The similarities between You Only Live Twice and The Lord of the Rings
perdogg
Posts: 432MI6 Agent
First of all I am not suggesting any plagiarism (this is not a paralipsis.). However, there are a lot of interesting similarities between The Lord of the Rings and You Only Live Twice.
1. Theme of Redemption. Both novels (or in the case of Lord of the Rings Novels) the theme of redemption is prevalent. I think that not only is Bond seeking it, but Tiger Tanaka is trying to redeem himself for his past his failures to the Emperor.
2. The religious parallels and the savior complex. Both Bond and Aragorn are viewed as saviors in a prophetic religious context. The kunnshi-san foretold that a man from the west would come and kill the devil. Aragorn's return was foretold.
3. West v East and Good v Evil. Both Bond and Aragorn (both Westerners) must travel east to defeat evil. Even though Blofeld is a Westerner, Der Garten des Todes is an construct based on the Japanese idea of Seppuku. Notice how both the Garden of Death and Mordor are built on a volcanic plane and have been describe as a kind of hell.
4. Themes mythology. Tolken of course was interested in western mythology, plenty of references such as crossing the river to the hades.
4. Minor things that are very similar:
a. The six guardians are very similar to the scene in the LOTR novel Return of the Kings where Frodo and Sam come across the old crumbled statues with the golden flowers growing a crown. The statues in both novels represented a long passed era.
b. The black dragon society and the Nine riders. Both protected and served the Akuma in the south or Mordor in the east.
c. The 'ghost' in the cave. Kissy said the cave near the six guardians was haunted. This was very similar to the ghost of the "oathbreakers" in the Lord of the Rings.
d. Both Bond and Frodo had the expectation that whether they succeeded, they both would probably die.
1. Theme of Redemption. Both novels (or in the case of Lord of the Rings Novels) the theme of redemption is prevalent. I think that not only is Bond seeking it, but Tiger Tanaka is trying to redeem himself for his past his failures to the Emperor.
2. The religious parallels and the savior complex. Both Bond and Aragorn are viewed as saviors in a prophetic religious context. The kunnshi-san foretold that a man from the west would come and kill the devil. Aragorn's return was foretold.
3. West v East and Good v Evil. Both Bond and Aragorn (both Westerners) must travel east to defeat evil. Even though Blofeld is a Westerner, Der Garten des Todes is an construct based on the Japanese idea of Seppuku. Notice how both the Garden of Death and Mordor are built on a volcanic plane and have been describe as a kind of hell.
4. Themes mythology. Tolken of course was interested in western mythology, plenty of references such as crossing the river to the hades.
4. Minor things that are very similar:
a. The six guardians are very similar to the scene in the LOTR novel Return of the Kings where Frodo and Sam come across the old crumbled statues with the golden flowers growing a crown. The statues in both novels represented a long passed era.
b. The black dragon society and the Nine riders. Both protected and served the Akuma in the south or Mordor in the east.
c. The 'ghost' in the cave. Kissy said the cave near the six guardians was haunted. This was very similar to the ghost of the "oathbreakers" in the Lord of the Rings.
d. Both Bond and Frodo had the expectation that whether they succeeded, they both would probably die.
"And if I told you that I'm from the Ministry of Defence?" James Bond - The Property of a Lady
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