Gandalf vs. Dumbledore
Imagine, if you will, being able to cast any spell with a simple flick of the wrist and some words. Think about the abilities you would possess. In times of desperation you could save yourself or the ones you love. You could do things to make your life easier, including cleaning your house! This concept is why I hold my opinion over the following topic. When I compare Gandalf (from The Lord of the Rings) to Dumbledore (from Harry Potter), more often than not, I believe that Dumbledore is far superior to Gandalf in his abilities. When you compare aspects of each such as abilities, causes, mortality, and how they got to where they are, it is evident that Dumbledore is superior to that of Gandalf.
First, I will talk about
the wizard Gandalf form The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Within this wizarding world, there are a select few that possess the ability to perform mystical abilities. Along with this, different “species” within this world, hold their own skills. Gandalf, as one of a few wizards, hold a limited number of abilities that is known and set. There is no room for adaptation of furthering his “technology,” if you will. Gandalf primary purpose is to aide a higher elf in his labors. This wizard is one of the last of the Istari wizards in middle earth. This means that Gandalf is practically an immortal. All of that is exciting, however, possessing the ability to come back to life makes sacrifices you make kind of obsolete. When he sacrificed himself to save Frodo, he knew he would come back, making the sacrifice less honorable and heroic. Thus, Gandalf’s mission and what he stands for was given to him both by his birth and being chosen by a higher being to perform certain tasks and quests. Finally, I will talk about Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series. In this world of wizards and muggles (those who are unaware of magic), magic here is ever adapting and being discovered and/or created. As a result, Dumbledore holds more abilities and knowledge within his world. This world contains approximately 130 different spells to allow a wide range of magic for all wizards to possess, not just a select few. Along with being one of the greatest wizards within his world, Dumbledore chooses to be the headmaster at the best school for young wizards. Given his credentials, knowledge, and experience, Dumbledore could easily be the “president” to the wizarding world in which he lives. Within this Harry Potter world, it is mentioned in the second movie that no spell can reawaken the dead. With this in mind, when Dumbledore sacrifices himself to save others, this scene is more heroic in that fact that he knows that that will be the end, and all he has worked for will save his world. In addition to his heroicness, Dumbledore’s position as most powerful wizard and headmaster at a school was not given to him. He was not born into his place. Through years of practice and schooling, Dumbledore was taught how to be a wizard, and he took that knowledge much farther to teach younger wizards and to protect his world form the evils it possesses. In conclusion, I find Dumbledore the be the superior wizard when it comes to aspects each wizard holds and how they use these abilities. Along with this, the sacrifices they have made and the consequences they hold shows the true morality behind each of these incredible characters.
With one story having a ring that offers eternal youth and another with a sword that keeps its owner from ever bleeding, it is hard to imagine what the two could have in common. After looking at the make up of the groups, the heroes, the villains, moral codes, supernatural elements and knightly quests, it is easy to see that they do share many similarities. Tolkien’s work deals more with fantasy characters and places but all in all they are very similar.
Society has evolved culturally since the 6th century. The simplistic and barbaric lifestyle of the Middle Ages, as portrayed in the epic poem Beowulf (Heaney, 2000), contrasts with the complex and civilized lifestyle of a modern day society, as depicted in the movie Beowulf and Grendel (Gunnarsson, 2005). The flat characters of the epic poem exhibit little to no knowledge of the concepts of humility as well as compassion, whereas the characters of the film utilize these concepts to give each of the main characters a sense of depth as well as realistic personas that allow the audience to connect with them on a much deeper level.
In Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight there are two heroes that help the present day reader gain insight into what the hero of the Middle Ages would have held as ideals and necessary triumphs. Beowulf and Sir Gawain each fill a different role within their unique societies. Beowulf is a leader and a savior in times of need, willing to go to any length to help another group of people as well as his own kingdom. Sir Gawain is also willing to rise during moments of trouble within his court but lacks the altruism that is inherent in Beowulf's leadership. Although there are many pursuable comparisons within the two tales, the most apparent between the two heroes are that of faith, the men who encouraged them, bravery and the adversaries they both faced.
Pride, gloating, and other flaunting of one’s achievements is quite common in the story of Beowulf. These prideful speeches have an irreplaceable purpose in the narrative of Beowulf. When reading this wonderful classic it is imperative to consider whether or not the reader should conclude that these fantastical feats are factual, why this prideful speech was included, what value these speeches had in the society of Beowulf and, is this exultant speech pattern still used in some forms today. Overall Beowulf has lofty language which makes it such a beautiful and surviving composition.
The morality of revenge is often difficult to evaluate, and the struggle to determine whether it is the path to justice or evil subtlety permeates through J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. In the novel, the morality of vengeance does not fall into the clearly set lines between good and evil. This grey area is a hallmark of Tolkien's background, for his religion and academic studies have conflicting stances on revenge. His faith criticizes revenge and promotes forgiveness, yet he was a scholar of Anglo-Saxon literature which portrays revenge as the noble route to justice. Since these two aspects of Tolkien's life greatly influenced his writing, he did not eliminate the existence of vengeance from the minds of his indignant characters. Instead, the novel cautions against revenge and its inherent dangers, though there are exceptions in which revenge is carried out without harmful effects. However, in order to evaluate the various episodes where revenge is discouraged in the narrative, there must be a consistent criteria for analysis.
The characters in this story face many tests that require them to have courage to overcome these tests and move forward toward their overall goal. Bilbo wasn’t really an adventurous person but as the dwarves and Bilbo progressed in their journey, Bilbo’s moms genes started to kick in and became more wary, adventurous and brave. Later in the journey, the dwarves started to rely on Bilbo too much, which created Bilbo to do mostly everything. Although Bilbo had to do mostly everything, he achieved more courage and didn’t really doubt himself that often. Bilbo shows the most courage out of all 14 members of the group. When he was instructed to go and spy on the trolls, when Bilbo had to battle the evil spiders, but the event that shows the most courage is when Bilbo was in the mountain meeting Smaug face to face by himself.
If there is one thing that Harry Potter and Bilbo Baggins have in common is cleverness. Both are highly intelligent and know how to think think on their feet when in dangerous situations. Take Bilbo outwitting Smaug the dragon for an example anymore would've been panic-stricken due to the fight-or-flight reaction that everyone possesses. In this specific instance we see Bilbo offer his services to put his ring on to see what Smaug was doing. Bilbo said something interesting that he recalled his father, saying “Every worm has his weak spot” (Tolkien 221). In fact, that couldn't be any more accurate, because those very same words are how he comes to defeating Smaug. While engaging in conversation with Smaug he used banter and was overly careful
In the novel how Gandalf save Bilbo and the dwarfs were very different from the movie. In the novel of The Hobbit Gandalf saves them by mocking the trolls so Bilbo and the dwarfs can escape and the trolls turn into stone by the sunlight. “No good boiling em! We ain’t got no water, and it’s a long way to the well and all.” said a voice” (Tolkien 40). In the novel it was Gandalf who mock the trolls so they would fight so Bilbo and the trolls can escape. Tolkien intent was to make Gandalf very wise and let the reader see that trolls are that dumb. In the movie it was very different. In fact Gandalf didn't mock the trolls at all. In the movie the trolls were hit by the sunlight by Gandalf crack a rock in half with his magic. (Jackson) Peter Jackson did this because they want the viewers to see Gandalf more of an wizard than an wise old man. In the novel he act more of an wise old man than an wizard. Jackson taught that Gandalf act too much as a old man than a wizard. That why Jackson change it to make Gandalf to look and act more like a wizard. This made Gandalf look more like a wizard and made the character more believable. This was very effective because in the novel he didn't act like an wizard. Gandalf seem more like a wise man and the book. Peter Jackson didn't want the viewers to think of him as a wise man and think of him more of an wizard. This also made Gandalf look powerful before defeating the
Beowulf displayed great courage and honor throughout his journeys and battles; he was an epic hero. An epic hero is a person who is viewed as larger than life and possesses values of a certain society. From the time of Beowulf’s battle with Grendel to his brawl against the dragon, he has showed everyone what being an honorable hero looks like. His heroism is revealed through both youth as a young warrior and wisdom as a reliable king. He never backed down and didn’t give up when situations were tough. Beowulf had obligations to fulfill and went about every aspect of his life with courage and strength. He cared for his people and was willing to take on anyone that threatened them or his kingdom. He sincerely was the hero of his time.
In J.R.R. Tolkien 's novel The Hobbit, male friendship is a major theme that exists throughout the text. Male individuals form special bonds with one another through loyalty and support. Even in the warlike setting through the whole of the novel, characters who otherwise couldn 't be friends find a common ground and are able to form a friendship and become dependable. In the Fandom, the importance of these male characters retaining their friendships is relevant everywhere in art, fan fiction, and blogs. However since there are a lack of female characters in the text to create a romantic connection with, fans often sexualize the relationships from the novel. Regardless of how the fandom changes the roles of the relationships, male companionship
One of my absolute favorite books is the Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien. It’s a story that I can never get tired of and I love Tolkien’s way of drawing you in and making you feel like you were actually there. That’s one of the reasons why I consider Tolkien as the greatest writer of all time. He uses such complex language and most of the time, his words would become hard to understand but I think that that was what made it stand out to me. No matter how hard it was to read, you can still feel the magic and the creativity that he has put into his work. The Hobbit is my favorite book of his. It stood out to me in a way that the Lord of the Rings hadn’t. I enjoyed Bilbo’s travels and how he became closer to the dwarves and the way that he projected himself
J.R.R. Tolkien Research Paper As many have grown up during this generation, they have been dazzled by the work of J.R.R. Tolkien as well as the artistic interpretation of this trilogy by Peter Jackson. This movement started when Tolkien created The Hobbit and then later the Lord of the Rings trilogy in the 1930’s, 1940’s and 1950’s. However, there are those who have criticized both the books and the cinema for being sexist and/or racist. Tolkien is not sexist because he develops his female characters by revealing their individualism and dynamic features, and is also not a racist because much of the criticism comes from Peter Jackson’s interpretations and because racism is harshly looked upon more in this generation than it was back in the 1940’s.
J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous novel series, The Lord of the Rings, tells the story of a young hobbit who must reluctantly journey a great distance with the fellowship of companions to defeat an evil force that has been growing stronger and threatens to conquer all of middle-earth. As first believed by Joseph Campbell and argued in “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”, the same story is essentially being told in a variety of ways. The pattern that is found in almost every epic, past and present, is what Joseph called a “monomyth” (CAMPBELL). Though the steps may be customized to each individual story, the values of the myth are perhaps the most important aspects. From a religious perspective, the myths tell the stories of good and evil. ()Through the departure, initiation, and return, Frodo Baggins demonstrates the elements of the monomyth just as Rama did in the infamous Indian epic, “Ramayana”, written in the year 1000 BCE. With great companions and courage, both Frodo and Rama show readers all over the world what it means to be a hero.
Different cultures expect different things from their heroes. In Beowulf they expect heroes to be loyal strong and brave whereas in The Odyssey people expect their heroes to balance mind body and spirit and in My Hero Academia heroes are expected to be selfless and sacrifice themselves. In Beowulf the hero, Beowulf, is expected to be loyal, be strong, and be brave. Beowulf is a hero because he exhibits all of these treats. He shows his loyalty when he helps Hrothgar fend of Grendel because Hrothgar at one point had helped Beowulf’s father. Beowulf is being loyal by repaying his father's debt by helping Hrothgar. Beowulf shows his strength by being able to rip of the arm of an incredibly strong monster like Grendel. In the epic Beowulf fights an incredibly strong monster that had been terrorizing Hrothgar's land. He shows extreme strength by ripping Grendel's arm off. He also shows how brave he is when he and the thanes go to fight the dragon and all of the thanes run away but him and wiglaf. This shows his bravery and that he is calm in the face of danger.
Everyone except Frodo and Sam arrives at the kingdom of Gondor, and though the people of Gondor are amazed and frightened at first by the huge army of walking trees that accompany them, everyone smiles and accepts them when Gandalf and Aragorn reveal themselves. The brothers Denethor and Boromir, however, see that Aragorn brings knowledge from the North which will give their kingship over to Faramir, the true King, and so they secretly conspire against him. And so later on, when the forces of Mordor arrive to attack Gondor, they successfully plot to have Aragorn positioned so he must face the Witch-King in single combat. The battle is too much for Aragorn, and just as he is about to die he is saved by Eowyn, a woman of Rohan who loves him, and Merry, who slays the Witch-king in single combat by using ancient hobbit-magic and so reveals himself to be the lost Thain of the Shire. Even as the forces of Mordor retreat, they are swept into the Sea by great ships brought by Faramir, the true Prince of Dol Amroth, from the hidden city of Osgiliath further up the Great River.