![]() Recognizing that the Ring is too dangerous to be used, even to do good, he sends Frodo along to continue his quest to destroy the Ring. When he meets Frodo on his travels in the novel, he quickly deduces that he is carrying the great weapon of Sauron, but, unlike his brother, he reassures Frodo that he would not take it, either for his own benefit or Gondor’s. “I do not wish for such triumphs.”īy contrast, Faramir, Boromir’s brother, has a healthy skepticism of the use of the Ring, even for noble ends. Despite his good intentions-to protect Gondor’s capital of Minas Tirith and defeat Sauron-Boromir’s desire for power ultimately corrupts him, leading him to attack one of his companions. As a result, he attempts to take the Ring from Frodo by force. ![]() However, he quickly becomes enamored of the potential of the Ring as a weapon to defeat Sauron and save his kingdom. Most demonstrative of the dangers of this corruption is the contrast between the characters of Boromir and Faramir.īoromir, a noble warrior from the kingdom of Gondor, is one of Frodo’s companions in his quest to destroy the Ring. They recognize that the Ring, and the absolute power that comes with it, cannot be used without corrupting its wielder. It is telling that the primary goal of the protagonist, Frodo Baggins, and his companions is not to use the Ring to defeat Sauron, but to destroy it. Meanwhile, we see early on how the ring twists those who fall prey to its temptations, in the frightening characters of Gollum and the Nazgûl. Good-hearted characters such as the wizard Gandalf reject its use for fear that it will lead to tyranny. Throughout The Lord of the Rings, the ability of the One Ring, the weapon of the novel’s antagonist, the Dark Lord Sauron, to corrupt others is well-illustrated. Some of his characters are successful in recognizing that absolute power is too dangerous to be used. ![]() After returning home from fighting in World War I, he witnessed with disgust the rise of communism and fascism over the course of the subsequent decades. It is unsurprising that Tolkien’s masterpiece would reflect such heavy skepticism of political power. At its core, the story is a lesson in how power can corrupt even the best of souls, as we see reflected in the characters’ struggles with the temptation to wield the Ring. With the recent release of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Amazon Prime, there has never been a better time to revisit J. ![]()
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