 He speaks of using the Ring in the service of Gondor, but his talk of "strength in a just cause" indicates, Tolkien critic Tom Shippey writes, only how matters would begin.He comments that Boromir never quite says "the end justifies the means", though the thought makes his corrupted behaviour entirely believable.Boromir has been likened to other Tolkien characters such as Fëanor or Túrin Turambar who display vainglorious excess, a trait in leaders that Tolkien despised.