The Blurred Lines Between Derivation and Inspiration in Fantasy Fiction
When Eragon — the first book of The
Inheritance Cycle — was first
published 15 years ago, many critics and readers wrote scathing reviews about
it. Its author, Christopher Paolini — then just a 19-year-old — was lambasted
for having supposedly copied elements and plot ideas from earlier popular works
such as The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars (Anti-Shur’tugal; Feet).
However, the nature of fantasy fiction as a genre makes it clear that there is
not much of a distinction between taking inspiration from other creators and deriving
ideas from their works. Therefore, Paolini should not be blamed for any
similarities that show up between his work and that of any others.
Fantasy fiction is
generally set either in a fictional world, or includes concepts and ideas which
do not exist in the real world. It sells because it thrives on the popular
imagination, and on the fact that every book read on a topic in this sphere
adds to one’s collective idea of what that topic entails. Every piece of new
information affects how one thinks about that concept and thus, everyone perceives
it accordingly. In such cases, true originality of ideas is not merely hard to
achieve, but close to impossible. All that seems to be possible is the
originality of perspective.
The narrative unfolds as follows - a young farm boy ends up
discovering he has incredible powers and meets a mentor who helps him. His
family is killed by the evil Empire in which he lives and he goes on the run
with his mentor. The old man teaches him how to fight and how to use his new
powers. While traveling, they encounter a mysterious rogue. Suddenly, some of
the Empire’s most evil minions kill the mentor. The farm boy and rogue rescue a
pretty princess, and they all travel to the secret base of the rebels fighting
against the Empire. But the secret base has been discovered, and the Empire
attacks. Together, the main characters, most prominently the farm boy, stop the
attack through their brave actions. Reading this, anyone would have difficulty
understanding whether this summary was for Star
Wars or for Eragon. This is the
main argument that critics of Paolini such as Kevin Newsome and others
(everything2.com) also use - that at first glance, the two seem to have the
same plots. But it is important to remember that this is a biased view. It does
not take into account several differences between the two plots, such as the
long journey that Eragon, his dragon Saphira and his mentor Brom go on before
the plot advances. There is no parallel for Saphira or this journey in Star Wars. There is no R2-D2 or C-3PO —
the comic relief robots in Star Wars
— in Eragon.
In response to such differences being pointed out, critics argued that
then Eragon is “essentially
‘Star Wars’ — with dragons” (Germain). What they fail to notice in Paolini’s
work are his exquisite descriptions of Alagaesia – the world of The Inheritance Cycle. They can be
traced back to Paradise Valley in Montana in the United States of America, and
as Kit Spring says in her article Elf and Efficiency’, “The landscape, based on
the wild territory of his home state, is described without the adjectival mush
that bogs down so much fantasy fiction.” The critics do not
notice the symbiotic relationship between the dragons and their Riders and how
beautifully it is brought out through Saphira and Eragon as they grow together
over the length of the series. Paolini himself says that he imagined Saphira as
the “perfect friend” (Spring). His imagining of Saphira is remarkably
human-like — as she grows up in close mental contact with a human — and yet a
little of the strangeness and the magic of her race is also shown from time to
time (Weich). Above all, they conveniently ignore the more serious plot
deviations that become apparent as one moves from Eragon to its sequels. To add context, it might be interesting to
know that even George Lucas, the creator of Star
Wars drew inspiration from several different sources. Some of his most ‘original’
characters, such as Obi-Wan, R2-D2, C-3PO and Princess Leia, were actually
inspired by The Hidden Fortress — a
film by Akira Kurosawa — as Bryan Young points out in his article: "The
Cinema Behind Star Wars: The Hidden Fortress.”
Those critics who condemn
Paolini for copying from The Lord of the
Rings have a different problem with his work. They insist that the very
descriptions and elements that make his work an engrossing read are also proof
of his having plagiarised from J.R.R. Tolkien (lotrplaza.com). They argue that
the elves of Middle-Earth, the world which Tolkien created, and those of Alagaesia
are incredibly similar. The elves in both series are depicted as being graceful,
agile and closely connected to nature. They are said to be immortal, adept at
magic and talented in the art of war. Furthermore, the ends of the two series
seem to be similar, as Eragon leaves Alagaesia on a ship to train the next
generation of Dragon Riders while Frodo Baggins — the protagonist of The Lord of the Rings — leaves
Middle-Earth forever on a ship. The relationship between Eragon and Arya — an
elven princess — in The Inheritance Cycle
can be seen as an interpretation of the relationship between Aragorn and Arwen,
also an elven princess, in The Lord of the Rings.
Looking at fantasy
fiction in general, it’s hard not to realise the immense impact that Tolkien
has had on the genre as a whole. As James Ellis says in his article ‘How J.R.R.
Tolkien Redefined Fantasy Stories’, “…the overwhelming influence of J.R.R. Tolkien on
the genre remains a fundamental certainty. The British author didn’t invent
fantasy, but he defined it in the minds of millions with his seminal
works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings”.
With their overwhelming popularity, his books set new templates for all fantasy
works, and they reinvented the very definitions of terms like elves and magic.
Furthermore, being written as what were fundamentally children’s books, their
impact was far greater as an entire generation grew up reading them. As a
result, their ideas of how to view such imaginary concepts were irrevocably
connected to Tolkien’s interpretations.
Looking at any of the newer works of fantasy or
Young Adult Fiction, Tolkien’s impact becomes even clearer. Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and Game of Thrones all use plot lines,
ideas and character archetypes that Tolkien popularised in his works (Ellis). Another point to note is that even
Tolkien used already existing legends to create his own world. Reading about
Norse mythology in tandem with The Lord
of the Rings, it is easy to start drawing parallels. Gandalf’s description
seems to be a reimagining of a common disguise of Odin or the All-Father.
Trolls, dwarves and elves are all mentioned in the old religious myths
(Wettstein). However, no one would ever consider that Tolkien copied his
characters from different mythologies. That is because he brings his own interpretation
to the concepts which are already present in the collective knowledge of human
beings.
Thus, the final verdict that one seems to arrive
at is that fantasy fiction is truly a genre where making a distinction between
derivation and inspiration is difficult. Paolini, due to this very conclusion,
does not deserve to be vilified for the fact that his writing has clearly been
influenced by other authors. He should be judged not only on the basis of how
derivative his ideas may appear, but also on his writing style and the manner
in which he brings out the reality in his fantasy. Many reviewers who did look
beyond their presumptions of his having copied the plot from other creators,
found the books engrossing. Liz Rosenberg says in her article ‘The Egg and
Him’, “‘Eragon,' for all its flaws, is an authentic work of great talent. The
story is gripping; it may move awkwardly, but it moves with force.” Another
example of such a critic is Shelby Scoffield. In her review of Inheritance — the third book of the
series — she says “As the final book in the Eragon series, ‘Inheritance’
is a sophisticated novel that explores powerful themes in an entertaining and
breathtaking way.” Thus, stopping short of arguing that The Inheritance Cycle is a great series, one can at least contend
that it is original, and well-written enough to be enjoyable.
Apart from fantasy fiction, this idea also seems
to hold true in various other parts of life, from music to fashion to theatre.
Re-imaginings of old ideas are always in demand in any of these, with retro
music being remixed every day, clothing styles popular in the mid-1970s coming
back into fashion and Shakespeare’s plays from the sixteenth century being recreated.
Even the ‘originals’ that we are re-imagining are nothing but interpretations
of ideas that already existed. In the end, don’t all ideas stem from a
collective of human knowledge which in turn lead to original interpretations by
creators? Thus, isn’t the very concept of plagiarism flawed in itself?
Works Cited
Anti-Shur’tugal. LiveJournal, 18 Mar. 2006, http://antishurtugal.livejournal.com/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2017.
Arvellas and
3ringelvenqueen. “Eragon vs Lotr again.” The
Lord of the Rings Fanatics Plaza, 9 Oct. 2017, http://lotrplaza.com/archives/index.php?Archive=First%20Age&TID=208678. Accessed 17 Nov. 2017.
Ellis, James. “How J.R.R
Tolkien Redefined Fantasy Stories.” Newsweek,
3 Mar. 2017, http://www.newsweek.com/legacy-lifetime-jrr-tolkiens-extended-impact-563520. Accessed 16 Nov. 2017.
Eragon.
Directed by Stefen Fangmeier,
Twentieth Century Fox, 2006.
Feet, G.S. “Paolini’s
Worthless Inheritance.” Grocerystorefeet,
29 Nov. 2011, Wordpress, https://grocerystorefeet.com/2011/11/29/paolinis-worthless-inheritance/. Accessed 26 Nov. 2017.
Germain, David.
“‘Eragon’ is a ‘Star Wars’ wannabe.” Review of Eragon, directed by Stefen Fangmeier. Today, The Associated Press, 14 Dec. 2006, https://www.today.com/popculture/eragon-star-wars-wannabe-wbna16192526. Accessed 15 Nov. 2017.
iis. “Comparisons
between the plot of Eragon and Star Wars.” Everything2,
23 Feb. 2007, https://everything2.com/title/Comparisons+between+the+plot+of+Eragon+and+Star+Wars. Accessed 18 Nov. 2017.
The Hidden Fortress. Directed by Akira Kurosawa, Toho, 1958.
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Directed by George Lucas, Twentieth
Century Fox, 1977.
Newsome, Kevin. “Eragon
vs Star Wars.” Wordpress, 27 Oct.
2007, https://newauthors.wordpress.com/2007/10/27/eragon-vs-star-wars/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2017.
Paolini, Christopher. Eragon. 2nd ed., Random House, 2005.
Rosenberg, Liz. “The Egg
and Him.” Review of Eragon, by
Christopher Paolini. New York Times,
16 Nov. 2003, http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/16/books/children-s-books-the-egg-and-him.html. Accessed 26 Nov. 2017.
Scoffield, Shelby.
“‘Inheritance’ is sophisticated but overly long.” Review of Inheritance by Christopher Paolini. Deseret News, 26 Nov. 2011, https://www.deseretnews.com/article/705394928/Book-review-Inheritance-is-sophisticated-but-overly-long.html?pg=all. Accessed 25 Nov. 2017.
Spring, Kit. “Elf and
Efficiency.” Interview with Christopher Paolini. The Guardian, 25 Jan. 2004, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/jan/25/booksforchildrenandteenagers.features. Accessed 21 Nov. 2017.
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings. 3rd
ed., 1994. HarperCollins Publishers,
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Weich, Dave. “Phillip
Pullman, Tamora Pierce, and Christopher Paolini Talk Fantasy Fiction”.
Interview with Phillip Pullman, Tamora Pierce and Christopher Paolini. Powells.com, 22 Feb. 2009, Web.Archive.org, https://web.archive.org/web/20090222073206/http://powells.com/authors/paolini.html. Accessed 20 Nov. 2017.
Wettstein, Martin. “Norse
Elements in the work of J.R.R. Tolkien.” Academia.edu,
http://www.academia.edu/228734/Norse_Elements_in_the_work_of_J.R.R._Tolkien. Accessed 27 Nov. 2017.
Young, Brian. “The
Cinema Behind Star Wars: The Hidden Fortress.” Starwars.com, 24 Sep. 2012, http://www.starwars.com/news/the-cinema-behind-star-wars-the-hidden-fortress. Accessed 25 Nov. 2017.
