Another 'what if..' thread.. (about Boromir this one)
 

I'm sorry if this has been asked already, but I couldn't find it.. What do you think would'd have happened if Boromir hadn't had so much pride? I think Faramir would've been at the council instead of him, and what if Faramir had joined the Fellowship?

[ September 22, 2002: Message edited by: vanwalossien ]

I think that for one, Faramir wouldn't have been tempted, and all of the Fellowship would have gone to Mordor. Then, they all would have been discovered and killed. I mean, how do you disguise a frolicking elf like Legolas as an orc?

Plus, Faramir would never have A) defeated the Haradhrim in Ithilien or B) gotten together with Eowyn.

Plus, Boromir was a tragic hero - practically a requirement in an epic. We need him to die because he is personally flawed.

I think I should stop asking these questions, 'cause when everyone answers so cleverly, they make me feel stupid.. I have a gut feeling that Faramir wouldn't be tempted to take the Ring too, but you never know, he wasn't exposed to it as long as his brother.. Do you think the Fellowship would've been different? I mean, if some of those who actually are part of it wouldn't have been, or something like that.. (my English is brilliant or what? [img]smilies/frown.gif[/img] )

Again, as I think about all the horrific possibilities I am convinced of Tolkien's genius.

I think that he, as a man of "higher blood" than Boromir, would probably not have been tempted as sorely as Boromir was.

And I didn't mean to make you feel stupid - sorry!

If the brethren wouldn't be where they were, the whole affair would have been in vain. Faramir, of course, may prove wiser in the Fellowship, yet the temptation and pride of Boromir it was that made Frodo make up his mind.
And if you put them in eachother's place in the story, they would meet Boromir in ithilien, and wouldn't that prove disastrous? Wouldn't he have been tempted then as well, when Sam said that they had the Ring? I think so, for many things in the story point to the fact that Boromir lusted for the Ring from the very beginning at Rivendell.
I think the cannot be altered at all, for it might prove ruinous any other way [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img]

well, just a thought

greetings,
lathspell

Also Boromir in Ithilien would've shown less mercy to Gollum and probably would have him put to death or at least imprisoned. So even if the hobbits managed to get inside Mordor with the Ring, the final attempt at Mt. Doom would've been in vain. It seems like a no-win situation in all ways if the brothers had been switched.

[ September 25, 2002: Message edited by: shorty ]

Are we even sure Faramir would join the Fellowship? I think he would, but you can't be sure can you? I just think that if Boromir hadn't had so much pride he'd have let Faramir go to Rivendell.

I really liked Borimir without his presence in the fellowship I'm sure all would be very different. He was very heroic in many places where his brother may have not been so all may have ended more tragically without him. His weakness was not his only contribution to the fellowship, though without his attempt to take the ring Frodo may have had trouble making his move.

Faramir would have been tempted as much as Boromir was - but would he try to fulfill that yearning, or resist? The question is not about whether he would have been tempted or not, but if he would act selfishly on the temptation. Remember, all who come in contact with the Ring are tempted.

[ October 10, 2002: Message edited by: TolkienGurl ]