I don't really know if this is the right place for this topic....but I think looking at the similarities might help us make predictions about the future novels.

Characters:

Harry/Frodo: both orphans, both live with uncles, both out to destroy something

Ron/Sam: both give the hero his strength and are the one person he cares about most

Hermione/Aragorn: hermione is probably going to be Head Girl at the end, and Aragorn was king. They are both leaders, and both know when the hero has to fight his own battles. they are also both extremely clever, but can always keep their cool

Fred & George/Pippin: comic reliefs, both leave Frodo/Harry early to pursue the cause in a different way

Neville/Merry: everyone thinks they are too weak to be useful, but their loyalty to the cause, and their friends ensures that they are helpful in battle

Dumbledore/Gandalf: i think the similarities are self explanatory

Sirius/Boromir: i think they're similar firstly because they both die, and secondly, because they both went (or were thought to have gone) astray and proved themselves loyal before the end

Kreacher/Gollum: want to see the hero dead, but are bound by an oath to help him

Fudge/Denethor: both rulers who don't believe the trouble until it's too late

Arthur Weasley/Faramir: both were close with the minister and then fell into disfavor because they tried to stand up to him. also, both suffered near fatal attacks (the snake bite/the attack on osgiliath). both are also kindly to the hero, and try to help him

Wormtail/Wormtongue: both traitors

Tonks/Eowyn: both tomboyish, and great in battle, also both are kindly. both were hurt in battle.

Luna Lovegood/Galadriel: neither are really friendly at first, and they help the hero by showing him that he is not growing crazy, and that he has a need for independence.


Other Similarities:

No one says Voldemort's name...No one uses the High Speech of Mordor
Dementors...Black Riders
Both heros were stabbed by their enemy

I'll think of more later, but you have to admit, there are a lot of similarities.

If you realy want to go in detail, you can say that Minas Tirith is home for Gandalf and Hogwarts home for Dumbledore.

You are right when you say there are similarities but are you right when you say that you can predict the future?

I agree that there are a lot of similarities between the books...I had noticed the Dementor/black rider one also... but i don't think that LOTR is going to give us too much information on what will happen in future HP books.

Oh, wow, Ginny Weasley, clever. Cool. I never would've thought of that. There is also the spider in the third LOTR and Then, ummm...whats his name...Aragon or something? I'm not sure. But yeah, thats cool.

Very true. I can't find the exact article I'm looking for right now. Basically, stories like LotR, HP, Matrix, etc. have a basic element that seems to appeal to humans. The whole underdog discovering who he/she is and rising agaisnt all odds to save the world type theme. Of course, you add in elements that complicate it a bit, but that's the basic idea. And honestly, for me, it doesn't seem to get old. And I'm assuming that's the case with a lot of people since these movies and books seem to be so popular.

I believe the term Monerz is trying to look for is an "epic". Some of the most famous epics are The Oddessey and LoTR and Star Wars. That being said...

I don't think Harry Potter is an epic. It could somehow be called a Saga, but despite the coincidences, the story lines are dissimiliar. All those stories are about a long, perilous journey. Although HP could be called a long journey of Harry's self, I still don't accept the whole theory that HP and LoTR have the same plot lines, thusly we can use LoTR to determine the future of Harry.

After all, not knowing whats going to happen is the fun part, is it not? All we can do is wait and see.

I had noticed all these similarities as well. I'd like to add one:

The Ring and Voldemort or Harry:InLOTR Frodo has to destroy the ring to save middle earth and in HP Voldemort must die to save the world.

Also acciofirebolt Shelob comes into LOTR in the second book and the spider in HP is called Aragog just thought you should know that

Well as you can tell by my siggy it's obvious that i've seen these similarities before but i never really saw the kreacher/gollum one. that's very clever. The reason i think that LOTR is a presence in HP is because they're both in the same genre and, lets face it, LOTR is HUGE. It's got so many original characters and themes and ideas that it would be hard for someone to not find inspiration from those books. I have to say though, that Hermione/Aragorn similarity is kind of stretching it but hey....i agree with you that HP has a large LOTR influence

I have been reading The Da Vinci Code and was startled to find some Harry Potter facts in the book.

We all know that the key to figuring out what was was hidden in Hogwarts under Fluffy was Nicolas Flamel. Well, Mr. Flamel is mentioned in The Da Vinci code. He was not only apart, but leader of a secret society that kept the "Holy Grail" secret of two thousand years. That group was the Priory Sion.

I also discovered that the points made about Flamel being an alchemist and being able to create an exlir to stop death, do not only describe him, but Leonardo Da Vinci who was also in the Priory Sion.

Also the name Draco came from a 7th century B.C. politican. And just as our beloved Draco Malfoy, this Draco was ruthless.


Quite freaky, is it not?

MOD NOTE: Just want to make a note that I'm transferring this topic to the Lounge... in case you were wondering what happened to it.

I noticed these facts on reading both books but as it is stated in programmes about the Da Vinci Code on the TV the facts have to come from somewhere. This is also the case for the Harry Potter books JK has to find things that sometimes come from fact. I don't think this is very freaky (I'm not trying to put down your opinion) I just think its a coincidence that more than one writer uses different pieces of facts for the characters in their books.

The DaVinci code is fiction. There are some names and places he gets right, but any decent college historian will tell you its all fiction.

Nicolas Flamel was an alchemist, yes he was a real person, lived in 14th century Paris. Alchemy, a pseudoscience whose goal was to isolate a philosopher's stone that could turn lead (meaning base metals) into gold and bestow immortality on the alchemist. Defined simply, it is the transformation of something common into something special.

JKR uses alchemical imagery in the Harry Potter series. Some of them are:

Hermione- the feminine from of Hermes (greek messenger god Mercury) mercury being one of the chemicals used in alchemy. Hermes was also the name of alchemist Hermes Trismegistos.

James (Harry's father)- St. James is the patron saint of alchemists

Lily (Harry's mother) - symbol for the second, purifying stage of the alchemical work.

Ron (being a passionate redhead) represents sulfur, another substance used in the process. Red also being the final stage of the process, but I think Ron is more in the chemical mix rather than the stages, which seems to be all adults.

Black (Sirius)- The first stage of the dissolution is described as , "the body of the impure metal, outmoded state of being killed, putrefied, and dissolved into the original substance of creation, inorder that it may be renovated and reborn in a new form" ( Can't say what this will mean for Sirius).

Albus - second stage of purification is called the albedo, or white work. Albus is latin for white.

Rubeus - the third stage is called the rubedo, or red stage. Rubeus is latin for red.

There's a whole lot more to it too. I think putting Nicholas Flamel in the first book and entitling it The Philosopher's Stone (British version) is a clue to some of the writing tools she is using perhaps even a clue to future events (I mean look at the black stage, Sirius died, first stage).

I've also read the book. And I also saw Nicholas Flamel's name but JK said that it's not him so I think we should believe our dearest author, shouldn't we? And actually, Harry Potter was mentioned in the book (or in Angels and Demons) but it's actually a joke.

I am in the process of reading DaVinci code while waiting for HBP to come out and I have also noticed many similariteis..and yes it was here that Harry Potter was joked at gryffin_hauz_88...ther is also a quote which says the latin word cross or crucifex come from cruciare but this actually means torture which is where I am sure JKR came up with the CRUSTACIOUS (sp?) curse...there is also another name with regards to Professor Sinistra and then meaning behind the word...but I cant find the exact quote *angry* (I knew I should have marked it) but it basically gave some possible forshadow into the character...humm I will keep looking for it

Mercury,

I am well aware The Da Vinci Code is fiction, afterall I did read it. I was merely making a comment about the coincidences that the books share.

that line was actually in DaVinci code not angles and demons (unless it is in both??) but I found the thing that I was looking for and it was talking about a person whos last name (or something like that) was sinastra much like the beloved astronomy teacher...and it was talking about how they were very decetful and turned on a lot of people (hence the origin sinister) maybe Sinastra will be the person in HBP to go to the other side??? much like the real Sinistra (and yes he/she actually existed)

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=1][COLOR=purple] I really believe that JKR intended to put in those few "coincidences" in Harry Potter. There are so many more if you read the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail. I jsut finished reading it and I realized that it would be entirely possible if JKR was indeed a member of the Priory of Sion. Just thinking about the some of the other members (Da Vinci, Newton) she could fit right in with them, because she is a genious who will be famous as long as people still exist on this earth.

More lines can be drawn between HP and the actual Priory and the Merovingian bloodline (the claimed royal blood line of Jesus) than in Dan Brown's novel. He merely touches on a few of the important points. I highly recommend reading that book listed above if you are at all interested in this subject. I have more "coindences" but I will post them later...(out of time!)

This post was written by Brett Wharton and transferred to this thread.

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We know JKR has complied with many patterns in literature in the past. So... why no use the events in these other works to predict the events in HP?


The Lord of the Rings as a Key to Determining the Climax of Harry Potter

Characters paralleled:
The Ring, Sauron --Lord Voldemort
Gollum --Wormtail
Frodo Baggins --Harry Potter
Gandalf --Dumbledore

The Lord of the Rings has a very different structure than Harry Potter and Star Wars, however there appear to be some recurrent archetypes and thus there is likely to be an ending similar to that of The Lord of the Rings in Harry Potter. Once again the two characters who are corrupted, betray their friends, are spared by and indebted to the protagonist, return to their evil ?master,? and betray the protagonist, will likely share a similar fate. Although Gollum?s last deed is done with evil intent he inadvertently does good and changes the fate of Middle Earth. Considering this, it is my prediction that Wormtail will indeed change the fate of the world by destroying his master, however I do not think that he will do this with evil intent. It is possible that he may, however do some deed for evil, but through it do the world of good, however I think this less likely because the structure of Harry Potter appears to be closer to that of Star Wars and therefore I would be inclined to believe that the ending will be more similar to that of Star Wars.

I also predict that Dumbledore will die for the cause as Gandalf does. However I do not believe that Dumbledore will be resurrected. As the four hobbits, or central band of characters, appear similar to the trio of Harry, Ron and Hermione, I predict that none of the three will die as none of the hobbits die. As in The Lord of the Rings however, other deaths are to be expected. The death of Boromir may correspond to the death of Sirius. And the deaths of the leaders, Theoden and Denethor, may correspond to the death of Fudge and perhaps may also be another hint towards Dumbledore?s death as he also was a leader. Finally as Gollum died in The Lord of the Rings, his archetypal character, Wormtail, will likely die in the end as well.

Lastly, as the climax of The Lord of the Rings included open war but with the real battle taking place with the central characters against the central ?villain? (the Ring), so it will be in the climax of Harry Potter. The climax of Harry Potter will probably include open war (but of course fought as wizards fight, and not on a battlefield but through individual encounters) and the separate climactic fight previously described with Harry, Voldemort, and the Death Eaters including Wormtail.

Summarized Predictions Without Explanation:
· Two main battles will take place: one fought not on an open battlefield but through individual encounters by all of the peripheral characters, and the ?real? one that will determine the fate of the world fought by Harry, Voldemort, and the Death Eaters including Wormtail.
· Harry will bravely put up a fight against Voldemort, but will be no match against his power.
· Voldemort will attempt to bring Harry to the Dark Side, knowing his power.
· Wormtail will save Harry from Voldemort at the last minute, thoroughly killing his master, but perishing in his attempt.
· Dumbledore will die.
· Fudge will die.
· Harry, Ron and Hermione will not die.

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I hope no-one has said this yet.

At the start of LotR and HP, the bad guy (Sauron, Voldemort) were really strong. Then they became weak by getting ring cut from finger and spell rebounding on caster. After this they both take years to grow strong again. When this happens they are not whole still. Sauron=Eye and Voldemort=Spirit sort of thing. They both need something to bring them back. Sauron=Ring and Voldemort=Bone of father, Flesh of servent and Blood of enemy. The only difference I see is Voldemort achieved what he wanted and Sauron did not.

Souljacker - what an intresting article. Quite possibly in ways the skeleton of the charcters and plot are related to Lord of the Rings. It will be quite intresting if it turns out some of these thoughts come true in book 6!

Hagrid/Gimli

Tall / Short
Giant / Midgit
Brown Beard / Red Beard
Cool looking / Ugly

i had been thinking about this a lot and i'm glad someone else finally saw the similarities too... you named just about every one that i could think of... good work

I finished reading the first part of the DA Vinci 3 weeks ago.Dan has mentioned Harry Potter as the bestseller of the times,and Ithink he has he has also added some character named Draco,was it Draco Malfoy that struck him then?

I was reading Shakespeare's Macbeth yesterday and I noticed that the witches in the story sing the song from PoA, "Double, Double, Toil and Trouble". Now, I'm too lazy to look this up and see if it's actually in the book or just the movie, but I thought it was really interesting. Doesn't it seem like JKR uses references to early literature? I have heard many different theory's connecting HP to ancient storys, novels, sonnets, ect.

Thoughts?

Edited to add: Okay, this is really odd, but I was just re-reading Emerson's old interveiw with JKR, and I see this:

ES: What if he never heard the prophecy?

JKR: And that's it, isn't it. As I said, that's what I posted on my site -

ES: I'm glad you put that up.

JKR: It's the “Macbeth” idea. I absolutely adore “Macbeth.” It is possibly my favorite Shakespeare play. And that's the question isn't it? If Macbeth hadn't met the witches, would he have killed Duncan? Would any of it have happened? Is it fated or did he make it happen? I believe he made it happen.

Isn't that weird?! I had no clue she ever said that! Freeeeeaaaaky!! Do you think she has put in any other suble clues that relate to Macbeth or other famous literature?

I did not know about that particularl interview. Very interesting. However, "Double Trouble" actually is a song that was created and performed specifically for the movie. It did not appear in any form in the book version of Azkaban.


Hmm, other Shakespeare references... can't think of any at the moment.

I always knew writers took from other writers, and I thought it would be cool to make a whole thread about similarities between HP and other books. Here are some of mine:

• In Lord of the Rings, there is an evil thing named the Dark Lord. Sound familiar?
• In Edgar Allan Poes's The Tell Tale Heart, there is an old man. One of his eyes is regular, but the other is large and ghastly blue. Sound like Moody.
• The Chronicles of Narnia has 7 books, and the 7th is the final battle. Rumors say that the 7th HP book is the last battle between Harry and LV. Also, Harry Potter and Chronicles of Narnia both have 7 books.

Any others?

OOhh, there is another thread like this somewhere, but I can't seem to remeber where it is, so I will state one more: EPICS

Oedipus: The sphinx, The killing your dad thing, Merope letting herself die (Oedipus's real mother killed herself), the prophecy idea - if Voldy ignored it he never would have killed Harry and started all this, just like id Oedipus's parents ignored the prophecy and kept him, or Oedipus ignored it and stayed with his adopted parents. (This alos happenes in Macbeth, he believes the wierd sisters)

Odysseus: The long voyage home, started with many subjects, then Neptune killed all but him and he was forced to journey alone. Harry's mentors have died and he has realized he must go in it alone.

I am not much of a novel reader, but I remember these from College. There are probably a whole bunch more though.

PS: Never forget the whole Spiderman thing, Harry-Ginny : Peter Parker-Mary-Jane (After all it was a comic book first)

This is completely off the cuff, but as I've read / listened to the books and watched the movies, I've noticed some interesting similarities between Harry Potter and Star Wars. While I'd be surprised if J.K. Rowling considers Star Wars any sort of major influence in her books, I think the comparison nevertheless can be made. I know just from a very quick Google search that I'm not the first person to do it, but I'm deliberately avoiding reading any of that for right now. I don't claim to be any big Star Wars fan and there's a lot about Star Wars I don't know, but this is all going on what I do know.

- Both Harry Potter and Star Wars feature characters possessed with special abilities.

- Both Harry Potter and Star Wars are deeply concerned with themes of emotional control and love.

- Both Harry Potter and Star Wars feature villains who seek to defy death.

- Both Harry Potter and Star Wars feature both major heroes and rich casts of supporting characters.



Now, briefly, I'll do a direct character comparison on some characters:


Dumbledore --- This one is easy. He is most like Yoda. Both are wise figures who can also behave in manners some might find odd at times. Both are long-lived. Both also eventually pass away.

Severus Snape --- This one is a lot tougher. This choice may be surprising, but I think Snape is similar in some ways to Annakin Skywalker / Darth Vader. The main reason for this comparison point is that both turned to service of evil, but in the end chose to serve good. Or... did Snape? Ah, there's the rub. If Snape does turn out to really be on Dumbledore's side, then that seals the connection. If not, then the comparison is flimsy at best.

Voldemort --- Darth Sidious, obviously. The supreme representation of evil, seeking to conquer death and rule the world. And also pretty much agreed that there's no chance of redemption here, just like Sidious.

Harry Potter --- Luke Skywalker. Concerned with defeating the ultimate evil, although in this case, the ultimate evil is most certainly not his father. Was under the tutelage of Dumbledore, just like Luke Skywalker was under the tutelage of Yoda.



Those are the ones I've come up with so far. I'll post more later, or I'll leave them to other peoples' thoughts.

That's very interesting, Agent0042. I agree with all of these, However, if we are to draw from this, we must do it to the full. (Here I am sounding like a geek)
I've had a little bit of a conspiracy thoery on this for a while. Reading your post reminded me of it.
Sidious is killed in the 6th Star Wars film. If JK draws influence from this, then we know Voldemort will die. I disagree with your saying Anakin is Severus, however. I think Anakin would be Peter Pettigrew. Pettigrew owes Harry a favor because Harry saved his life in PoA. I'm thinking, based off this, that the favor may be to help Harry kill Voldemort, as his debt has not been repaid. Tell me what you think! ~!HermionePotter06!~

I don't think Annakin Skywalker/Darth Vader could be Snape or Peter Pettigrew. Remember, Annakin is someone who was least expected to turn evil. He was trained by Obi Wan Kenobi and became an exellent Jedi. He became so dedicated to his wife and turned evil to save her from dying in childbirth. She ended up dying anyway. Didn't Yoda say attatchment can cause you to become...evil? I don't think Peter Pettigrew is anything like Annikin.

no offense to anyone here, but we are all geeks. we're talking about Star Wars on a Harry Potter site!!! just kdding. You're right though, priori, I should have seen that!

MOD EDIT : Hiya, please read the rules before posting again. You aren't allowed to double post. If you want to add/edit something, use the "Edit" button at the top right of your post. I've deleted your second post, it said:

but wait- I'm about to condradict myself- Peter was unlikely to turn evil! He was in Gryffindor! He followed James and Sirius and Remus around like they were gods! And none of them turned evil! I think Peter's a lot like Anakin!!!!!

Ah, well, do we know for certain the pettigrew WAS in gryffindor? for all we know he could have been in a different house, as it never actually said which he was in. O well, not the place to discuss it here, and as I've never seen Star Wars I should be going now....

Well, there's been some discussion in other threads before about whether or not Pettigrew was in Gryffindor, and I think the consensus generally reached was that he was.


Anyway, yeah, you guys are right, I completely forgot about Pettigrew. He definitely seems like a better comparison to Annakin/Vader than Snape. Because I do agree that he was someone who seemed to be associated with the side of good, but then turned away.

I think the main potential problem with this is that Peter Pettigrew was never really that much a powerful wizard. He was always a snivelling coward, and somebody cowtowing to people with greater power and ability with him. Annakin on the other hand --- there's no doubt he had it. He was Star Wars "chosen one" (like Harry Potter is this series "chosen one," but there's not a match between the two really, otherwise) and he had amazing and strong abilities in the Force and was a big hero to many before his fall to the dark side.


Oh, and yeah, I think Yoda did more or less say something like that. I think that there's also a lot to be found in Star Wars views about love:

"It must be difficult having sworn your life to the Jedi; not being able to visit the places you like or do the things you like..." "Or be with the people that I love" "Are you allowed to love? I thought that was forbidden for a Jedi,"

"Attachment is forbidden, possession is forbidden, compassion...which I would define as unconditional love, is central to a Jedi's life...So you might say, we are encouraged to love."


Yet, ultimately, it may be Vader's love that saves him. Meanwhile, we know that Harry's ability to love and his parents' love, has proved a powerful weapon against Voldemort. But he must also master his emotions in dealing with Voldemort, or he will likely fall.


Edit --- I'd like to now do some comparison and contrast between Voldemort and Sidious ---

Both Voldemort and Sidious are concerned with the idea of cheating death, although it seems to me to be much more central to Voldemort's character.

Both Voldemort and Sidious are created names. Voldemort's translates to "flight from death," while Sidious's is basically just a form of insidious (a term that could apply to both, as both are quite adept at dealing in lies.) Voldemort's name generally isn't spoken because people fear to speak it, even his followers. He also refuses to go by his given name. With Sidious, on the other hand, most people don't speak his name because they don't know it. Those that do aren't afraid to speak it, though. Sidious also has no problem going by Palpatine when it serves his interests.

Both Voldemort and Sidious have no true friends. However, Voldemort operates with a group of Death Eaters that have powers very similar to him, although not quite matched is strength. He also has people and creatures he has bullied and bewitched. Sidious, on the other hand, had only one apprentice at any time. He also, however, had the forces of the clone troopers and many other in the Empire at his service.

Voldemort dislikes politics, whereas Sidious became Supreme Chancellor and then Emperor. I think this is the key to why Sidious was more effective than Voldemort. He took over the system from within, almost wiping out the Jedi and getting an Empire under his control. Voldemort, on the other hand, generally didn't/hasn't tried to subvert the Ministry within and thereof hasn't been anywhere close as effective as Sidious.

I think he may have tried- he had spies within the Ministry- but failed. He almost reminds me (sometimes... when he's in a failing mood) of those cartoon characters whose plans always fail. He never takes the fault though, even if it may be his fault (we don't know if it's his or not). He usually blames Pettigrew.
I've just though of another similiraity between Pettigrew and Anakin/Darth Vader- they are both the evil guy's most right hand man. As neither of them (Voldy or Sidious) really have friends, it would be inappropraite to call Wormtail or Vader their friend, but their most right hand man. Then they both also have a network of people working to enofrce their actions.

this is a very interesting thread! i never saw many similarities, mostly due to the fact that I don't know much about star wars, but when i saw episode II, i noticed that Padma and Padmae (sp?) share a similarity with the names. not a very good one, but all i can come up with now.

observation is not my power,
-->nymphadora

Hello. My class is reading Romeo and Juliet. Now I have noticed the connection between Macbeth and HP and i would like to add my own little connection. Please tell me if I am paranoid, but we were reading the other day and this line caught my eye.
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Act III, Scene I
Mercutio- ...Zounds, a dog, a rat, a mouse, a cat to scratch a man to death!
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Chapter 17 is entitiled Cat, Rat, and Dog

It sounds close in relationship to me. Maybe that is where JKR got the idea of the mauraders animagus. So what do you all think?

ps- to any mods. Sorry for saying Zounds, but it is part of the text. Though in modern day, it could be translated to mean a curse word.

I just found out that a new book about Harry Potter that's coming out is going to have an entire topic dedicated to comparing Harry Potter to Luke Skywalker. Check it out --- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193210059...glance&n=283155

Great topic. Having a younger brother who talks about SW all the time, I know all about it. First of, I don't see that much that is the same with SWa nd Harry Potter. The first thing is, Harry Potter is so much better. The second thing is, the main characters do not fit well. You see, Anakin really is the chosen one, as he is the one to kill the dark lord. And so, he would be in Harry's place. But the thing is, from what we know, Harry is not about to turn evil to save his love from death. Then, J.K. would have to kill of Harry's love, turn Harry evil, give him a son or something, and deafeat the dark lord in one book. Chance, but not likely to happen. Actully to tell NyMpHaDoRa, Padma is spelt the same as Padma, from what I know. They are spelt the same, but that hardly matters, as they are pronounced differently. I don't see much in common with SW. After all, almost every fiction book has a good guy and a bad guy. The good guy defeats the bad guy. That is almost all Sw and Harry Potter have in comon that I know of. I guess there are a few differences. I do know of the things that are the same, but I guess I am to narrow minded to thnk anything ever comes in leauge with the Great Harry Potter. Good topic, but I can't think of many ways they conect.

Lachy

I know JKR got Hermione's name from A Winter's Tale. There's also one chick called Hermione and in the story she is turned into stone. And in COS Hermione is Pertrified. See the connection?

Dobby could be kind of compared to Gollum in LOTR.

I would also say that Dumbledore and Gandolph are very similar.

There are a number of similarities between harry potter and the matrix

1st they both star a hero (harry/neo) that didn't know he was one

2nd they both join freedom fighters

3rd they both look something alike

4th they both enter a world they didnt know existed

5th they both had a prophesy that they were the "chosen one"

6th they both endured speculation over the fact they were the chosen one

7th they both had visions about thier enemy

so does that mean that harry will die to save humanity like neo?

think about it...

That's not just Hp and the Matrix, all the things you listed are part of the recipe for most heroic tales in literature. It's a formula that's been used since acient Greece epics and will probably always be used

One thing you forgot, though, is the wise mentor

I agree (yes you heard me right) that some of the things mentioned are part other films but i'm afraid that i have not heard of a single film/book/legend that posseses so many of the qualities these two things share
by way here is some more

8th they both have a wise mentor

9th they both look up to these people as father figures as they have no parents to speak of

10th the leader disagrees with the mentor (captain/morpheas ministers/dumbledore)

11th they both have obsessive fans (colin creevey and dennis/that kid, i forget his name)

12th they both have a place that is special to them (zion/hogwarts)

13th these places both get invaded by the enemy (deatheaters/sentinels)

14th they both possess magical powers (if you call neos abilities that)

15th there is a fortune teller in each (trelawney/oracle)

16th they both stand up for what they believe in (voldemorts return/going to the machine world) when everyone dosen't believe them

17th they both are destined to destroy the enemy

(it is highly likely that voldemort will be defeated as JK says the last chapter will be on how the surviving characters go on to live thier lives, if voldemort took over then just about all of the good characters we know will die, so unless it refers to the death eaters, we're pretty safe with that)

so there you have it

Hello secretsanta, welcome to Veritaserum! I agree with your analysis and Solorund's observation, some of the aspects between HP and the Matrix have similarities and also that many stories follow the heroic pattern. This isn't exactly HP news so I'm going to move it to the General Books forum.

Yeah I guess there are undoubtedly some similarities between HP and The matrix, but I also think Soloround got the point: these all are clichés, tipical elements of a heroic story, no wonder that both stories include them.

no work is completely 100% original, all writers are influenced by books, plays, movies, news and other things that they have come into contact with, so it is possible that she got some ideas from Shakespeare even if it wasn't intentional.

Going on that last statement about Gandalf and Dumbledore, Dumby will come back to life!

I have another connection! In Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet they mention something about pulling a mandrake out of the ground and it's piercing shrieks, I don't have the book in front of me so I can't quote what act or scene. But we all know how important mandrakes were in Chamber of secrets.

If there's any story I like as much as Harry Potter, its Lord of The Rings.
I believe JKR got the spider part in COS from Lord of The Rings The Two Towers ( in the film that particulary part is in the Return of The King I know this has nothing to do with Shakespeare, but its still has a connection with JKR getting ideas from other stories. Then again like laurahonest said, no stories are 100% original.

Hope this is ok.

Mercury7674

Edited for Padfoot08 Thanks for correcting me