because of this, though, that I believe Boromir dies a much better man...well...than anyone else really.

It is interesting to consider that, in a story which in part is devoted to "the gift of man", we actually have so few characters dying other than the unnumbered many unidentified foot soldiers of both sides and some hobbits, Saruman and Grima in The Scouring of the Shire.

There's the Witch King, to whom no possibly of redeption is depicted. And Denethor himself who is usually accounted mad and therefore not fully responsible.

We have Gollem, whose final leap is the quintessential conundrum of the story. We have Frodo, who apparently dies in the Undying Lands, although of course his tragedy is that he blames himself all too much. (This could be debated I suspect.)

And in the Appendix we have Aragorn's heroic, idealised death, chosen, and not left to the sorry decline of infirmity. And then Arwen's sorrowful, lonely, achingly sad experience of the grim, private reality of death.

No, I'm not sure we have enough examples to justify saying that Boromir dies the better death.

Thanks, Naz, for the reference. It is so nice to be able to rely on the kindness of strangers and those who reread Tolkien constantly.