Unlikely Heroes

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at the main characters of the books "Harry Potter", "The Wonderful World of Oz" and "The Hobbit". It argues that each of these characters are "unlikely heroes" which makes the story even more charming for young readers. These heroes are compared to each other.

From the paper:

"At the beginning of the Harry Potter saga, the reader is introduced to the boy who will become the epicenter of the Hogwarts world as a small, scarred baby nestled in the arms of a large, bury and uncouth gamekeeper.
Although the image of Dorothy Gale has largely been fixed in the world?s mind as the luminous Judy Garland, crooning ?Somewhere Over the Rainbow,? in the actual first book in the Oz saga, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum, the reader?s first vision of Dorothy is somewhat different. In the book, Dorothy Gale is introduced as a poor, young girl on a depleted dust bowl farm in the middle of Kansas during difficult economic times. The land is flat and dry and her world is flat and dry.
The fantastic world of Middle Earth created by J.R.R. Tolkien is populated by creatures such as elves, wizards, and trolls. Yet the central, saving figure of his first book The Hobbit, the saving sort of creature who will take over the function of hero in the rest of the novels in The Lord of the Rings series is that of a Hobbit. A Hobbit is a small, furry, frequently hungry creature who at first seems to bear little resemblance to the ethereal elves or the wise wizards such as Gandalf. Hobbits have not even been awarded one of the great rings in the division of power that in Middle Earth. Yet it is a Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, who ultimately gains control over the ring that shall rule them all."

More papers on Unlikely Heroes:

• Comparison Essay # 28890 : "Heroes: Harry Potter, Montag and Sir Gawain"
• Term Paper # 69105 : "The Tragic Greek Hero"
• Analytical Essay # 25131 : "The Story of Jay Gatsby"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: