What Harry Potter Cribbed from Lord of the Rings
I realize there’s nothing new under the sun–Tolkien himself borrowed from Norse mythology. At the same time, the more I review the Harry Potter books, the more I see the echoes of J.R.R. Below is what Harry Potter cribbed from Lord of the Rings.
Considering I`m only, like, part of the way through The Two Towers, these are just the ones I’ve found so far.
| Entity | Harry’s version | Frodo’s version | |
| Devoted, lower-class sidekick | Samwise | Ron | |
| Dangerous, grasping willow tree | Whomping willow | The one that Tom Bombadil rescues Pippin and Merry from | |
| Long-haired and -bearded wizard mentor/protector whose apparent feebleness belies his wizardly power | Dumbledore | Gandalf | |
| Evil being who was banished but not destroyed, who is slowly regaining power and regrouping his army and is often referred to as “he-who-must-not-be-named/whose-name-we-dare-not-speak” | Voldemort | Sauron | |
| Permanent forehead scar | Harry’s | Merry’s | |
| Troll unleashed by enemy | Mountain | Cave | |
| Character who could be portrayed by Robbie Coltrane | Hagrid | Gimli |
For good measure, here’s some stuff ripped off from The Black Cauldron.
| Oddly cute creature almost annoying in his devotion to the protagonist, who refers to himself in the third person | Dobby | Gurgi | |
| Animal assistant with name that sounds like “Henwig” | Hedwig | Henwen | |
| John Hurt as | Mr. Ollivander | The Horned King |
