Harry Potter vs. Lord of the Rings: Comparing Two Fantasy Giants

Introduction

J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series has been criticized for borrowing too heavily from myth, legend, and even other authors, while J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings has been criticized for being excessively complicated—including the author's creation of several languages spoken by various groups within his fictional world. At the same time, similarities as well as differences are apparent between the two bodies of work. While some experts argue that there are no truly new stories to be told, a comparison of the Harry Potter series and The Lord of the Rings demonstrates that by writing within the same genre but in different ways, a writer can produce new and refreshing stories within established traditions.

In order to examine how Rowling's and Tolkien's writing demonstrate that similar books within a genre can still have significant differences and distinct strengths, it is necessary to look closely at both works. Some of the plot devices used by both authors—but employed in different ways—include the use of time, the use of death imagery, the use of constructed languages, and the use of backstory: information the author knows about the story and characters that is not placed directly into the novels themselves.

Use of Time

Both the Harry Potter books and The Lord of the Rings use time to effect change in events and characters. The time span of The Lord of the Rings is much broader than that of Rowling's series and includes much ancient history and myth that turns out to have a factual basis within the story's world, thereby tying millennia together. As an example of this, the central character in The Lord of the Rings is really the ring itself. The ring drives whoever possesses it toward an enhanced desire for power, greatly magnifying any ambition the individual already has. It affects Sauron—the disembodied soul of the ring's original holder—in extreme ways, but over time it also has negative effects on the quiet Hobbits, a race of people who typically have little use for or desire for power. Because the span of time is so broad, the characters learn from past events only with great difficulty. The wizard Gandalf must consult ancient writings, clearly untouched for many years, to uncover the nature of the ring found by the Hobbits. The great majority of people remain ignorant of the danger the ring presents because too much time has passed and the ring has faded from memory. This leaves the people of the Shire, where the Hobbits live, completely unprepared for the evil that will face them.

Rowling's books use time quite differently. Compared to Tolkien's work, they employ a greatly compressed timeframe. While there are some references to events that occurred shortly after Harry Potter was born, for the most part each book covers a single calendar year. This is somewhat unusual for writing considered children's literature, because Harry Potter and his classmates mature with each passing year. In most children's series, the main characters remain fixed in time—Encyclopedia Brown, for instance, is always eight years old, and each book presents a new adventure without the character aging.

Rowling's choice to have her main characters mature with each book means that the characters in the Harry Potter series experience and interpret events very differently than those in Tolkien's work. The pertinent events are all within recent history, which makes interpretation easier but also means the characters lack the perspective that a greater span of time would have provided, so their readings of events are not always accurate. In Tolkien's book, by contrast, the nature of the evil faced is always very clear.

Use of Death Imagery

Both books employ similar imagery and symbols. In both, an evil entity threatens the stability of more peaceful peoples, and in both cases these antagonists are disembodied. Sauron needs the ring found by the Hobbits to return to power, while readers of the sixth Harry Potter book learn that the evil Lord Voldemort has fragmented his soul into multiple hidden pieces. Once those pieces are found and reunited, Voldemort will return with his full power.

In both books, the antagonists have symbols that can be seen in the sky. In The Lord of the Rings, the symbol is a great eye visible from a tower and transmittable through crystal balls that allow Sauron to observe events in various parts of the world. In the Harry Potter books, the symbol is shot into the sky by Voldemort's followers, called "Death Eaters." Rather than allowing Voldemort to observe others, however, it serves to draw his followers together. The Ringwraiths of The Lord of the Rings and the Dementors of Rowling's books similarly bring powerful images of death to readers in both series.

Conclusion

In summary, both books use similar elements, but in markedly different ways. Their differing approaches resulted in works that are markedly different in style and tone, demonstrating that genre is a creative starting point and not a restriction for skilled writers.