Harry as Frodo or not?

[hickengruendler]

No: HPFGUIDX 176679

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Aryn Culbertson" 
<Englishlady at ...> wrote:
>
> On 04/09/07, dumbledore11214 <dumbledore11214 at ...> wrote:
> <snip>
> > And of course it was discussed here many times, but I was talking 
to
> > somebody offline about HP and LOTR recently and this person made a
> > remark that he does not think that Harry has many similarities 
with
> > Frodo at all. Except that they both go on the quest of course.
> >
> > This person thinks that Harry and Sam are much better match,
> > comparison wise. Neither Harry nor Sam are accepting their destiny
> > just because they decide to do so. They do it for specific people.
> > Sam goes initially to protect his friend, and Harry goes to avenge
> > his parents. Frodo is at least asked to agree, no? Nobody asked
> > Harry.
> 
> 
> Ok, now this is just too weird. I have just completed viewing the 
entire LOTR Extended Versions of all 3 films and had lengthy (no pun 
intended) discussions of this same thoughts. How strange is that? 
Though the group did tend to lean more to comparing Frodo to Harry 
not Sam to Harry. But how odd/weird...
> 
> The main question really came up was whether or not it really was a 
quest or just an actual LIFE Path or not. Since it was Harry's Life. 
And then was it really Frodo's Quest or his actual Life Path?
> 
> Then the next big discussion, was Ron and Hermione any comparison 
to Sam?
> 
> Cheeres (usual Lurker),
> 
> L. Aryn
>

Hickengruendler:

I think it depends if you consider the characters' personality or the 
role, they have in the plot.

Considering his role in the plot, Harry is both Aragorn and Frodo. 
Just like Aragorn, he is the character, who searches for his destiny, 
but instead of becoming King, he gets a more realistic ending in 
becoming a member of the society he protected. But he is also Frodo, 
the character troubled with a deep burden, which he has to fulfill, 
and who is struggling along the way several times. I don't see much 
similarity in personality between Harry and either of them, though, 
but much less so with Sam.

Personalitywise, the Harry Potter character who comes closest to Sam 
is IMO definitely Neville. In fact, I find the resemblance that 
close, that I wonder if JKR did it on purpose, and that Neville's 
surname (after the Longbottom leaf from LoTR) is no coincidence. 
Plotwise, both Ron and Hermione, as the loyal friends, who accompany 
the hero through most of his tasks, are Sam, even though they have a 
completely different personality than the Hobbit.