Aragorn's reluctancy, was it totally wrong?

[Boromir88]

It is ambiguous, the meaning of whether Aragorn was saying "He will not let Minas Tirith to fall," or just saying "Minas Tirith will not fall" in general. It still remains an oath however, he is pledging to Boromir that his city will not fall. I don't think Aragorn is the type of person to to basically lie to Boromir just so he can sleep peacefully. He did declare Boromir "forgiven," and I just don't see Aragorn trying to let Boromir die peacefully. I see it as an oath he gave on a man's death bed, which holds extreme importance through the rest of books, and movies. He's now got a pledge to a dying man over his head.

[Kath]

I don't think Aragorn is the type of person to to basically lie to Boromir

No nor do I. My point was that although the oath was made and Aragorn would have felt that he had to adhere to it, he may not have felt it his sworn duty to be the one to protect Minas Tirith. I mean, is this oath referred back to at any point in either book or film so that we might see that it does have a bearing on Aragorn's decisions?

[Knight of Gondor]

I think there was some manner of reluctance in the books, but PJ enhanced it a little and made it more prominent in the movies. Perhaps too much. Aragorn essentially spits the words “I will not bring the RING to within a hundred LEAGUES of your city!” in FotR EE. Not only does he betray some disgust for the city and Boromir’s love for it, but he does not even claim it as his own. (And I think this can be attributed to more than his origins in the North)

Yet he does make the promise that he will not let “our people” fail, a concept which obviously comforts Boromir, since he repeats it. “Our people.” Perhaps because this sudden display of devotion to Gondor refutes his earlier display of seeming disgust.

Also in the movies, Aragorn tells Elrond that he does not want the path of the king – that he has never wanted it. He does it more out of duty than anything else. (And perhaps to win the love of Arwen) Also, supposedly, because he has seen the destruction wrought by man, his kin, and the path of failure from his ancestors, and is loathe to make the same mistakes.

Altogether, however, I think there was too much emphasis on the “I have never wanted it” feeling from Aragorn. In the books, we get the feeling that it is the fulfilling of all he has longed for, the completion of his destiny. (Especially because it makes him worthy to marry Arwen) He even says something after Frodo leaves at the end of FotR (book) about “I wish to keep my pledge to Boromir and go to Gondor, and my heart desires it.”

( I myself could have done without so much Arwen in the movie but that's a whole other thread to start).

Take it from me, Mormegil, you won’t be the first to “start” a thread like that!! ;-)

I had read the books many times before seeing the movie, and so knew that eventually Aragorn would take the throne - no matter what else PJ changed

I think the title was also a heavy indicator, wouldn’t you?

I think I like the personality of the Aragorn in the movies better. To me, the reluctant ruler and hero are cooler than the one who thinks that they're ready and are too sure of themself. It makes for a more intricate character development than just, "okay, I'm the heir and I'm ready." So to me at least, the Aragorn in the movies is cooler and a tad more likeable.

I liked the quiet yet confident character first. And I’m not sure what it was you said that triggered this in my mind, but didn’t Gandalf offer some sort of counsel to Aragorn about not reaching his hand out too quickly? I think it was when he surrendered the Palantir, at the Rohan encampment. Aragorn said something to the effect of “all these long and weary years, I have not yet stumbled.” As in, he has been treading one single path towards kingship, careful and mindful of each and every step, so as not to stumble.

Might Aragorn not have just said this to placate Boromir though? So that he could die peacefully, not having to worry about having failed his people. Also, Aragorns words can be subject to interpretation. He does not specifically say "I will keep Minas Tirith from falling", simply that it will not fall. The immediate understanding of this would be that Aragorn intended to take over Boromir's role (in a way) but it is still ambiguous.

It seems dismaying to think so, but as I mentioned above, Aragorn then questions himself, about whether or not he will immediately keep his pledge to Boromir. (Just looked at the beginning of TTT…can’t find that quote, but I know it’s in there. A little help?)

[ninlaith]

I believe Aragorn showing reluctance to becoming king was a good thing to add to the movie. Even though it did not appear in the book I believe Tolkien possibly felt it was not needed. While reading a book our minds eye develops the character based on what is written. If a character shows any sign of weakness we immediately apply weakness to our vision of that character which can taint the true form of the authors vision of the character. In short, if the author writes a character strong it will stay strong in our minds. But in a movie, however, weakness is allowed to be shown for the fact that it humanizes the character which makes it easier to relate to the character also we see that the character is strong and we observe how he acts while he is reluctant which verifies if the character is weak or strong when making his life choices. When making a movie it is vital that the audience can relate to the characters. The audience should feel like they are on the same level, that they have some sort of unspoken understanding with the character. So I think it was a better thing. it may not have done so well in the book, but it enhanced the movie.

[Lathriel]

I liked the way Aragorn was portrayed in the movies. They could also have gone for a macho portrayal of Aragorn and that would have been much worse since that would have completely gone away from the book.
Even when I read the book for the first time I sensed a great amount of reluctance in Aragorn.
As for

“I will not bring the RING to within a hundred LEAGUES of your city!”

I think Aragorn says this because he fears what will happen if the ring gets to Gondor. He probably also recognized the fact that Boromir was drawn by the ring and knew that the same could happen to the citizens of Minas Tirith. Most imporantly the Steward.

[davem]

“I will not bring the RING to within a hundred LEAGUES of your city!”

Not wishing to be pedantic but at the time he said that weren't they already within a hundred leagues (ie, three hundred miles) of Minas Tirith?

[Lathriel]

Did you count it out on the map?