In the summer of 1997, the world became captivated by a young wizard named Harry Potter (About JK, 2007). The series of Harry Potter books that follows Harry Potter’s evolution from an awkward and shy child to a confident and talented wizard. This series has been printed in over 65 languages and sold around 375 million copies. In total seven Harry Potter books were printed and each one takes its readers deeper into the magical world that Harry Potter has created. One of the reasons that the Potter books have been so successful is because they are able to captivate both child and adult readers alike (Garner, 2008). Both audiences are able to relate to the books because Harry Potter has deals with real world issues such as those concerning family problems, friendship, romance, and more. These problems are present for Potter when he living in the abusive home of his relatives, The Dursleys and even into his time at Hogwarts, a boarding school for witches and wizards
One of the most difficult relationships for Potter to navigate is his relationship with his foster family, The Dursleys. Even though Petunia Dursley is Potter’s aunt, she and the rest of her family still treat him in an extremely poor manner. In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Potter is described as being forced to live in a cupboard that is filled with spiders (Rowling, 1999) and it is clear that his wellbeing is not a priority to the Dursleys. This leaves him in a state where he is neglected and does not receive the attention that he deserves. The neglect that Potter faces is important to understand because the relationship between a child and their caregiver is vital in a child’s development. Potter’s negative relationship with his adoptive family has also affe...
... middle of paper ...
...ary 2, 2014, from http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/ten-years-later-harry-potter-vanishes-from-the-best-seller-list/
Mulholland, N., & Goodfriend, W. (2009). Attachment Styles at Hogwarts. The Psychology of Harry Potter An Unauthorized Examination of the Boy Who Lived. (pp. 75-91). Dallas: BenBella Books, Inc.
Oliver, K. (n.d.). Family Life Month Packet 2002. Understanding Your Child's Temperament. Retrieved April 2, 2014, from http://ohioline.osu.edu/flm02/FS05.html
Provenzano, D. M., & Heyman, R. E. (2006). Harry Potter and the resilience to adversity. In N. Mulholland (Ed.), the psychology of Harry Potter (pp. 105-119). Dallas: BenBella Books.
Rowling, J. K. (1999). Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York: Scholastic.
R. Siegler, J. Deloachet, & N. Eisenberg (2006), How Children Develop (pp.414-426), 2nd edition NY, NY Worth Publishers.
Levine, L. E., & Munsch, J. (2011). Temperament. In L. E. Levine, & J. Munsch, Child Development: An active Approach (pp. 342-343). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publishers.
J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, which have reached worldwide popularity have an effect on children has not been matched by any other book. The novels have encouraged children to read for entertainment instead of turning to television or video games. When a piece of literature inspires children as the Harry Potter novels do, limiting a child’s access to the novels seems ridiculous. Unfortunately, this is what is happening with Harry Potter. The books are challenged and banned in schools and libraries all over the world because parents contend that the content is unsuitable. The content, which revolves around a world full of wizardry and witchcraft, has some parents actively lobbying against the books. These parents believe the books encourage children to practice witchcraft. Additionally, some parents do not believe that the novels are an asset to the learning development of their children. For most children, Rowling’s Harry Potter novels encourage reading. Not only do children read the massive novels in the series, but also they use the Harry Potter series as conduits to other types of literature because their minds are opened to the wonder of the written word. The novels do not advocate witchcraft or evil, which are often the grounds for censoring the novels from children.
Now to get to the Prisoner of Azkaban. Harry Potter is back for the summer at the Dursley’s home. The Dursley’s are his mothers sister, and that family detests Harry in every way possible. They keep him locked up in a cupboard in the basement, take his owl (used for delivering mail etc.) his wand, and his trunk of spell books and everything else he could use to do any bit of magic. Harry’s birthday again passes without being noticed by the Dursley’s, but Harry receives presents from Ron and Hermione and also Hagrid.
The author Susan Dominus shares about Daniel Radcliffe’s life in “Daniel Radcliffe’s Next Trick Is to Make Harry Potter Disappear”. Her intension meaning for the work published is to tell the reader of Daniel Radcliffe’s life. Daniel being Harry Potter an upstanding adventurous wizard in a series of movies, and how he wants his life to be normal again. Her writing is in a right-minded ethical writing style to persuade or to move the reader to feel how Daniel does. She fulfills her persuasion by illustrating his milestones in a parallel structure, displaying his feelings of being Mr. Harry Potter, and his wanting of breaking free of the name.
Elvis Mitchell’s “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” movie review is directed towards people who have never heard of or read the Harry Potter books. Those who have read the books already have clear and definitive opinions about the Harry Potter movies and their likeness to the movies. Some believe that they do not follow the books closely enough, and others believe they follow too closely. Mitchell thinks the movie follows too closely for it, as a movie, to ever have a life of its own. He uses common terms and pop culture references to connect with the audience. Elvis Mitchell’s evaluative article, “The Sorcerer's Apprentice” is easy to follow and keeps the audince in mind, but has a confusing tone.
Since the first segment of the series was released in 1997, Harry Potter has been challenged by churches and parents due to the practicing of magic by children found within the books. The books have been removed from school shelves, discouraged by churches, and censored by parents. It is claimed that Harry Potter is devilish, satanic, and encourages children to practice the occult, damaging their religious views (LaFond). Therefore, many parents keep their children from reading the book series. Yet, Harry Potter has been such a positive influence on my so many lives. Evident through the movies, theme parks, stores, and much more, J.K. Rowling’s series has been an overwhelming success for many reasons (“Because it’s his…”). In order to encourage
Santrock, J. (2013). Emotional development. In Child Development, An Introduction (14e ed., pp. 281-311). McGraw Hill.
Millions of children around the world along with a good many adults are now familiar with Harry Potter. Created by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter is an orphan who, for the first eleven years of his life, has lived with and suffered abuse from his relatives, the Dursleys. His life changes dramatically, however, when he turns eleven and finds out that he is in fact a wizard and will be attending Hogwarts, a wizardry school.
For this assignment, I chose to interview the daughter of a friend. Sarah is three years old, and she was observed while interacting with kids that ranged in age from one year to almost seven years old. I did the observation in their home to ensure Sarah felt comfortable and relaxed to acquire a more accurate assessment of her temperament.
The Harry Potter book series is well known by many adults and children all around the world. Harry Potter is about a young boy named Harry who lives with his abusive Uncle, rude Aunt, and spoiled cousin. He lives with them because his parents were killed when he was younger. Harry eventually finds out that he is a wizard which leads to him going to Hogwarts. At Hogwarts he learns about his powers, his parents, and he faces many tough situations that could cost him his life. It has been said that the author J.K. Rowling has changed the world in many ways with these books. Some of the outcomes of these books include new music genres such as wizard rock and even words from the books, Muggle being one of them, are now in the dictionary. Many children have read the series and they say that the books have changed their lives. One of the greatest ways Harry Potter has changed the world is how it has changed children’s literature. The Harry Potter series has changed children’s literature because it has helped improve their literacy skills and changed their attitudes towards reading.
Your books have taught me to be brave and not give up. Harry would never give up to protect everyone from the worst sorcerer in the world, Voldemort. He even made the ultimate sacrifice of not being able to die and see his parents in the afterlife because Voldemort was the only one able to kill Harry. Harry made this sacrifice to protecst everyone. He didn't give up to any of this. This was truly inspiring to me and led me to make choices that didn't just benefit a few people, but everyone.
Reading different books with relatable characters helps students become more patient with their peers. By reading about a character who is understanding and kind to those even they dislike, it teaches the reader to act more like them and become more patient. In “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”, J.K Rowling writes about a boy, Harry, who is thrown into a wizard it school and meets some new kids and
One of the most read series in all literature is Harry Potter. The seven-book succession has sold over 400 million copies and has been translated into over sixty languages. What is it that makes this series so wildly famous? What is it about the boy who lived that makes frenzied readers flock to their local bookstore at midnight on the day of the release to buy the latest installment? How is a story set in a world that doesn’t exist about wizards, witches, magic, and mystical creatures so popular? The series has been able to earn its spot on the New York Times Bestseller list and has granted author J.K. Rowling multiple awards because it is relatable. It is not the setting or the events in the plot of the story that we relate to. We relate to what Harry, his friends, mentors, teachers, caretakers, and even enemies feel. Harry is in a lot of ways exactly like us. He represents some of the good characteristics that all of us have as well as the bad. The series as a whole, is about one thing that is stressed over and over again in the novels, love. The Harry Potter series is one of the most read sequences of novels because the central theme is love and self-sacrifice, and readers are looking for a novel that shows them just that.
Wood, A. E., Wood, E. G., & Boyd, D. (2007). Child development: The world of psychology.
Papalia, D E, Olds, S W & Feldman, R D (1998). Human Development. 7th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill.