Comparisons Galore

Today was one of those days. What days you ask? The days when my mind goes into an unfathomable place, with scattered thoughts. Well, I'm not talking about religion or the meaning of life here. I'm talking about something more serious. I'm talking about the similarities between "The Lord Of The Rings" and "Harry Potter" (The books, not the movies).



Of course, Joanne Kathleen Rowling is quite a fascinating writer, and it must be said that she is responsible for several children to turn to books in this modern age of computing. I presume that the concept of a wizard school, and a parallel world based entirely on magic, etc. are of her own making. But there are some similarities between her creation and JRR Tolkien's epic adventure. Keep in mind, I'm not accusing her of copying from JRR Tolkien, but merely pointing out the similarities between the two stories.



Lets start with the main characters. Frodo Baggins and Harry Potter. Well, there's not much to say here, so the only things in common would be that both face a heavy burden, and have a difficult task to perform (I know its vague, but read on).



Next, the people the main characters rely on. Frodo relies on Gandalf, just as Harry relies on Dumbledore. Both Gandalf and Dumbledore are old, wise men; both of them act as a guide to the respective characters, both are good at magic.



And then there's Aragorn and Sirius. Both of them would give their lives to protect the main characters, though Sirius does end up doing so while Aragorn doesn't die in the end.



Now for the Nazgul and the Dementors. The Ring-wraiths or Black Riders and the Dementors are both clad in black, both have a deadly weapon (The Dementor's Kiss and something of the Nazgul, I forgot). Both of them remove any feeble presence of happiness.



There is one stark difference though, when it comes to the uncles of the main characters. Mr. Dursley hates every inch of Harry, but Frodo is Bilbo's favourite nephew. And also the difference in the way the Elves are projected.



Ah well, maybe with a little bit more of thinking, I'll come up with something better next time...