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People frequently point out similarities between Jordan and other authors. A common example is to point out parallels between Frank Herbert's "Dune" series and the Wheel of Time - similarities between Rand and Paul Atreides, for example.
First, not that in a series as large and complex as the Wheel of Time (or Dune), parallels with such an enormous variety of literature can be found that pointing out parallels (particularly if they are common to many sources) can be fairly pointless. In the interest of avoiding endless "RJ ripped off author X" arguments, we present the following:
The only direct influence we know Jordan has acknowledged is that that he wanted to make the beginning of tEotW read somewhat like "Lord of the Rings", in order to make readers feel at home.
For example, Rand losing a hand doesn't mean that RJ got the idea from Tolkien (Frodo and Berek both lose parts of their hand), or George Lucas, or S.R. Donaldson, any more than Lucas or Donaldson copied from Tolkien. Rather, all four authors most likely got the idea from the Norse god Tew.
Many parallels between Dune and the Wheel of Time have been noted. Some of the more important similarities include :
Rand / Paul Atreides:
Messiah figure from the outside leading great rising
of desert warriors (Aiel / Fremen) in fulfillment of prophecy. Has
powers usually only available to women. There are also similarities
in the way we see both characters develop : a young, rather naive and
powerless adolescent changes into an extraordinary leader with great
powers. Note that this is a fairly common SF archetype.
Aes Sedai / Bene Gesserit:
Powerful, secretive and manipulative
female caste with extraordinary powers, sometimes known as
witches. Both go through intensive training and painful rites of
passage. Somewhat similar internal power structures and
mindsets. Similar remarks may also be made about the Aiel Wise Ones,
the Kin, and several other groups in RandLand.
Foretelling the future / dreaming:
Appears in various guises in both books.
Aiel / Fremen:
Kick-ass desert warriors who ally themselves with the
Messiah figure. The strong similarity makes perfect sense once one
knows that Herbert's real-world sources for the Fremen were the
Israelites and Zulu (or maybe Native Americans? I lost the relevant
article), and RJ's sources for the Aiel are the Zulu and Native
Americans.
Some common words are used:
"Shaitin" and "Mahdi" are two examples. Shaitin derives from an Arabic word which in turn is derived from a
Hebrew word, meaning "satan". My dictionary tells me that a "Mahdi" is "any of a number of Muslim messiahs
expected to convert all of mankind to Islam", and that the word is of Arabic origins". Obviously this is a
usage that can easily be adapted to both tWoT and Dune.
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