Which Mentor from Your Favorite Fantasy Stories are You?

Gandalf mentors several members of the Fellowship of The Ring throughout the series, including Frodo and Bilbo Baggins. He shares his wisdom and reverence for power, and guides the heroes through their adventures, but also leaves them to deal with challenges on their own. Gandalf provides help on the journey and teaches the team the importance of courage. He shares his guidance with others and can be quoted as saying, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

Professor Dumbledore provides Harry with wisdom, guiding advice, and many life lessons, including the importance of love and friendship. Even though he keeps a close eye on Harry, Professor Dumbledore allows him to discover things himself and confront challenges head on and constantly offers words of wisdom, including, “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

“Do. Or do not. There is no try.” This quote, like his many other quotes, shows Yoda’s wisdom and efforts to teach Luke to focus on the present, and essentially, to grow up. Yoda demonstrates, as a great mentor does, how to give support, how to offer challenges that permit one to learn and grow, and how to provide vision so that the mentee gains confidence and, eventually, independence.

Alfred does all the things a mentor would do, including stitching up wounds and figuring out where to buy all the cool toys. But more importantly, he lends his wisdom and perspective to Bruce when needed: helping him look at problems in a different way and explore tactics he might not have considered. That's the job of a good mentor, and like any mentor, Alfred ultimately has to step aside and let Bruce make the final call himself.