***Spoiler Alert. If you haven't seen or read the Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings books, and you do not wish for plots to be revealed, stop now, go pick up those books and read them instead. Tolkien and Rowling are much better writers than I***
I have a confession to make: I was one of "those people" who made a judgement call about Harry Potter before reading the book. Years ago, a co-worker of mine had commented in amazement that I had let Evan watch all three Lord of the Rings movies, but not Harry Potter. The details are fuzzy to me now, but from what I recall I had "heard" that the premise was that the adults were made out to be the bad guys and the students were sassy. I know I saw the Sorcerer's Stone on DVD when it came out, and I don't recall my exact feelings towards it, but it must not have shaken the notion mentioned above, because for 7 more years I had no desire to watch any of the movies, let alone read the books - especially beginning with Goblet of Fire, as it seems they got exponentially larger!
Well, at the constant nagging of yet another co-worker, I finally gave the series another chance and I rented all of the movies through Netflix over the course of this past Summer. I guess it was after Prisoner of Azkaban that I got really hooked and I started going to Blockbuster because I couldn't wait for the mail in movies to arrive. At the conclusion of Half Blood Prince, I was dumbfounded and I absolutely could not wait until November to see the movie, so I bought the Deathly Hallows book and read it. I'll admit I'm not an avid reader like Kim is, so it took me a while to get through it, but eventually I did, and once I was done, I decided to read all of the books starting at the beginning.
It was then that I really began to appreciate the writing of JK Rowling, and the overall theme and message of the books. I especially liked how each book ended with Dumbledore imparting a deep truth to Harry, and how those messages are not only good, but downright Christian.
One day Kim emailed me a wonderful article that listed the common "sticking points" that Catholics in general have (or should have) with the Harry Potter series and countered each with a comparison of how the same sticking points existed in Lord of the Rings. Shortly after reading that article I received a dramatized version of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy on CD to listen to on the way to work. As I listened day after day, I couldn't believe how alike the Harry Potter series is to Lord of the Rings. Furthermore, it blew me away that, given how much I loved Lord of the Rings, it took me so long to come around to Harry Potter.
Which brings me to the main reason for this post. Many Catholics will sing the praises of Lord of the Rings, going out of our way to tell people that "JRR Tolkien was Catholic, you know," and in the next breath throw JK Rowling under the bus for writing a book about a school where boys and girls learn about witchcraft (gasp!) Rather than compare the philosophical points of both series, I'd like to just begin with pointing out the similarities in characters, plots and such.
The Hero's Quest:
As with most good adventure stories, the Hero's Quest involves mortal peril...to quote Ron in Chamber of Secrets: "Follow the spiders?? Why couldn't it be follow the butterflies??"
HP - Ultimately to destroy Voldemort.
LOTR - To destroy the Ring of Power.
The Hero's Mentor:
HP - Albus Dumbledore. A wise wizard who mostly guides Harry along his journey, but will join the fight when he needs to. Is killed in Half Blood Prince, but "comes back" in Deathly Hallows to help Harry finish his quest.
LOTR - Gandalf. A wise wizard who mostly guides Frodo along his journey, but will join the fight when he needs to. Is killed in Fellowship of the Ring, but comes back in Two Towers to help the Frodo finish his quest.
The Hero's Company:
Both series illustrate the necessity for the Hero to have help from not only close friends, but an extended support cast as well.
HP - Besides close friends Ron and Hermione, we gradually realize that most of Harry's adult allies are members of the Order of the Phoenix.
LOTR - Besides close friends Samwise, Merry and Pippin, Frodo is joined at the outset of his adventure by the Fellowship of the Ring.
The Villain:
HP - Voldemort aka The Dark Lord. Was "killed" after his killing curse meant for Harry backfired on himself. Somehow returns to power to command dark wizards and witches against the rest of the wizarding world.
LOTR - Sauron aka The Dark Lord. Was "killed" in battle by Isildur, yet somehow returned to power to command dark forces against Middle Earth.
How the Villan Survives:
HP - Voldemort made 7 Horcruxes: special objects that held a piece of his own soul. He will not be truly defeated until all Horcruxes are destroyed.
LOTR - Sauron survives because the ring he forged has yet to be destroyed. In a way, the Ring of Power is a Horcrux for Sauron.
The Bad Guys:
HP - Dementors and Death Eaters. Let's face it, from the first time you are introduced to a Dementor, you know they are not good, even if they are under "ministry control." Feeding on despair, they seek out happiness and suck it out of people. They are creepy and, of course, cloaked in black. Completely hidden by their cloaks, but Harry spots the hand of one and describes it as "glistening, grayish, slimy-looking, and scabbed, like soemthnig dead that had decayed in water." The Death Eaters are a group of dark wizards who have allegiance to Voldemort and do his bidding.
LOTR - Ringwraiths and Saruman. The nine Ringwraiths used to be men, but they fell under the influence of the rings that were controled by the One Ring. Now they do Sauron's bidding, constantly searching for the Ring. They are creepy and, of course, cloaked in black. They are actually invisible to mortals, but Frodo can see them when he puts the ring on and describes them as having "haggard hands". Saruman is a dark wizard who have allegiance to Sauron and does his bidding.
Fear of a Name:
HP - Wizards are afraid to speak the name "Voldemort"and instead refer to him as "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" or "you-know-who."
LOTR - Everyone gets spooked at the name of "Mordor".
"Bad Guy" shown mercy in beginning...plays part in the end:
HP - Peter Pettigrew. Harry stops Sirius and Lupin from killing Pettigrew in Prisoner of Azkaban. This act of mercy plays a part in Harry's escape from Malfoy Manor in the Deathly Hallows. Immediately afterward, Pettigrew dies.
LOTR - Gollum. Frodo wishes that Bilbo would have killed Gollum when he had the chance. Gandalf reminds him that pity and mercy spared Gollum's life and that, perhaps, Gollum will play a part in the end, which he does. Immediately afterward, Gollum dies.
Hero's Inner Connection with the Villain:
HP - Harry can read Voldemort's mind (and vice versa). This is good and bad as sometimes it is used for Harry to know what Voldemort is up to (like the attack on Mr. Weasley), whereas other times Voldemort uses it to trick Harry (implanting the image of Sirius in the Department of Mysteries to lure Harry there.)
LOTR - When Frodo puts on the ring he can see the Eye of Sauron and hear Saruon speaking to him. The Palantir was used by Aragorn to show himself to Sauron.
Looking into the Past/Future:
HP - Dumbledore's Pensieve is a bowl full of liquid that you look into to view memories. It can put you into a memory so you can re-live it in case you missed something the first time.
LOTR - The Mirror of Galadriel is a bowl full of water that you look into to view things that are, that were and that may yet come to pass.
Giant, Talking Spiders:
HP - Aragog
LOTR - Shelob. (Shelob doesn't speak per se in the books however, it is implied that, somehow, she communicated with Gollum regarding the Hobbits. We also know that Shelob's kin are none other than the spiders of Mirkwood in the Hobbit, and they actually do speak.)
That's all I can recall right now. If you know of any other similarities in characters, plots, etc. between the two series, comment below.
1 comment:
Chad--I think the theme of self-sacrifice is important in both as well. In HP, it is his mother's sacrifice and love that defeats Voldemort and saves Harry "the chosen one" and of course Frodo leaves everything he loves to save the day.
Madeleine was of the right age to read the first HP soon after it came out but we also got involved in homeschooling at about that time and rejecting HP was almost synonymous with being a good parent in those circles. Chris and I weren't convinced and listened to a long tape series on the "problem with Harry" by a Catholic who used to be involved in the occult. We talked to priests and read a guide to reading HP with your family and finally decided we would not opt out. Even so, people still question that decision--always people who haven't read the books--and challenge us. And I get where they're coming from because the bible is clear about witchcraft, its dangers and offensiveness to God. Witchcraft is obviously the foundation of HP which makes it different from LOTR and Harry and Frodo are also very different heroes. I have read and enjoyed all the HP books. I like the characters and I have a whole lot of respect for JK Rowling's talent. Incredible. So the three of us who have read the books in our house are fans but we treat this series with care because of the attractiveness of the witchcraft part of it.
Good post.
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