Comparison of friendship theme in The Lord of the rings and Harry Potter

Comparison of friendship theme in The Lord of the rings and Harry Potter series
The theme of friendship is important in both The Lord of the rings and Harry Potter series. Arguably, making friends is actually amongst the best things for people to recognize in their day to day lives. Life can prove to be pretty sad except friends. Having a person to side with, study with and share with is paramount in one`s existence – someone who has one` back and who requires them in times of need. However for Harry Potter as nicely as some characters in the book who have been distinguished by their respective magical capabilities, making genuine friends is possible only at the Wizarding School (Tolkien, J. R. R). Literally, wizard friends at times are lifesavers. In the book, the wizard friends collaborated in defeating the evil overlords or the three-headed dogs. Through friendship, the characters are able to work together as well as learn from one another and achieve more compared to what they could have achieved on their own. In both, The Lord of the rings and Harry Potter series, friendships are based on mutual respect, loyalty, and honesty. However, they are as well complicated and quite diverse.

Rowling, just like Tolkien, throughout the book, expresses the significance of friendship, especially in scenarios which require overcoming difficult tasks or challenges. Harry is isolated completely prior to coming to Hogwarts. Not only is Harry lacking a loving and friendly family environment, but as well he lacks any friends to act as the support system to him. Nevertheless, upon becoming a learner at Hogwarts, he quickly establishes a friendship with many individuals, more significantly a close association with Hermione and Ron. In fact, for a number of learners at Hogwarts, a robust group of close acquaintance helps in alleviating homesickness as well as difficult classes. Nevertheless, for the case of Harry, the author creates a more apparent parallel between difficult life challenges and friendship. This is the only path that Harry uses to arrive at the Mirror of Erised amidst the Hogwarts` dungeons with the help of Hermione and Ron. Actually, both Ron and Hermione handle specific challenges which Harry could not have managed on his own, particularly the challenge of Professor McGonagall regarding the enormous wizarding chess as well as potions challenge of Professor Snape. Harry`s friendship with Hermione and Ron, in this case, saves his life besides allowing him to ensure Voldemort does not find the stone of the Sorcerer (Rowling, J. K, and Levi Pinfold).

Furthermore, the friendship of Harry with Hermione and Ron is pertinent in the manner that it distinguishes further Harry from Voldemort. Despite Voldemort being far more powerful compared to Harry, Harry prefers to be separated and autonomous from those who surrounded him. Yet Professor Quirrell, who consumes unicorn blood on his behalf, is just an aide to Voldemort. By the fact that Voldemort does not have the capability of forming long lasting friendships, always he is lonely and only relies on himself. On the other hand, Harry has the capability of relying on himself whilst still obtaining support as well as outstanding magical talents from his close friends. When Voldemort attempted to corrupt the mind of Harry, the thoughts of unity, love, and friendship helps Harry to defeat Voldemort and eliminate him totally from his mindset (Grimes, M. Katherine, and Lana A Whited). Harry stresses that the things which alienate evil from good are the one that enabled him to defeat the Voldermort. It is also noteworthy to mention that before Harry battled with the dragon, Hermione, his friend, privately visited him to offer him advice following her research concerning the dragon. Likewise, both Hermione and Ron were part of the audience during the battle and accorded him support.

Conversely, the friendships among the main characters in The Lord of the rings indeed are adorably bromantic. Although emotion-allergic among the people can flush slightly at the poignant sentiments between Frodo and Sam or Pippin and Merry, the strong attachment of friendship makes the Ring Quest actually possible. At the end, Frodo does not take Legolas – fast and brave – or Aragorn – brave and strong – with him. But, it is Sam who actually joins him. In fact, Sam insists to accompany Frodo since he loves him. Amazingly, Frodo permits him to join him since he cannot afford to go to Mordor without Sam, his dear friend, with him (Tolkien, J. R. R). Indeed, it is the emotional ties between the guys which offer them the strength they want so as to resist Sauron just like in the case of Harry with Ron and Hermione in the Harry Potter series where they united to battle the dragon, and challenge Voldemort, Professor Quirrell, and Professor Snape. However, unlike Ron and Hermione who share love abundantly, Sauron lacks it.

Unlike the friendship in Harry Potter series, the friendship in The Lord of the rings relates to homoeroticism and male-bonding, shared quest and master-servant. It is clear in this book that loyalty concept is the core of the friendships among the characters. This can be seen for example in the Sam-Frodo relationship as well as in Théoden and Merry. Similar to the friendship between Harry, and Ron and Hermione, mutual respect and loyalty are crucial facets as far as these characters are involved in their friendship (Isaacs, Neil D, and Rose A Zimbardo). They seem to respect one another. These are the factors that both Tolkien and Rowling seem to value in the real life. Tolkien knew the aspect of loyalty via his experience in war and the mutual respect definitely was the most apparent during his associations with his friends during the TCBS together with his colleagues in the Inklings. Homoeroticism is evidenced primarily in Frodo and Sam`s friendship which suggests an aspect of love affairs. It is undeniable that Sam and Frodo`s relationship is extremely an intimate one because often they kiss, stroke and embrace each other, thusly, it is open to the homoerotic interpretation. This male to male intimate friendship is contrary to the friendship between Harry and Ron and Hermione in the book Harry Potter series. Nonetheless, intimacy among the characters does not necessarily imply that the evidence of homosexuality among them.

Contrary to the friendship in Harry Potter series, the master-servant friendship is definite in The Lord of the rings. It can be noticed that there is more than the regular friendship between the master and the subordinate. Servants and masters become friends via the platform of mutual love, respect, and loyalty. This is evident, particularly in the friendship between Sam and Frodo on one hand as well as Théoden and Merry on the other hand. Tolkien deliberately compels the reader to face up to the breakdown of the social hierarchies that are widely known by imagining the form of subordination with no exploitation. Thusly, the friendship between the master and the subordinate becomes realistic and possible. Both parties absolutely have a role to play in their friendship and are united by the love they have for each other.

In conclusion, the theme of friendship can be seen both in The Lord of the rings and Harry Potter series. The relationship among the characters in both books is based on mutual respect, honesty, and loyalty. Harry, Ron, and Hermione establish a relationship that is based on these aspects that enabled them to assist Harry in handling diverse life challenges. Similarly, the friendships among the characters in the two books lead to unity that saw them conquer challenges they faced in their lives. On the other hand, the relationship of Frodo and Sam despite being grounded on loyalty, mutual respect and honesty, it is more of bromantic and master-servant.

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Work Cited

Grimes, M. Katherine, and Lana A Whited. The Harry Potter Series.

Isaacs, Neil D, and Rose A Zimbardo. Understanding The Lord Of The Rings. Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 2005,.

Rowling, J. K, and Levi Pinfold. Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone.

Tolkien, J. R. R. The Lord Of The Rings. London, Harper Collins Publishers, 2012,.