LOTR Ripoff

[Miranda]

Finally people who won't think I'm mad for speaking out against the trial that is Harry Potter!!!! I've noticed the parallels too!!! When I first read chamber of secrets I had an open mind but as soon as I started I kept thinking "I'm sure I've read this somewhere before!" then I realised what it was and I kept going through it and seeing Tolkien, Lewis, Carroll, Tolkien, Tolkien, Lewis, Carroll etc etc. When I mentioned it at school everyone was like- "NOOOOOOOOOOOO! Potter is the greatest" (I even had someone-who obviously wasn't very bright- saying that she thought PJ and Tolkien (she didn't know Tolkien was the author not the director) had copied Rowling!!!! It gave me great pleasure in informing her how impossible such a notion was. I'm so glad to finally have people who agree with me. Mx

[Firekitten2006]

I think that there are some very interesting likenesses I dont like Harry Potter any way so ya know, its all good if he falls off the face of the earth

[Nurvingiel]

Rowling had to settle a lawsuit with an obscure American author who wrote a book called "Larry Potter and the Muggles."

Though it seems too close to be a simple coincidence, it's surprisingly easy for fantasy authors to think of the same thing.

When I was in grade nine - long before Harry Potter came out - I wrote a story with a plant called "Devil's Snare" which also appears in Harry Potter. I happen to think it's a great name for a difficult plant! Besides, there's no way Rowling read my story. Similarly, I doubt Rowling read the American author's book either.

Neither of them invented the word "Muggle."

[Kallasilya]

I'm really sorry about this peoples, but it just annoys me sooooo much when people compare these two books!!!
GRRRRR!!!! (oh, the annoy-ment!)
They're about as different from each other as.... well..... anything!!! Sure, they're both about magic. But the magic is in VERY different styles....
Sure, there's a ring which makes you invisible and there's a cloak that makes you invisible... but I bet Tolkien wasn't the first guy to think of invisibility, now was he? Then there's Dumbledore and Gandalf... ahahahaha NO!! *cough* sorry But they're just such COMPLETELY different charachters that I have to laugh! After all, they're not the only two powerful wizards in the world of fantasy writing... otherwise you'd have to say that almost every second fantasy book was based on LotR.
And I'm sorry to say it, but the dementors are also very different to the Nazgul. Physically, they are creatures with a body and not just wraiths; less 'spirit-like' and more like real beings.
I'm sure there's many more similarities/differences that I haven't pointed out, but I think I'll stop now *hears sighs of relief from all round*
Sorry if I offended anyone, but as a reader and a lover of both series, I had to point out that they're BOTH GREAT

[Nurvingiel]

Comparing any two books is only fun if they're similar and different. I don't think LOTR and Harry Potter have a lot in common - even less that could be considered plaigerism on the part of Rowling - but you could compare LOTR to Dragonlance or an Arthurian legend with similar success.

[Blackboar]

Although they have the same types of creatures, they are diferent!
Look at the elved in LotR compared to the ones in HP!
But don't get me wrong. I think J.K Rowling is a copier. I think her books have lots of simaralaritys.(I know I cant spell) to LotR and she just used her idea for a school for kid wizards as a kind of cover-up.

I like the movies though!!

[Nibs]

I wouldn't go so far to say that she copied ideas out of LotR and merely renamed them... you could find similarities between almost anything...

But if the foremost antagonist in the fifth book (or whatever Rowling's on) is named Noruas, I'll agree.

[That's Sauron backwards, mind you]

[BeardofPants]

One problem: she hadn't read LOTR before writing it. Of course her stories have similarities... as do a lot of stories. You think Tolkien was original by having the bad guys dressed up in black cloaks? Where did HE steal it from then, eh? JK Rowling has just used common themes in her books. A troubled hero, a wizened advisor, an evil baddie, quests, etc. These are not exclusive to Tolkien's LOTR. Furthermore, as other people have REPETITIVELY said, LOTR and HP are two VERY different works. One is a literary masterpiece, the other is a childrens book. End of story.

[Nibs]

Originally posted by BeardofPants
One problem: she hadn't read LOTR before writing it. Of course her stories have similarities... as do a lot of stories.

Originally posted by BeardofPants
Furthermore, as other people have REPETITIVELY said, LOTR and HP are two VERY different works.[/B]

But people have been wrong before. You are a person, therefore you must be wrong.

Hence the real issue here... people are known to be illogical... I'm a person, therefore I must be illogical.

Did I only accomplish amusing myself there? The only point I think I made is that I'm in a different dimension.

[Coney]

Originally posted by Nibs
But people have been wrong before. You are a person, therefore you must be wrong.

Hence the real issue here... people are known to be illogical... I'm a person, therefore I must be illogical.

Did I only accomplish amusing myself there? The only point I think I made is that I'm in a different dimension.

Nah, misinterpreted pocket-philosophy only make us wish that you were in a different dimension

[Nibs]

People have complimented me before... therefore, that must have been a compliment.

[Coney]

Originally posted by Nibs
People have complimented me before... therefore, that must have been a compliment.

But people have been wrong before. You are a person, therefore you must be wrong.

[Nibs]

It didn't take but two posts...

[Coney]

Originally posted by Nibs
It didn't take but two posts...

Witty come-back

[Nibs]

Originally posted by Coney
Witty come-back

So that's the name of the game, is it? Well, you're far too late. I make fun of myself all the time. Look at my silly avatar! Do I really think like I look like an elf?? I mean, COME ON!

Back to topic, there doesn't seem to be one. Both stories have their merits. Enjoy them both instead of labeling one author a conceptual theif after reading just one of the books (if that).

I may not enjoy J.K. Rowling's work, but I can respect it.

[Nurvingiel]

The Lord of the Rings can be thought of as the basis for all fantasy books, so everyone's copying Tolkien, not just Rowling!

Arguments for similarities between Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings are weak, and based on misunderstanding.

[Elf.Freak]

i put this argument up with my sis. i agree that the dementors were taken from Tolkien, and many Harry Potter fans hit me for that reason...

[BeardofPants]

There were evil guys dressed in black before Tolkien.

[Dunadan]

Look - let's get this straight. Harry Potter is not a rip-off of LOTR; it's a rip-off of Scooby Doo. (Pesky kids)

[#1GaMGeeGuRL]

Originally posted by Wulažg
You underenstimate the power of the Dark Side...

No really. Tolkien affected a whole lot of stuff in our society, especially the fantasy genre. Some things are going to be similar since Tolkien is one of the foundations that all other fantasy is written on, presumably Harry Potter as well. It doesn't even matter that Rowling may not have read the books. LoR has changed fantasy and so there are going to be some things that will be similar if not identical. Poeple think alike.

In some ways I agree with that statement because Tolkien did make people take the fantasy genre seriously and was the foundation for it. But right off the top of my head I could think of fantasy related themes that don't echo LoTR. I'm not a big fan of Harry Potter anyway but have read the books so my opinion is legitimate.