You've found Father McKenzie. But are you really looking for Eleanor Rigby?

Friday, February 08, 2008

Stonagal vs McGonagall

"... The little similarities go on. Both books present the media as corrupt or easily corruptible. The Left Behind tribulation takes seven years; so does Hogwarts'. [Nicolae] Carpathia takes the form of a snake; Voldemort takes the form of a lizard, and Harry is able to tap into the evil world by speaking snake (parseltongue). And in both, the good guys bear a special "mark" - on their foreheads! - that protects them...

"Bad guys' wormy sidekicks. Voldemort's helper is Wormtail. In Left Behind, it's the foppish Leon Fortunato and one named Cankerworm. Presumably they were influenced by CS Lewis' Wormwood [in The Screwtape Letters], or Grima Wormtongue in JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings..."

- Steven Waldman, "No Wizard Left Behind: Harry Potter and Left Behind are more alike than you might think," Slate (18 May 2004).

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