Sorcerers’ stones, chambers of secrets, prisoners of
Azkaban, goblets of fire and orders of the Phoenix. Pardon the cliché, but you can
judge some books by their covers. The magical, imaginative world of Harry
Potter is exactly how it sounds from the titles of five books: magical.
The Harry Potter
series is the greatest fantasy series ever written. The five books written by
J.K. Rowling tell an amazing story, one that children can actually read and
understand.
The fact that children everywhere can understand
these stories is one of the main reasons why Harry Potter surpasses
other fantasy series, mainly the highly popular Lord of the Rings
trilogy. The Lord of the Rings trilogy may be considered one of the
greatest fantasy epics of all time, but try handing The Fellowship of the
Ring to an ordinary fifth grader. It is unlikely this youngster will get
past the first paragraph.
The gift Rowling gave to children everywhere was the
gift of reading. The Harry Potter series has reminded children that reading is
fun and something that can open their minds to magical worlds. Children all over are reading these books.
Harry Potter fosters a love of reading and stimulates imagination.
Not only is Harry’s world magical, but it is also a
very moral world. Honesty, loyalty and integrity are all highly valued by the
characters in the book. Another such value is female equality. Every student at
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is treated equally, be it the female
captain of Gryffindor’s quidditch team, Alicia Spinnit, or popular Cedric
Diggory. The most important lesson perhaps, is that good should and will
triumph over evil. Harry and his friends continue to stand up for what is right
and for what they believe in each new installment.
Besides the books, there are also the major motion
pictures to prove Harry Potter truly is the greatest fantasy series of all
time. The first two movies drew huge opening weekend crowds. Theaters were
packed with Hogwarts look-a-likes, anxiously awaiting to see if director Chris
Columbus could depict what was happening inside their imaginations. And depict
it he did.
The actors cast to portray Harry and his loveable
friends are perfect. Maggie Smith fits
the description of strict, stern Professor Minerva McGonagall to a “T”. The
late Richard Harris will be hard to replace, considering his twinkling eye and
demeanor made him a perfect match for Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. And finally,
the three main characters, Harry, Ron and Hermione, were so convincing; they
have become the characters in my imagination while reading the books.
Harry Potter is not finished yet. Two more books and
at least one other movie are still in the works. This is just another great
thing about Harry. The anticipation his fans await before every book, and the
depression that ensues after finishing it, realizing it will be another year
before you can read another new Harry Potter book, is truly a mark of
something great. I am insanely lucky to have been part of the first generation
to experience Harry Potter and all his wonder and magic.
Harry Potter is a delightful child’s
story. I’ve read the first four books,
and enjoyed them all. However, they
cannot compare to the Lord of the Rings, an epic enjoyed by many in the
last 40 years. It’s impossible to
compare J. K. Rowling’s loveable tales of a coming of age wizard to Tolkien’s
story of the near-destruction of Middle Earth.
I have often been told that Tolkien is hard to read
and boring whereas Harry Potter is much more fun. This may be true, but once a reader is
involved in Tolkien, he’s fascinating.
Tolkien created an entire world in which to set his stories.
J. K. Rowling created the wizard world that co-exists
with the Muggle world. Readers alter
reality, accepting a new magical world.
Tolkien’s Middle Earth has its own history, cultures, languages,
calendars, geography and lore that the movies only begin to portray.
Tolkien is also a master of language. His poems and
songs can be found throughout the book along with stunning prose. In Return of the King, Pippin, a
hobbit, is fighting at the Black Gate of Mordor and falls beneath a troll.
Ironically, he hears shouts of joy and hope because the Eagles, their saviors,
are coming.
“’The Eagles are coming!’ For one moment more
Pippin’s thoughts hovered. ‘Bilbo!’ it
said. ‘But no! That came in his tale, long, long ago. This is my tale, and it is ended now. Good-bye!’ And his
thoughts fled far away and his eyes saw no more.” I cry every time I read that line; it’s more moving than anything
in Harry Potter.
Tolkien’s characters are incredible. While, I love Hermione’s wittiness and
Harry’s noble character, Gollum’s insanity and Sam’s loyalty are much more
amazing.
Comparing the movies is absolutely no contest. Lord
of the Rings has won six Oscars so far, without Return of the King. Harry Potter has won zero.
Lord of the Rings were filmed in beautiful
New Zealand with amazing scenery, sets and special effects.
The acting is incomparable. Elijah Wood is a
terrified, brave and loveable hobbit as Frodo.
Daniel Radcliffe is a monotone, adolescent boy as Harry. Gollum
is a psychotic, realistic and wonderful character onscreen, while Dobby is
annoying; he’s a smaller more dingy looking Jar-Jar Binks.
Finally, Harry Potter’s actors are fair
looking at best. Daniel Radcliffe is only a suitable heartthrob for preteens. Lord of the Rings has Viggo
Mortensen, the mysterious, fierce Aragorn. They also have baby face Elijah Wood
playing the loveable hobbit Frodo and the prettiest elf of them all, Orlando
Bloom as Legolas.
There is simply no way to compare Lord of the
Rings and Harry Potter. Harry
Potter is a fun children’s tale, enjoyed by all, but it cannot stand
against the wondrous epic, The Lord of the Rings.