Lord of the Rings
The first time I read J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel, The Lord of the Rings, the books hooked on the fantasy elements and immersive world Tolkein built. He was more than an author; he was a grammarian whose love for languages compelled him to form his own languages spoken within his books, the most popular of which have become known as Quenya and Sindarin. They are both Elvish languages spoken by the Elves of Middle Earth.
Whether you are a book enthusiast who knows all of the complexities of Melkor becoming Morgoth and his battles during the Silmarillion, a lover of the Peter Jackson full-length feature films, or anything in between, today I will be discussing the first book and the overall themes of, The Lord of the Rings, as well as one of my favorite characters.
The Lord of the Rings is a trilogy of books that follows Frodo Baggins on his quest to destroy “the one ring” made by Sauron, a fallen Maiar or spirit. Sauron created the one ring to control all other rings of power and, through a series of events which predated the Lord of the Rings falling into the hands of Frodo Baggins. With the help of a fellowship comprised of Gandalf the Grey a wizard, Legolas an elf, Gimli a dwarf, Aragorn a ranger, Boromir a soldier from the land of Gondor, and hobbits Samwise – Frodo’s friend, Frodo – the ring bearer, and Merry and Pippin fellow hobbits of the Shire, they embark on a journey to destroy the ring in fires of Mount Doom, the spot of the ring’s creation.
These books and movies had a tremendous impact on me. The writing, character creation and development, and the inspiring worlds Tolkien created drove me to create worlds of my own. The three books take the characters across Middle Earth as they fight their way through seas of creatures, forge bonds with new allies and rekindle old ones, and ponder the relevance of their lives in the grand scheme of things.
This leads me to one of my favorite characters, if not my favorite characters, Boromir.
Boromir grew up losing his mother at the age of ten and looking after his younger brother, Faramir. He was a respected warrior out of Gondor and was the first-born son of the Steward of Gondor Denethor. Denethor was a ruthless ruler who had to stay vigilant as Gondor borders Mordor, the land of Sauron, and much of the evil in Middle Earth.
During his time growing up, Boromir would see an unrelenting amount of warfare from his borderland, which would mold him into the man we know him as during the Fellowship of the Rings.
One thing you have to know about the one ring is that it corrupts those who possess it. It drives the bearer to fear all those who would try and take and ultimately tries to return to its rightful master, Sauron.
Because of this, the ring constantly plays with the minds of everyone it comes across, Gandalf, Galadriel, and Boromir, to name a few. During his many months spent with Fellowship, the ring warps Boromir and compels him to take the ring.
As the first book progresses, we see the slow dark descent as he struggles with himself. He constantly strives to do what is right and just for his people, who suffer from the persistent attacks from Mordor and the pull of the ring and the power it possesses. He wants the ring to use as a weapon against his foes and believes it will help turn the tides of war.
Boromir represents what it means to be human. We endure pain and suffering and the desire for power to try and do what we think is best to protect those we love, even at the cost of our humanity. The fact that such a beloved character at the beginning of the story has a slow devolution makes him a compelling character.
The climax of his story comes to a head when he tries to take the ring from Frodo when the ring's pull becomes too much for Boromir to bear. In a struggle, Frodo wriggles free, puts the ring on, and escapes. It is then that Boromir realizes what he’s done. The frailty of the character is shown in full bloom as a pack of Uruk-hai, a superior breed of orcs, ambushes the Fellowship. In the battle, Uruks kidnap Merry and Pippin mistaking them for Frodo.
Seemingly overwhelmed, Boromir sacrificed himself in the battle to drive back the forces.
He left twenty dead before he was mortally wounded and spoke with Aragorn during his last moments, confessing he tried to take the ring.
The books and the movies portray it differently. In the books, Boromir dies during the two towers and wishes Aragorn farewell and to save his people. While in the movie, he dies at the end of the first movie and honors Aragorn as his King. Both are beautiful renditions, though I do like Peter Jackson’s rendition in this particular instance. The movie tells a poetic story and ends it just right.
The human element is why I love the development and telling of this character. I even have my own Funko Pop of Boromir because he is one of my favorite characters.
Now, I did omit another version of the story, and that is Ralph Bakshi’s version of the Lord of the Rings, and though it followed the books more canonically than Peter Jackson's version. Ralph Bakshi only completed two parts of his rendition, which was animated. It’s a shame because I wish I would have seen what Ralph Bakshi would have been able to complete had he made all three movies.
If you haven’t seen the movies or read the books, I highly recommend you do. They are stunning works of prose, which still hold up today. Many writing scholars debate whether they should be considered young adult books because of the quality of language Tolkien uses. Still, my friend who edited my first novel told me that it’s not a bad thing for a teenager to look up a word now and again.