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Originally Posted by Fordim
Boromir is "proud" or "arrogant" or somesuch -- but he is right to be proud: proud of himself and of his achievements, proud of his land. It is because of this pride that he has come on this journey and suffered along with the rest. But it's because of this heroic pride that he falls to the Ring.
Like all tragic heroes, Boromir is neither good nor bad, right nor wrong, perfect nor flawed. And he's not all of those at once. He's just human, which is to say he is what he is, and there's nothing he can do to change that.
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But is he 'right' to be proud? Pride is the deadliest of the Deadly sins. We may not think of Boromir's pride in that way, but the question is did Tolkien? Did Boromir ever display humility before the end? Perhaps Tolkien would have said he
didn't have any right to be proud - Faramir fought as bravely as his brother, Aragorn more so, but both displayed not pride but humility. Their role in the war, in life, was to do their duty, & they clearly felt that as it
was their duty it deserved
no praise. Like the saints they refused to accept any praise or honour for their actions, & thought of themselves almost as 'unprofitable servants' because they'd
only done what was required of them.
Boromir is too desirous of honour, & I can't help thinking that it was the very humbling death that he died - shot down by orcs defending a couple of hobbits (who, lets remember, weren't in danger of actually being killed anyway, as Saruman had ordered his servants to capture the hobbits not kill them) that broke him & allowed him his final salvation. A wasteful, pointless death
in the eyes of the world, but a death which purified & humbled Boromir. He didn't die as a proud warrior, he died as a humble soul in a state of repentance.
Yes, he
was human - or rather he attained humanity in the end, by sacrificing his pride. I wouldn't say he was like us at the end, I'd say he had transcended us. But then how 'human' are we - in the
best sense, I mean?