OK, So Why Wasn't Aragorn Tempted by the One Ring?

Cafe Society
21

Well, he went for it one night and grabbed it and put it on and he went all evil and powerful and when he was waving his sword around and doing his private “fancy dance of evil” that he’d been secretly practicing since he was not asked to return for the second round of auditions for Lord of the Dance, he noticed his reflection in the water and saw that the ring so did not match the fancy clasp on his cape so he screamed “oh snap!” and stuck his ring finger in his mouth to wet it and flung it expertly back into Frodo’s hiding place for it.

Then he went to sleep and never spoke of it again. And we never discuss it because those pieces of the book were taken out and hidden beneath a Catholic Church in Mexico and spoken only in hushed tones by locals as the “Nerd Apocrypha.”

22

Aha! [feminist literary theory] So, if genetics play a part… Boromir was said to closely resemble their father; Faramir their mother. So, the strength to conquer temptation came from the female portion of the lineage–I’ll bet if we did DNA testing on those Gondorians, we’d find an X-linked trait. This works with the “Faramir was just plain smarter” theory as well. Womanly wisdom passed down and all that. Just further proof that They Who Are Scarcely Mentioned actually DO rule the world[/feminist literary theory]

TheThem ** [more feminist literary theory] Aragorn as pussy whipped. Nice twist. And per Tolkien, Arwen’s and Aragorn’s relationship was the very opposite of the zipless fuck–more like the fuckless minds :stuck_out_tongue: [/mflt]
Leaper–excellent point. These books are more and more turning into Casablanca in my head–fantastic, but the more I look at them, the more plot holes I see, just like that wonderful film.
So Aragorn wasn’t tempted because he was a mensch. Or he was a substance abuser (too much lembas?). That wasn’t Elvish he was muttering–it was the serenity prayer!

Suddenly, it all makes sense. :smiley:

*I abase myself, but couldn’t help it.

23

Folks, this is getting to the heart of one of my unfavorite parts of the movie trilogy: Peter Jackson totally failed to get the basic meaning behind the character of Faramir (and, to a lesser extent, Aragorn).

Look, we all know that for two ages of the world, the dominant culture was the elves. Now, the elves were pretty decent people, and they did a good job of caring for the land, but they weren’t exactly perfect. The First Age ends up being full of strife over some trinkets that Feanor puts together in his spare time. The Second Age ends up being filled with strife over some trinkets that the elves near Moria put together under the influence of Sauron, which, you have to believe, came about to some extent because elves just can’t help but think that running things with the help of little shining trinkets is a Good Idea.

Now, it’s the Third Age, and mankind is coming into its own. The age will end with the passing of the Elves, these wise, kind folk who have tried for the most part to make the world a better place in which to live. Humans, we know, are greedy, grubbing folk who will sell their mother-in-law for whatever the market rate is. We can’t expect much from humans, can we? I mean, look at our world now, and compare it to the world of the Third Age! Yikes!

But that’s the whole point to Faramir and Aragorn. Here are humans, both of which are in need of power. Each has the chance to take the Ultimate Weapon and use it to gain the Ultimate Power. And each passes on it, each for their own unique reasons. Humans may be flawed, but we have the CAPACITY to be very good people.

Faramir, especially, is in the story to show that we shouldn’t fear for the world under human rule, because humans CAN be good. The contrast between Faramir and Boromir couldn’t be more plain, and wasn’t just put there out of happenstance.

And Peter Jackson totally ruins the whole thing by changing the story. Faramir becomes just like any other human: unable to resist the temptation of power and greed.

To answer the OP: Aragorn isn’t tempted because his value system is such that the “rewards” of the Ring aren’t interesting to him. He knows enough to know that the Ring is a deception: he cannot truly become what he wants by using it. And since he isn’t interested in power qua power, that means the temptation, if it exists, to take the Ring simply isn’t very strong.

And think about it: would YOU give up a chance to have Liv Tyler as your wife for the chance to have orcs as your slaves?? :smiley:

24

Can you remind me how that went down in the movie?

-FrL-

25

But that is not true at all re PJ. Yes, he changed the story, but it is mentioned and dwelt on numerous times how there is good in Men and courage and honor. The whole point of the trilogy is to show the honor in Men (and Hobbits, which he did completely mess up).

Faramir and Aragorn are both held up as examples of that–A more than F, of course. Even Theoden is referred to as a noble man (as opposed to a nobleman).

trivial irritation: elves got drunk all the time–oh, sorry, the PC Middle Earth term would be “merry with wine.” I love the scene with Gimli and his little hairy women, but Legolas was probably doing beer bongs and drunk off his ass, not having a little tingling in his fingers. :rolleyes:

26

Let’s skip nobility and look at it from a guys point of view.

Aragorn would come home, open a cold one and say something like “You wouldn’t believe what those orcs got into today. If it wasn’t for Lieutenant Mouth, I have no idea what I’d do.”

And Liv Tyler would be all “Don’t even think of looking at me with that eye unless you use a little Visine”.

And Aragorn would be like “All I want to do is sit on my throne, wind down and watch the palantír. Who needs this shit? If anyone wants me, I’ll be off bowling with the Ringwraiths.”

27

<falls over, laughing>

And Aragorn would be all like, “you know, I could just make some female orcs. You better keep that in mind.”

And Arwen would be all in his face with, “As if. You wish you could make some female orcs. They’d eat you for elevenses as soon as service you. And go get that Visine! and bring me my eye shade!”

28

I would like to point out that the Ring could pretty much get darn near anybody given enough time to work on them. The only beings who were totally resistant were essentially those tied closely to the land (animals, Bombadil and co., and maybe not even all of them) and greater beings. Anyone else was pretty much the Ring’s beeyotch.

29

Didn’t Boromir and Faramir have different mothers? I seem to remember Tolkien mentioning that the blood of Numenor ran almost pure in Faramir, whereas the same wasn’t true of Boromir. This was supposed to help explain why Boromir was more prone to temptation than Faramir. I think the books also suggested this was one of the reasons that Denethor favoured Boromir over Faramir.

Of course, Boromir was also in the Ring’s presence for an extended period of time, so he had more opportunity to succumb than did Faramir.

30

Faramir gave up The Ring in the movie, too. The decision just took longer.

31

The One Ring held no appeal for Aragorn, because his cell-phone provider was Squint. They offer thousands of downloadable rings at no charge, so he had his pick.

What the fool didn’t realize was that Squint was a wholly owned subsidiary of Lidless Eye, Inc. He never had a chance – one of the rings would get him, eventually.

32

That doesn’t seem right, because it’s mentioned that the closer the Ring gets to Mordor, the more power it draws from its master. So while Boromir was near the Ring for a lnger period of time, Faramir had to deal with a stronger ring that was desperately trying to help Sauron win.

I agree that the “brothers from different mothers” theme seems most likely.

33

Arwen would throw out the “Ha! You cannot make – you can only mock” crap that she always falls back on.

(This sounds like the “why Celeborn didn’t go West with Galadriel” thread recently, which was the funniest LOTR post I’ve ever read.)

34

No, although different in appearance, temperament and vulnerability to the Ring’s beckoning, Boromir and Fararmir were the sons of both Denethor and Finduilas.

35

Decisions, decisions:

  1. Liv Tyler and kingship over most of western Middle Earth

or

  1. A bunch of dirty grubby orcs and kingship over the Land That The Sun Forgot (Plus caseloads of Visine)

Which would you pick?

36

Yes, but he doesn’t give it up out of any noble intentions, or out of some inner strength of positive qualities. He gives it up because he gets scared shitless by the reality of the whole thing, and realizes that, maybe, just maybe, Frodo is right to try and go destroy the thing. :mad:

It really pissed me off, too, because the scene in the book during the chapter “Window on the West” is one of the best scenes in the whole trilogy. Sam blurts out the fact that the Ring of Power is right there, in the cave with Faramir, and all he has to do is overpower some puny little halfling to have it, and Faramir isn’t the least interested. The brother of Boromir, who was the last person to try and wrest the Ring by force, declines even the opportunity of trying to talk Frodo out of it, or out of his plan. At least as powerful in its own way as the scene with Galadriel, if not so easily presented from a dramatic standpoint.

Oh, and no, Boromir and Faramir did not have different mothers. Finduilas was the mother of both.

37

So what if the Balrog got it? Would he hand it over to Sauron?

38

I think their temptation was greater because their understanding of the Ring’s power was greater. They knew what the Ring could do. Aragon’s understanding of the Ring was more theoretical.

39

Yes. Exactly! The difference between the brothers is crucial in light of what we know about their father.

Denethor regarded Faramir as a bumbler, not to be trusted with anything important, and not nearly as puissant or reliable as his older brother Boromir. But in his encounter with the Ring, Faramir proved, although Denethor never knew it, that he was a better man than his brother.

Modern moviemaking mandates that every character has to have a “story arc” and that’s why they ruined this story in the films. A character who starts out on a high moral plane is considered less interesting than one who ascends to it.

In the commentary to The Two Towers Jackson admitted he could have handled this better.

40

Balrog smash or eat.

I think the films still show Faramir as a deeper character than Boromir (the EE ones). I admire both characters, but I favor Faramir, personally. IMO, Denethor was threatened by Faramir’s quest for knowledge (that and a guilty conscience).