Let me start by writing about my favourite topic...Books. I would like to begin by talking about my favourite book 'the Godfather' by Mario Puzo. Hey whats that...err..ok...the Godfather just called and he made me an offer I could not refuse. So sorry guys, I cant write anything about this book!!
Let me do something better than write about a book. I will write about two books!! Wow!! So here goes nothing...
The two books I am going to talk about were written 50 years apart but one cant help but notice that the similarities in their storylines as also in their charachters is just mind boggling. The books are, but ofcourse, 'Lord of the Rings ' by J R R Tolkein and 'Harry Potter' by J K Rowling.
Both the books are based on similar concepts wherein 'Little People', 'Hobbits' in LOTR and children in HP, save the world from an evil force.
The main hero in both the books, Frodo and Harry, are very normal 'every day Joe' types who rise to great heights mainly because of their own determination.
Just like in Hindi movies where the hero has a sidekick, so do Frodo and Harry. The friendship between Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin in LOTR is similar to what Harry, Ron and Hermoine have in HP.
And pray tell me what is the difference between Gandalf in LOTR and Dumbledore in HP. They are both father figures who inspire the hero to achieve his goal.
Which brings us to the evil forces in the books. Both Sauron and Voldemort are actually brilliant minds which have gone over to the 'Dark Side'. Just like the ten-headed deamon Ravana in Ramayana who actually did not have ten heads but had the intellectual capacity of ten people, both Voldemort and Sauron are great intellectuals who have turned evil.
So my question goes...why on middle earth did J K Rowling have to get so much inspiration from LOTR!! Well, I guess, since she was able to recreate LOTR's magic after 50 years and represent it in an endearing format called HP, we can all just say..Kudos to you JK Rowling, and to you too, J R R Tolkien!!
I have to go home now. So goodbye. Oh no, whats that, once again I have forgotten where i kept my broom....
