Similarities Between Harry Potter And Lord Of The Rings

Great Books and Film Final Paper

The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Harry Potter saga both have similar objectives and end goals. One man must journey to destroy an item and defeat the villain; in Lord of the Rings the villain is Sauron, while in Harry Potter the villain is Voldemort. While on the journey, the characters find items or come to places that have symbolic effects. This is true for both Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. These symbols are often used to further character development, foreshadow impending events, or just to have symbolic effects that may harm or help the journey that is taken.

In the novel The Fellowship of the Ring, there are quite a few instances in which symbols are used to characterize one of the Companions,

or what they called the Fellowship, and to define certain qualities that may become useful later in the story. Symbols such as hair, or specific symbols such as gems and pearls or emeralds. One specific symbol that comes to mind is as mentioned above; hair. While the Fellowship is staying in Lothlorien, they meet an Elf by the name of Lady Galadriel, who happens to be the co-ruler of Lothlorien. Upon the Fellowships departure from Lothlorien, Lady Galadriel and her husband, Lord Celeborn, give out departing gifts. One of the members of the Fellowship, a dwarf named Gimli, is asked by Galadriel what he wants, since she had not thought up the gift to give him, and the gift he requests are a few locks of her hair. The locks of hair symbolize strength among the Fellowship and strength for Gimli, as hair is used as a symbol of strength. Since the journey that the Fellowship is engaging in is a long and perilous journey, they will need all the help and strength that they can receive and by Galadriel, an Elf of high power among the Elves, giving Gimli a few locks of hair, it will also give strength to him. When questioned about his desire for her hair, Gimli says “[To] treasure… in memory of your words to me at our first meeting.” Gimli also goes on to say that he will put the locks of hair into “an imperishable crystal to be an heirloom of my house, and a pledge of good will between the Mountain and the Wood…” (Tolkien). The symbol of the hair is used to assist the characters along their journey to Mordor and to give them strength while on this journey.
In the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 there comes a scene in which Harry, Hermione, and Ron are hidden in the woods with the locket, otherwise known as a horcrux.

Voldemort split his soul multiple ways into multiple items, which become known as horcruxes, which makes him weaker as a wizard but much harder to kill since you have to destroy the horcruxes to fully kill him. The locket found by Harry, Hermione, and Ron is wearable, as it is on a chain, and whenever worn, the one who bears the horcrux becomes irritable and often times violent. While Ron is wearing the horcrux, he snaps at Harry and Hermione and Hermione says “You wouldn’t be saying this if you hadn’t been wearing it all day” (Yates). The locket is a symbol of control over the characters, as a hindrance. The locket’s main purpose in the film is to hinder and stop the trio from achieving their goal and defeating Voldemort. The locket does its job well, as it splits Ron from the trio by angering him into snapping at the other two and then departing. It is also very hard to destroy since the only thing that can destroy it, the sword of Gryffindor, has been stolen or lost; thus causing a major hindrance in the story. The locket is used to both address the strength of the individual to overcome the effects of the locket but to also deter the story from continuing, as all the horcruxes

do.
The One Ring in the Lord of the Rings trilogy is the most powerful ring that they can possess. The power of ring is summed up in one riddle: “… One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them…” However, the Ring, whether used for good or not, will always lead to evil and disastrous consequences. Frodo, the ring bearer and main protagonist of the story says “…Because we cannot use it and what is done with it turns to evil.” The Ring, like the locket in Harry Potter, is used only as a hindrance towards the story. However, the difference between the two objects is that the Ring is the main hindrance, whereas the locket is only one of the horcruxes that deter the group from their objective. The Ring also holds more power when worn. The Ring, when worn turns the bearer invisible to the mortal eye by bringing the wearer into a different spectrum, the dark spectrum in which Sauron lies, and making them more venerable to attacks from dark forces. The deterrence factor of the Ring comes from the fact that the longer it is worn, the less human the wearer becomes. The proof of this lies within the story of Sméagol/Gollum. The previous owner of the Ring, Smeagol found the Ring while searching with a family member, in a river. The family member desired the Ring so Smeagol killed him and hid with the Ring. The more he wore the Ring the less Smeagol he was and the more Gollum he became. He became more and more evil and dark. The Ring, like the locket in The Deathly Hallows, is used to solidify the ability of Frodo to overcome the urge and desire to put the Ring on his finger, thus giving over to the dark side.
The final major symbol within the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is the Deathly Hollows themselves.

The Deathly Hallows are as follows: The Elder Wand, The Cloak of Invisibility, and the Resurrections Stone. The Deathly Hallows were given to three brothers as rewards for cheating Death, however the brothers were taken by Death as they abused their reward. All but one: The Cloak of Invisibility. As the youngest brother, the possessor of the Cloak, avoids Death, he begins to grow old. At his Death, the youngest brother gave his Cloak to his heir. The Cloak of Invisibility is a symbol of defiance towards the inevitable. Death is inevitable and when the youngest brother wisely chooses the Cloak, he begins to defy Death and escape him on multiple occasions, no matter how hard Death searched for him. This defiance towards him is what makes the Cloak a symbol. The Resurrection Stone and the Elder Wand are both symbols of ignorance and arrogance. The story of the Elder Wand and the Resurrection Stone both end in the original owners being murdered or dying. The Elder Wand owner was killed by a rival wizard who heard of him bragging about his invincibility and the Resurrection Stone owner killed himself to be with the one woman he desired the Stone for. These are both symbols of ignorance and arrogance because of the unwise and improper uses of the Hallows. The Deathly Hallows are altogether a symbol of defiance because of the way they were acquired. The three

brothers defied Death and then requested gifts that would humiliate Death beyond their defiance. The only brother who survived is the brother who used their Hallow with caution and care. The Deathly Hallows as a single symbol, rather than three separate symbols is used to foreshadow the need of these Hallows and also to foreshadow the outcome of the use of these items. The arrogance of the owner of the Elder Wand got him killed and that story foreshadows how the Elder Wand would be used by Voldemort, if he were to find it. The Elder Wand would be used very poorly and only to gain power through destruction and not for any good, whatsoever. The power of the Hallows also gives insight of the qualities of the protagonists. They wish to use the Hallows to defeat Voldemort and make the wizarding world right again, knowing full well that they could use the Hallows as weapons and become more powerful wizards. They do not do this though, thus giving us insight into their personal beliefs and characters.
The comparisons of the two tales, The Fellowship of the Ring and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, were not difficult to spot. Since the two tales are so similar in content, it was easy to pick and choose which symbols would best create comparisons among the two tales. Both stories included many symbols and settings that were used to further character development, create tone or mood, foreshadow upcoming event, or to hinder or help the journey that the characters must partake. Both stories had a fair amount of symbols that hinder the journey and a fair amount of symbols that help the journey. Finally, both stories conclude with the villain being defeated and the items that needed destroyed, being destroyed, giving the stories a positive ending and leaving the reader satisfied to have completed this journey with these characters as they read along.