Stolen Dumbledore

[Nimrodel_9]

I agree that Rowling "stole" from Tolkien and I imagine other writers works. That or she had a similar idea, and had never even thought that they were... ah... related, I guess you could say. Example: Tolkien's Nazgul, Rowling's Dementors, and Jordan's Fades. All wear black robes, and seem to have close to the same affect on people. I don't know about you, but if I were writing a story and I wanted a rather scary enemy, I would probably make them the same way. I have been tempted to do so before, but have felt that the idea is going to be a bit overused in the future.

Though I love Tolkien's works, I find HP and WoT amusing also. Even if they did "steal" from our favorite author. I have found that when I am writing, I come to a place where I think, That line in FotR would go great right here. Not because I am a theif. It is because of my great love for Tolkien. If ever I become a writer, I will be sure to state that many of my ideas came from Tolkien and that I owe everything to him for getting me interested in writing in the first place.

[Cailín]

I'm a fan of both Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. I can't help but loving JKR's writing style and the way her characters and dialogue seem to be so completely natural.

As I read a lot of fantasy, I've noticed many modern fantasy books seem to be ripping off Tolkien in one way or another. It's just so that Tolkien set a standard for what epic fantasy should be like, and copying is always the safest way to success. However, I do not feel JKR's work to be such a rip-off. Though there are similar themes in both books, these are timeless themes taken directly from mythology and ancient stories and all good stories have those in common. The world that JKR creates is essentially very different from Tolkien's world, as is her style and general plot. While popular fantasy writers like Robert Jordan - and others: believe me, I have seen far worse than him - just seem to copy the story with different names, it appears to me Tolkien only mildly influenced JKR. Both have turned to mythology and folklore (admittedly, since this was Tolkien's field of expertise, he seems to be somewhat more knowledgeable concerning these) to create their world.

While JKR's references might be a little obvious sometimes, being an English student myself I have read Beowulf and other Anglo-Saxon poems and some famous dialogue from LotR are taken directly from these poems - Tolkien only rephrased them a little.

There are hardly any stories that are completely original anymore. Especially when you look at genre-fiction like fantasy and sci-fi. I see both Tolkien and JKR as writers who gave this genre a new impulse, though not necessarily as revolutional inventors.

[VanimaEdhel]

Again, I insert spoilers from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in here, so be forewarned.

Well, it goes back to what we said: Rowling's works sometimes connect to Tolkien's because there are certain things that "work" to create the best effect. Going back to our parallel between dementors and the Nazgul: if you were to choose a creature that was the epitome of nameless fear and suffering, what would they look like? They would probably be shrouded, for, as Dumbledore even said in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:

There is nothing to be feared from a body, Harry, any more than there is anything to be feared from the darkness. Lord Voldemort, who of course secretly fears both, disagrees. But once again he reveals his own lack of wisdom. It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.

So then we get the idea of tattered robes cloaking unknown evils - our fear of them is derived from the fact that we can't see their faces. The dementors only reveal their faces when they are about to apply the Kiss - when the victim will be beyond fear, when the unknown no longer matters, for the person is about to have his or her soul removed. This absence of soul prohibits them from feeling true fear, so it is no longer necessary to instill this terror.

And, if you think about it, the Nazgul and the dementors are entirely different in creation and purpose. The Nazgul were once human men, and their form is the result of corruption. They serve due to their own greediness. The dementors were always as they were - a separate species of creature. They are considered "humanesque" but nothing more. The dementors serve wizards only to their own ends - they have no allegiance instilled by threat or otherwise. They aid those they want to - they work for Azkaban when Voldemort has disappeared, but once he returns, they revert to supporting him. There is no force preventing them from either going to or coming from the "Dark" side.

So the physical similarity comes from the fear instilled by the physical form of the two beings, not in any other aspect really.

Rowling capitalizes on the ridiculous - the unbelievable - and says, "What if it were real?" I mean I sometimes read some of the things they say, such as:

From here on in, Harry, I may be as woefully wrong as Humphrey Belcher, who believed the time was ripe for a cheese cauldron.

and I think, "Dumbledore's kidding, right?" But Rowling takes such eccentric things - such things only found in a child's dreams - and brings them to life. I think that's why she has such a following of adults: she allows people to live the unbelievable in her works. Actually, I loved the moment in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix where they talk about the grades:

"Then you get P for 'Poor'" - Ron raised both his arms in mich celebration - "And D for 'Dreadful.'"

"And then T," George reminded him.

"T?" asked Hermione, looking appalled. "Even lower than a D? What on earth does that stand for?"

"'Troll,'" said George promptly.

Harry laughed, though he was not sure whether or not George was joking.

Harry has the reaction we all have - "They give a grade called 'Troll'?" He doesn't know whether the people are joking or not. Then, when we finally do get their O.W.L. grades, we see:
Pass Grades
O = Outstanding
E = Exceeds Expectations
A = Acceptable
Fail Grades
P = Poor
D = Dreadful
T = Troll

And come on: let's leave poor Albus Dumbledore alone - let him rest in peace. And for the record, Snape's not evil - all signs point to him killing Dumbledore on Dumbledore's own orders. *Nods*