Who Fears Death, Harry Potter?

It is true that there are only a limited number of stories available to tell. Dress them up as you might, you are still basically telling the same stories that have been told over and over again in the past.


The story of the outcast who discovers that he/she/it is actually a hero/monarch/superstar in another world is one such archetypal story.


And it has been told and retold many times in western pop culture over the years:

• Peter Pan, where a young boy discovers he is a key figure in Neverland, destined to save the Lost Boys from the evil pirate Hook;
• The Narnia Series, where a group of young kids discovers that they are royalty in the land of Narnia, destined to lead it through a series of challenges;
• Star Wars, with orphan Luke Skywalker discovering that the "Force is strong" within him and that he is destined to battle Darth Vader (his father) and the evil Emperor;
• Harry Potter, with orphan Harry Potter discovering that he is a "wizard, and thumping good one" and that he is destined to battle Voldemort and his evil plans;
• The Hunger Games, with impoverished and practically orphaned (her father is dead, her mother emotionally absent) Katniss Everdeen volunteering to leave her family, fight in the ritual games and finally become the symbol of the revolution against the evil Capitol;
• Twilight, with lonely and depressed Bella Swan discovering that there is something special about her that attracts the interest of two mysterious and supernatural heroes and who finally becomes the key figure in their confrontation with the evil Volturi coven; and
• many more.

The popularity of this story seems, in my opinion at least, to be based on the fact that the main character escapes an unbearable life to discover that he/she is actually very powerful, very famous, very important. It is a wonderful dream for any of us who have ever been sad, or depressed, or unhappy with our lot in life. Maybe, just maybe, we really are special, if not here then in some other world.


The most stunning example that I've encountered recently is Nnedi Okorafor's 2010 novel, Who Fears Death (Daw). A powerful and gripping book, WFD shares a number of significant parallels with Harry Potter, both in its basic plot and in its detail.


Before I go on, however, I should warn you that Okorafor's book is NOT a children's novel. In the first 40 pages, she describes in graphic detail both a very violent sexual assault and a female circumcision. The violence and sexuality throughout the book is definitely for mature readers and the novel is written at a philosophical and emotional level that would be beyond most young people.


The story is told by the main character, Onyesonwu, a mixed-race outcast who is the child of rape. Onye's life in a small village is a miserable one, but for the love of her mother and her adoptive father, as she faces derisions, rejection and violence at almost every turn. As she approaches adulthood, however, she discovers that she possesses magical power that dwarfs even that of the local sorcerer. Further, she finds out that she is "The Chosen One", the mythic figure the arrival of whom has long been foretold and who is destined to end the subjugation and annihilation of the Okeke race.


In order to do so, however, she must face and defeat the most powerful and evil sorcerer in the known world: a man named Daib, who turns out to be her mother's rapist, Onye's own biological father.


It's a beautiful and powerful novel, one that tackles massive social issues in a spine-tinglingly exciting story.


And it also shares a number of points with the Harry Potter novels. A child with a violent beginning, outcast in his/her world, who begins to find strange "magical" things happening to him/her, things that frighten the people around him/her. A child who discovers both her/his power and her/his terrifying destiny, almost at the same time.


"The Chosen One" appellation was the similarity that struck me the most but there are other details that Who Fears Death and Harry Potter share: the often difficult relationship with the teacher figure; the early introduction of a powerful enemy and the suspense of whether or not the main character will be ready when the inevitable confrontation actually occurs; the creation of a group of friends and supporters through one or more dangerous experiences; the challenging journey undertaken by the hero that leads to the confrontation; and much much more.


I haven't finished Okorafor's novel yet but I'm anxious to do so, as much because I want to trace the ongoing parallels with Harry Potter as because the book is, itself, a riveting tale.

Harry Potter Uncut and the Parallels with Star Wars

The similarities between the Harry Potter series and Star Wars just keep popping out at me.

I just stumbled upon this website (www.starwarsuncut.com), which offers the original Star Wars movie, later subtitled "A New Hope", completely refilmed in a world-wide smashup of styles. The organiser divided George Lucas' epic film into 15-second segments, then asked people from all over the world to sign up to recreate each segment in their own fashions. He then collected the resulting pieces and sewed them together in to a single film, a bizarre and bizarrely effective retelling of the original.

The result is hilarious, often surprising and sometimes artistically impressive. It's worth a look.

But, as I watched the final film, I couldn't help but notice all of the small details that Rowling seems to have adopted, adapted or paid homage to in her novels.

Most striking to me was Obi Wan's whispered assurance to Luke that "the Force will always be with you" as the film draws to a close.

It reminded me so strongly of Albus Dumbledore's repeated assurance to Harry that "help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for/deserve it".

I know, the words are very different but the sentiment, and the situation, are very similar.

I'm not suggesting that Rowling did anything inappropriate (no more than Lucas did when he borrowed so heavily from Akira Kurosawa's film, The Hidden Fortress, in writing Star Wars). I'm just saying that the parallels between these two great stories are interesting and often amazing.

Even more amazing to me is the fact that not one contributor to Star Wars Uncut seems to have seen the Harry Potter parallels and included references to it in their contribution to the film. Goodness knows there are enough Star Trek references littered throughout the final version of Star Wars Uncut!

Why is "Use The Force, Harry" attracting so much attention?

Would someone please explain to me why my blog entry of some time ago, entitled "Use the Force, Harry", has become so popular?

I've got visitors from all over the world looking at that posting. What's up?

Maybe there's been an explosion of interest in the way the Luke-Skywalker and Harry-Potter stories are so similar. I don't know. But I'd sure like to find out.

How much did J.K. plan when she first started writing?

I have often wondered how far J.K. had gotten in developing the entire seven-book arc when she first sat down to write The Philosopher's Stone. It's sort of the same argument people have about George Lucas and the Star Wars movies: the author says the entire series was planned from the start but it seems pretty hard to believe.

And even if you do believe that the creator had some concept of the larger project when he or she sat down to pen the first installment, it's really hard to convince yourself that the creator had planned the entire extended story in detail before embarking on the first book.

I'll admit it, when it comes to this discussion, I'm a strong skeptic, with regard to both Lucas and Rowling. I am willing to accept that, for example, J.K. dreamt, as she began The Philosopher's Stone, of writing a series of novels but I doubt she got much further than that.

Certainly, the concept of Hogwarts being a seven-year school isn't strongly presented in that first book. Harry is simply there in his first year, interacting with older students in their upper years.

On the other hand, it is clear from the ending of the first book that Rowling anticipated writing more and that the Potter/Voldemort conflict would be at the core of the following novels. I'm just not sure she had the following six books outlined in detail in her mind at that point.

Maybe I needed to read The Philospher's Stone again, in English this time, and make note of all the examples that suggest she did plan the remainder of the books and the examples that undermine that claim.

Use the Force, Harry

Does anyone else see the similarities (the many many similarities) between Harry Potter's life story and that of Luke Skywalker, from Star Wars? Both were apparently orphaned in their infancy, both were raised by their aunt and uncle far away from the world of their parents, both were gifted with great powers that they didn't even know they had.

In both their cases, their aunt and uncle tried to keep them from escaping to their parent's world. In both their cases, they were taken under the wing of an older father-figure, who trained them to use their powers and helped them to understand their past.

I can even see parallels between the Harry, Ron, Hermione trio and the Luke, Han and Leia group. This similarity was brought into clear focus in The Deathly Hallows when Harry, channeling Luke, explains to a distraught and jealous Ron that he loves the female heroine (with Hermione standing in for Leia) like a sister and nothing more. Leia, of course, turns out actually to be Luke's sister but the scene in The Deathly Hallows after Ron finally destroys the locket Horcrux strongly recalls the Star Wars storyline.

I can point out for you a lot more parallels but I think you get the picture. This is no criticism of J.K.; it's just an interesting parallel between the two epic stories.