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Originally Posted by orionsixwings I can't shake the feeling that Rowling has really recycled most of her ideas. Then again, it's not exactly plagiarism so I guess it's okay.
Anyway, I'm nearly done with my second reading of the series HIS DARK MATERIALS and I saw a similarity between the foul elements in Cittagazze called Spectres and Rowling's Dementors.
They are both described to be entities that feed on the human soul and leave their victim's like zombies. Pullman describes them as mist-like, while Rowling, in HBP, describes their "reproduction" as fog-like.
While a Patronus Charm, that actually conjures a guardian to drive these elements away, works for Dementors, Will had Balthamos and Baruch, Angels -- often described as Guardians - to keep the spectres away.
Oh well... |
Honestly and truly - if you take any book, story, poem, song, etc. you can find the influences and references in them. Take out the references and influences from James Joyce and you have something that is almost readable, but not even close to being James Joyce. What makes a book (or song or poem) is not necessarily it's disparate pieces, but the whole once it has been put together. Think of Chili. A favorite American dish of meat, beans and spices. There are thousands upon thousands of recipes for chili. Some good, some nominal, some absolutely heavenly. What matters is how the cook put the three ingredients together. Did they use ground beef or turkey? Did they make it hot and spicy or mild? Did they use different kinds of beans?
I don't understand why there is such a hubbub about what bits and pieces are borrowed from prior works? If you wanted to write something, I guarantee that everything you've read will influence it and while you might think it is completely original, anyone who reads it will see influences from here, there and everywhere. Some authors do it on purpose in homage to a story that is an old friend, some do it unconsciously and may not realize it until after publication, some do it because it just works nicely, some do it because it is a commonality - people like dragons, so I'll put in a dragon like ad execs put dogs and kids on tv, because people like them.
Obviously, a word-for-word plagiarism should be deriled. Or, a work that is so close to its predecessor as to be almost indistinguishable. However, except for one or two really cheesy books I read as a kid, I've never seen one.
I apologise for my rant here but I get tired of hearing over and over that so and so is just a cheap copy of so and so...etc. and so forth. If you read everything with this type of attitude, you won't enjoy anything. I could find similarities in any two books, same genre or not if I look hard enough. Just think about all the hype over Narnia recently. There were just as many arguments for Narnia being a Christian treatise as for it being an athiest's manifesto. You can read what you will from anything. Go in with an open mind and you might actually enjoy it for a change.