Works analogous to Harry Potter

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J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter books share a number of similarities with a wide range of literature, both classical and modern. This has led many to label the books as derivative, or even plagarised. Others have claimed she is merely drawing upon ancient archetypes which have been used by many other authors in the past.

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[edit] Acknowledged influences

While Rowling has never openly credited any single author with inspiration, she cites Jane Austen as her favourite author and a major influence. The Harry Potter series is known for its twist endings, and Rowling has stated that she feels Jane Austen to have constructed the greatest twist of all time in her novel Emma. [1]

She has also claimed to have been a fan of the works of C. S. Lewis as a child, and the influence of his Narnia chronicles can perhaps be seen in the series's seven-volume structure, its use of classical myth, (particularly creatures such as centaurs, griffins and dwarfs) and the deep connection she draws between magic and love. Rowling claims, "I found myself thinking about the wardrobe route to Narnia [in the CS Lewis series including The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe] when Harry is told he has to hurl himself at a barrier in Kings Cross Station - it dissolves and he's on platform Nine and Three-Quarters, and there's the train for Hogwarts."[2]

She is, however, at pains to stress the differences between Narnia and her world: "Narnia is literally a different world," she says, "whereas in the Harry books you go into a world within a world that you can see if you happen to belong. A lot of the humour comes from collisions between the magic and the everyday worlds. Generally there isn't much humour in the Narnia books, although I adored them when I was a child. I got so caught up I didn't think CS Lewis was especially preachy. Reading them now I find that his subliminal message isn't very subliminal." [2]

She frequently mentions E. Nesbit in interview, citing her "very real" child characters. [3] Nesbit's fantasy stories, particularly The Phoenix and the Carpet, have some similarities to the Potter novels. Rowling has also claimed to have been a fan of Paul Gallico and of the story The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge [4]. Another book she has named as a favorite is I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith.

[edit] Cited works

There are a number of authors to which Rowling has been repeatedly compared in the media. Some of these she has herself mentioned, others have been mentioned by internet sites, journalists, critics or other authors. Order is roughly chronological.

[edit] Thomas Hughes

The Harry Potter series draws upon a long tradition of boarding school-set children's literature in English. This school story genre originated in the Victorian era with Tom Brown's Schooldays, by Thomas Hughes. Tom Brown's Schooldays laid down a basic structure which has been widely imitated, for example in Anthony Buckeridge's 1950s Jennings books.

Similarities between Tom Brown's Schooldays and Harry Potter are easy to identify. Both stories involve an average eleven-year old, better at sport than academic study, who is sent to boarding school. Upon arrival, the boy gains a best friend (In Tom's case, East, in Harry's case, Ron Weasley) who helps him adjust to the new environment. They are set upon by an arrogant bully — in Tom Brown's case, Flashman, in Harry's case Draco Malfoy. Stephen Fry, who both narrates the British audio adaptations of the Harry Potter novels and has starred in a screen adaptation of Tom Brown, has commented many times about the similarities between the two books. "Harry Potter - a boy who arrives in this strange school to board for the first time and makes good, solid friends and also enemies who use bullying and unfair tactics," notes Fry, "then is ambiguous about whether or not he is going to be good or bad. His pluck and his endeavour, loyalty, good nature and bravery are the things that carry him through - and that is the story of Tom Brown's Schooldays". [5]

[edit] J. R. R. Tolkien

While Tolkienian scholar Thomas Shippey has maintained that no "modern writer of epic fantasy has managed to escape the mark of Tolkien, no matter how hard many of them have tried", Rowling has maintained that in the most meaningful of ways, she has.[6]

Fans of Tolkien have drawn attention to the similarities between Tolkien's Wormtongue and Rowling's Wormtail, Rowling's Dementors and Tolkien's Nazgûl, and similarities between both authors' antagonists, Tolkien's Sauron and Rowling's Lord Voldemort (both of whom are sometimes within their respective continuties unnamed due to intense fear surrounding their names).[7] Rowling maintains that she hadn't read The Hobbit until after she completed the first Harry Potter novel (though she had read The Lord of the Rings as a teenager) and that any similarities between her books and Tolkien's are "fairly superficial".[8]

[edit] Roald Dahl

Many have drawn attention to the similarities between Rowling's works and those of Roald Dahl, particularly in the depiction of the Dursley family, which echoes the nightmarish guardians seen in many of Dahl's books, such as the Wormwoods from Matilda and Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker from James and the Giant Peach. Rowling acknowledges that there are similarities, but believes that at a deeper level, her works are different than those of Dahl; in her words, more "moral." [9]

[edit] Ursula K. Le Guin

The basic premise of Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea (1968), in which a boy with unusual aptitude for magic is recognised, and sent to a special school for wizards, resembles that of Harry Potter. The hero encounters a typically unpleasant Draco-like rival, in the Flashman tradition. There are multiple similarities between "Cob," the wizard who is the villain of the third Earthsea book, The Farthest Shore, and Voldemort. Cob is obsessed with death and is willing to destroy the world to obtain his own immortality, ultimately because he fears death above all things. Cob calls himself "king" and "lord." He is pale, tall, and skinny, with long arms and fingers, and his body is twisted as a result of the evil magics he has practiced upon himself. Le Guin has claimed that she doesn't feel Rowling "ripped her off," but that she felt that the books were overpraised for supposed originality, and that Rowling "could have been more gracious about her predecessors."[10]

[edit] Jill Murphy

Jill Murphy's The Worst Witch series (first published in 1974), is set in a school for girls, "Miss Cackle's Academy of Witchcraft", remarkably reminiscent of Hogwarts. The school is hosted in an ancient castle on a remote hill surrounded by a forest. Classes include potions, chants and broomstick flying. Though the headmistress is kind and understanding, the hooknosed Potions mistress is harsh and unpleasant. She is particularly cruel towards the protagonist, a young witch named Mildred Hubble - but Mildred's nemesis is her pet student.[11] Rumours have circulated for many years that Jill Murphy attempted to sue Rowling for plagiarism, but there is no evidence for this. IMDB to this day states the rumour as fact. [12]

[edit] Diana Wynne Jones

In Diana Wynne Jones' Charmed Life (1977), two orphaned children receive magical education while living in a castle. The setting is a world resembling early 1900 Britain, where magic is commonplace. Jones' book Witch Week is set in a boarding school where many of the students turn out to be witches, in a world where witches are persecuted. Diana Wynne Jones has stated in answer to a question on her webpage: "I think Ms Rowling did get quite a few of her ideas from my books - though I have never met her, so I have never been able to ask her. My books were written many years before the Harry Potter books (CHARMED LIFE was first published in 1977), so any similariities probably come from what she herself read as a child. Once a book is published, out in the world, it is sort of common property, for people to take ideas from and use, and I think this is what happened to my books." [13]

[edit] Terry Pratchett

Before the arrival of J. K. Rowling, Britain's bestselling author was comic fantasy writer Terry Pratchett. His Discworld books, beginning with The Colour of Magic in 1983, do contain a number of slight concordances with the Harry Potter series, particularly the Tiffany Aching novels, which concern a witch in training. The books also feature a school for wizards called the Unseen University, which includes a young student - Ponder Stibbons- with black hair and glasses. The BBC and other British news agencies have emphasised a supposed rivalry between Pratchett and Rowling, but Pratchett has gone on record that, while he doesn't put Rowling on a pedestal, he doesn't consider her a bad writer, nor does he envy her success. [14]. He has, however, critisised her for claiming that her works "subvert" the fantasy genre, pointing out that all fantasy post-Tolkien has adapted and subverted the genre to its own time and purpose. [15]

[edit] Chris Columbus

The 1985 film Young Sherlock Holmes, scripted by Chris Columbus, also displays similarities to the Harry Potter series. The three leads bear a strong physical resemblance to the Harry, Ron and Hermione of Rowling's description (as does a character named Dudley to Draco Malfoy). They investigate a supernatural mystery in a Gothic boarding school, where staff include the Professor Flitwick-like Waxflatter, and sinister Rathe. Trophy-room duels, scars, a hooded Dementor-like apparition, Death Eater-style cultists, a flying bike, and ultimate sacrifice for love are other elements in common. The similarities contributed to Warner Bros. decision to employ Columbus as producer/director of the Potter movies, in preference to Terry Gilliam, Rowling's original choice. Scenes from Young Sherlock Holmes were subsequently used to cast the first Harry Potter film. [16]

[edit] Neil Gaiman

Fans of the comic book series The Books of Magic, by Neil Gaiman (first published in 1990 by DC Comics) have cited similarities to the Harry Potter story. These include a dark-haired boy with glasses, named Timothy Hunter, who on his eleventh birthday discovers his potential as the most powerful wizard of the age upon being approached by magic-wielding individuals, the first of whom makes him a gift of a pet owl. On one cover, Tim is portrayed with a cut on his forehead, reminiscent of Harry's scar. Similarities led the British tabloid paper the Daily Mirror to claim Gaiman had made accusations of plagiarism against Rowling, which he went on the record denying, saying the similarities were either coincidence, or drawn from the same fantasy archetypes.[17]

[edit] Jane Yolen

In 1991, the author Jane Yolen released a book called The Wizard's Hall, which bears resemblence to the Potter series and its characters. The main protagonist, Henry and not Harry (AKA Thornmallow), is a young boy who joins a magical school for young wizards. Like in the Potter series, Thornmallow is destined to change the lives of everyone at the school[18]

[edit] Eva Ibbotson

Eva Ibbotson's The Secret of Platform 13 (first published in 1994) features a gateway to a magical world located on an underground railway platform. The protagonist belongs to the magical world but is raised in our world by a rich family who neglect him and treat him as a servant, while their fat and unpleasant biological son is pampered and spoiled. Amanda Craig is one example of a journalist who has written about the similarities: "Ibbotson would seem to have at least as good a case for claiming plagiarism as the American author currently suing J. K. Rowling [Stouffer, see below], but unlike her, Ibbotson says she would "like to shake her by the hand. I think we all borrow from each other as writers."[19]

[edit] Plagiarism accusation

The most notorious accusation of plagiarism was that of Nancy Stouffer, an author of children's books published in the 1980s, who, in the late 1990s began to charge publicly that Rowling's books were based on her books, including The Legend of Rah and the Muggles and Larry Potter and His Best Friend Lilly. Stouffer sued Rowling and Scholastic, Inc. in U.S. District Court, also naming Time Warner as a party. Rowling, Scholastic and Warner Bros. sued Stouffer in New York, asking the court to judge that there was no infringement of Stouffer's trademarks or copyright.[20] Rowling and her co-litigants argued that much of the evidence that Stouffer presented was fraudulent, and asked for sanctions and attorneys' fees as punishment.[21] In September 2002 the court found in Rowling's favour, stating that Stouffer had lied to the court and falsified and forged documents to support her case. Stouffer was fined US$50,000 and ordered to pay part (but not all) of the plaintiffs' costs.[22] In January 2004 it was reported that Stouffer's appeal against the judgement had been rejected. The appeals court agreed that Stouffer's claims were properly dismissed because "no reasonable juror could find a likelihood of confusion as to the source of the two parties' works".[23] A report of the judgment (requires subscription) can be found at the Entertainment Law Digest[24]. The 2002 judgment can be found at eyrie.org. Commentary and links to reviews of Stouffer's books at Making Light

[edit] Other examples

Elements within the Harry Potter novels are shared throughout fantasy and children's literature. Here is but a brief sample:

The Earthsea books, while hugely successful, were not the first to propose the idea of a school for wizards. Magical education appears in Eleanor Estes' 1960 book The Witch Family and in Patricia Coombs' Dorrie series (1962+) [1].

Groosham Grange by Anthony Horowitz (first published in 1988) is set in a boarding school where students and staff have supernatural powers.

In the 1960s television series Bewitched: Samantha Stephens' aunts are described as running a school for witches.

T. H. White, a grammar school teacher, was the author of the well-known children's classic saga, The Once and Future King, which tells the story of King Arthur of Britain, from childhood to grave. Perhaps the best-known book from this saga is The Sword in the Stone (the first book) which was made into an animated movie by Disney Studios. The characters drawn in this saga have some interesting parallels with Harry Potter, his acquaintances, and the world he lives in. For example: Harry (Wart) is an small scruffy-haired orphan, who meets a tall, slim white-bearded magician in robes called Dumbledore (Merlin) who takes him to a castle to educate him. The boy discovers he is actually quite famous. The magician can travel by spinning on the spot and disappearing. Messages can be carried by owls. They duel with evil magicians.

J. K. Rowling is often compared to Enid Blyton, if only because both women became household names in Britain through their writing for children. While no single work of Blyton's is much like the Harry Potter books, Blyton's influence is occasionally felt in the construction of school life. Blyton wrote several famous series set in boarding schools, such as Malory Towers; she also wrote series about children who form secret societies, solve mysteries and have adventures together, such as The Famous Five. Blyton's heroes and heroines are notorius for enjoying "lashings of ginger beer", a possible inspiration for butterbeer. While Blyton also wrote series about children who undergo magical adventures (for instance The Magic Faraway Tree), the similarities to Rowling's works are felt less in the magic than in the social and cultural interactions of the children. (Note also similar book titles.)

Archie Comics' Sabrina the Teenage Witch (first appearing in the 1960s, later resurrected in the 1990s in response to the success of the live-action television series) also features a young magical protagonist, and other similarities.

John Bellairs' Lewis Barnavelt books also have points in common with the Harry Potter stories. They concern a boy, orphaned when his parents die in a car crash, who goes to live with peculiar Uncle Jonathan and housekeeper Mrs. Zimmermann. Both are wizards, and their house is a Hogwarts-like construction of moving pictures and secret passageways. Big, bearded, affectionate Uncle Jonathan is only somewhat magical (like Rowling's Hagrid), while the shrewder, stricter Mrs. Zimmermann is actually a powerful sorceress, similar to Headmistress McGonagall. Her wand, similar to Hagrid's wand, is hidden in a purple umbrella. The opening novel The House with a Clock in Its Walls features a magical item left in a secret chamber by an evil wizard, and its sequel, The Figure in the Shadows, places Lewis in cofrontation with a black-robed, cowled, dementor-like ghost.

There are also parallels between Harry Potter and Lord Dunsany's fantasy short stories, in which the magical lands at the Edge of the World are reached via a special train from Victoria Station using a purple ticket "that they only give if they know you".

In film and television, Hogwarts-like witches - one of whom is played by theatre actress Hermione Gingold - appear in the 1958 movie Bell, Book and Candle.

There are similarities between Hogwarts and the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters and the X-Men comic books. Both are schools for students with supernatural abilities (wizards in the case of Hogwarts; mutants in the case of the Xavier School). Both are kept hidden from the rest of humanity. Also, upon the founding of Hogwarts, there was a similar ideological rift between Gryffindor and Slytherin as there was between Charles Xavier and Magneto. Gryffindor wanted to accept all magical students into Hogwarts, but Slytherin insisted only pure-bloods be admitted, given the atrocities humanity was committing against the magical community at the time. Similarly, Xavier wants his mutant students to integrate with the rest of humanity, whereas Magneto wants mutants to be independent of humanity and exert their superiority, given the widespread distrust of mutants by humans. Also, Magneto's attitudes toward humanity were shaped by his experiences during the Holocaust, just as Slytherin's were shaped during the widespread persecution of people with magical abilities. Slytherin's attitudes from a thousand years ago are reflected in the disgust some in the magical community feel toward muggles or muggle-born wizards. Mutants who distrust humans and who are overtly proud of their abilities follow Magneto, who even goes so far as to want to rid the world of humanity.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Boquet, Tim. J.K. Rowling: The Wizard Behind Harry Potter. Reader's Digest. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
  2. ^ a b Renton, Jennie. "The story behind the Potter legend: JK Rowling talks about how she created the Harry Potter books and the magic of Harry Potter's world". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
  3. ^ JK Rowling. JK Rowling at the Edinburgh Book Festival. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
  4. ^ Edinburgh "cub reporter" press conference. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
  5. ^ Ian Wylie. Stephen Fry's Schooldays. Manchester Evening News. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
  6. ^ Thomas, Shippey (2000). J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century. Harper Collins.
  7. ^ Monroe, Caroline. How Much Was Rowling Inspired by Tolkien?. GreenBooks.TheOneRing.net. Retrieved on 2006-05-21.
  8. ^ "About the Books: transcript of J. K. Rowling's live interview on Scholastic.com", Scholastic.com, October 2000.
  9. ^ Feldman, Roxanne. The Truth About Harry. School Library Journal. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
  10. ^ Maya Jaggi. The magician. Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
  11. ^ Jonas Ramstein. Harry Potter Similarities to Worst Witch, Accusations of Plagiarism, J RK Rowling Same as Worst Witch Some Say. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
  12. ^ Jill Murphy: Biography. IMDB. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
  13. ^ Wynn Jones, Diana. DIANA'S ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS. Diana Wynne Jones: Official Site. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
  14. ^ Mystery lord of the Discworld. The Age. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
  15. ^ Pratchett takes swipe at Rowling. BBC News. Retrieved on 2006-10-16.
  16. ^ Brian Linder. Trouble Brewing with Potter Casting?. Filmforce. Retrieved on 2006-10-11.
  17. ^ Linda Richards. Interview: Neil Gaiman. January Magazine. Retrieved on 2006-10-11.
  18. ^ Stephen Richmond (2005). Before there was Harry Potter, there was Thornmallow!. Retrieved on 2006-10-27.
  19. ^ Amanda Craig. Eva Ibbotson. Retrieved on 2006-10-11.
  20. ^ BBC News. "Harry Potter books 'plagiarised'". 17 March 2000. Accessed 25 March 2006.
  21. ^ Hogwarts Wire. "Stouffer ordered to pay 50k fine". 19 September 2002. Accessed 11 June 2006.
  22. ^ Reuters. "Court throws out 'Muggles' claims against Rowling". Accessed 25 March 2006.
  23. ^ The Harry Potter Automatic News Aggregator. [http://www.hpana.com/news.17860.html "Nancy pay the costs of the appeal.
  24. ^ 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 02-9405. Scholastic, Inc., J.K. Rowling and Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P. v. Nancy Stouffer. Retrieved on 2006-10-11.

[edit] Secondary sources

  1. Pat Pincent, "The Education of a Wizard: Harry Potter and His Predecessors" in The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter: Perspectives in a Literary Phenomenon. Edited with an Introduction by Lana A. Whited. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2002.
  2. Amanda Craig, "Harry Potter and the art of lifting ideas", The Sunday Times, July 17, 2005.

[edit] See also

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