Tolkien hated Narnia. I doubt he had any direct influence. Also, tLotR was effectively done by 1949. The publication was held up by publishing shenanigans and Tolkien's taking about a year to type the ms.
(How's that for a 'the world has changed' moment? A college professor sixty years ago, couldn't type.)
PC was written in, I think, 1949–1950, so it would have been composed after the main writing of tLorR was done. I expect much of Narnia seems familiar because Lewis and Tolkien were drawing on the same sources rather than explicit contact or pilfering.
As far as the movie goes, I'm not that bothered by the similarities to tLotR. It's only natural. And Peter the Moronic got a raw deal in the movie. He's not nearly so bad in the book. For one thing, the whole castle strike is made up from whole cloth. It's not in the book at all.
In fact, IIRC, the book does better address some of your moral qualms. I don't remember if a battle ever takes place, but if it does, it's entirely through the agency of the Telmarines. Peter's duel is not a delaying tactic, but an attempt to stop the war. If Miraz loses, the Telmarines have no reason to fight, since Caspian is the rightful king. And Miraz loses because he's killed treacherously (as in the movie), but there's no mercy scene. He slips and Lord Sopespian stabs him. Then the battle is about to start but Aslan puts an end to it, with Lucy and Susan's help. So I suppose he's a little more effable in the book, though the theme of needing God's agency is still there.
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den-down-unda.livejournal.com at 11:45pm on 17/05/2008![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(How's that for a 'the world has changed' moment? A college professor sixty years ago, couldn't type.)
PC was written in, I think, 1949–1950, so it would have been composed after the main writing of tLorR was done. I expect much of Narnia seems familiar because Lewis and Tolkien were drawing on the same sources rather than explicit contact or pilfering.
As far as the movie goes, I'm not that bothered by the similarities to tLotR. It's only natural. And Peter the Moronic got a raw deal in the movie. He's not nearly so bad in the book. For one thing, the whole castle strike is made up from whole cloth. It's not in the book at all.
In fact, IIRC, the book does better address some of your moral qualms. I don't remember if a battle ever takes place, but if it does, it's entirely through the agency of the Telmarines. Peter's duel is not a delaying tactic, but an attempt to stop the war. If Miraz loses, the Telmarines have no reason to fight, since Caspian is the rightful king. And Miraz loses because he's killed treacherously (as in the movie), but there's no mercy scene. He slips and Lord Sopespian stabs him. Then the battle is about to start but Aslan puts an end to it, with Lucy and Susan's help. So I suppose he's a little more effable in the book, though the theme of needing God's agency is still there.