Harry, Frodo, and the Nature of Evil (...will Harry AK?)

[drjuliehoward at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 87253

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, bboy_mn at y... wrote:
> In the Off-Topic group someone posted a 1956 book review of 'Lord 
of
> the Rings - Return of the King' which is very enlightening. It 
speaks
> of the nature of good and evil. And this nature applies to Harry
> Potter just as much or more than it applies to Lord of the Rings.
> 
> > Harry is a true epic hero, he will not choose to use evil to 
defeat
> evil, for Harry victory to be truly inspiring, he must find a 
hero's
> victory. He must defeat Voldemort within the bounds of good.
> 
> Evil is only truly defeated when it is defeated by good.
> 
> Just a thought.
> 
> bboy_mn

*original post edited for brevity

Thanks for this post!  I always enjoy the compare/contrast posts 
with LOTR.  I read in another post (I can't recall which) regarding 
the prophecy and touching on the nature of good and evil.  It 
suggested that The Boy Who Lived and LV were personas, with Harry 
Potter and Tom Riddle being the persons.  This is one important 
difference between HP and LOTR...Sarumon (sp?) was the 
personification of evil.  Tom Riddle chose evil.  Remember, choice 
if extremely important in JKR's books.  I think this adds a 
dimension that LOTR does not have.  This is why the HP characters 
are so complicated and not as unidimensionally good and evil as some 
say about LOTR.  I would not be surprised if JKR uses choice in 
surprising and powerful ways to close this chapter in the HP epic 
mystery.

Julie