Which good guy (girl) do you least like?

[Nogrod]

Nerwen: I think we have a major communication breakdown here. It might be my broken English or hastiness to say things too bluntly or whatever...

Originally Posted by Nerwen

Besides– in your scenario Merry and Pippin (and later, Eowyn) would have died: would that not also have been a "cold" decision on the part of the author?

Why would they have died? If Tolkien wished them to live he could have written the story differently so that they would not have been in the same dangers... or he could have written them escaping those dangers differently.

I mean, in the end, all fictional characters are– as you say– just puppets.

Absolutely. But you can either make them logical or not (and that means also the logicality of their feelings; not in a way anyone should "feel logically" but that their emotions are "believable" given the character).

Boromir was "right" only according to his limited information (or rather, what information he accepted- see below). The Ring would have corrupted him.

Of course it would have. I actually said that in my post.

Originally Posted by me

(and the downfall would have been inevitable to be sure)

Originally Posted by Nerwen

And it's not like he was really trying to usher in a new age of rationality in to superstition-ridden Middle-earth.

Nope. He wished to wield it in the service of Gondor (so he had to believe in the Ring's force!) - and he didn't take Gandalf's (and others') warnings seriously enough. Looking at his character he should have followed that path and not turn into this nice-guy-hero thinking more of two unrelated hobbits than the future of Gondor, the men and good against evil; the key to which was the Ring he should have sought after - according to his beliefs!

And yes, I do think Boromir is an interesting and in many ways admirable character– but don't make him into an infallible Gary Stu, please.

I am not and I never was. I'm just saying that the prof built him as a certain kind of character and then made him act against the character he was built to be to serve his plot.

But yes, I'm not willing to make this a row of any sorts.

[Nerwen]

Well, Nogrod, I understand what you mean now, and I guess we're going to have to agree to disagree on this issue.

I will say that my own impression of Boromir leads me to think that his saving the hobbits is not out of character– which I guess is what you mean by "believability". As far as I can work out, what you're saying here is that since (in your view) Boromir's wanting to take the Ring is highly logical, all his actions should be logical also. He seems to me more of an impulsive type. After all, he didn't just play down the dangers of the Ring, he basically chose to ignore them.

I just don't think Boromir was written as a ruthlessly brilliant strategist, who would always make the smartest, most expedient choice rather than the "moral" one, or anything like that. I think you might be reading things into the character that aren't really there.

And no, I don't want a row either... but you know, this is all reminding me weirdly of Urwen's "Lalaith".