Evil Parallels

[Steve Bates]

No: HPFGUIDX 934

As a big Lord of the Rings fan I have to correct you here; I 
apologize if it seems pedantic.  First of all, LOTR is a trilogy, not 
a tetralogy.  The Hobbit is a prequel to LOTR and is not part of the 
series.  If you want to get even more technical, the "trilogy" should 
really be considered one long work divided into three volumes, but 
still separate from The Hobbit.
More importantly though, Tolkien repeatedly denied that LOTR is a 
fantasy version of WWII.  And of course, there have been millions of 
people who don't believe that at all.  But I really don't think 
Tolkien intended to be writing about World War II: he started writing 
LOTR well before the War started and had a pretty good idea even then 
of where he was going with it.  Just because he wrote about *a* war 
doesn't mean he was writing about *that* war.  Nothing annoyed him 
more than people who continued to insist otherwise.

--- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, "Jim Hohman" <jickndim at g...> wrote:
> I don't know about Harry Potter but certainly the 'Lord of the 
Rings" 
> tetrology was a reference to WWII.   
> 
> Jim
> 
> 
> --- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, "Alicia/Sue Spinnet" 
> <AliciaSpinnet at h...> wrote:
> > Hello:
> > 
> > I think I've seen this topic somewhere-- probably here-- but when 
I 
> > was reading the last line of a post on McCarthyism in the 50's 
> > ("...the true Dark Wizards of our times..."), something in my 
brain 
> > jarred.
> > 
> > Voldemort strives for world domination, attracts a following 
based 
> on 
> > promises of wealth and power (and fear on the part of those who
> join 
> > his ranks), and possesses a disgusting prejudice towards those 
who 
> > aren't pureblooded, going as far to kill half-bloods and Muggle-
> > borns.  Adolf Hitler almost took over Europe, built up the 
> popularity 
> > of the Third Reich through promises and fear, and was the evil 
> > mastermind behind the concentration camps.
> > 
> > Is this merely a comparison between the fictional and
> non-fictional, 
> > or a portrayal of evil villains throughout history in general?
> > 
> > Knowing J.K.'s propensity for social messages, I wouldn't be all 
> that 
> > surprised if it was the former, but what do you all (who are 
> probably 
> > better educated than I am in the area of history) think?
> > 
> > Just my two Knuts--
> > 
> > *
> > --Alicia/Sue "Distressed Panda" Spinnet
> > 
> > "Is this something I'll regret?  Why do I want what I can't 
get?" --
> > Blink-182, "Wendy Clear"
> > 
> > Last Movie Seen: "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"
> > Discman's Spinning: "Pack Up the Cats", Local H
> > Current Book: "A Long Fatal Love Chase", Louisa May Alcott
> > *