Approaches to Literature

1) Analyse the beginning of the one of the literary or film texts on the module, using Bennett and Royle, ‘The Beginning’

Typically, the opening couple of pages of a text are used to set the tone and outline the themes that will be present in the rest of the story. In ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ however, J.K.Rowling uses her opening as more of a distancing device for the reader. We are not immediately introduced to our protagonist, but rather to secondary characters that contribute little to the plot. The wizarding world is only alluded to in the opening, and not out right mentioned, although it is the world in which most of the action takes place. Our attention is instead drawn to the ‘muggle’ world and the way its inhabitants come into contact with wizards without being fully aware.

Bennett & Royle’s idea that a story has ‘already begun before’ the start of the book is applicable to Harry Potter, as we are thrown in to Harry’s life ‘in media res’, not knowing how his parent’s died, or why the Dursley’s refuse to associate with the ‘good-for-nothing’ Potters. Clearly, a lot has happened prior to the start of the book, but this information is not revealed until much later on. Rowling declares ‘our story starts’ nearly a whole page into the book, which leads us to wonder why she included the previous words. This reinforces Bennett and Royle’s idea that a narrative can have many beginnings. In this case, we have the beginning of Harry’s life, the beginning of the book itself and the beginning where ‘our story starts’ all in the first page.

Bennett & Royle pose the question ‘Where would we be without a beginning?’ The opening of ‘Harry Potter’ creates the idea that without a mysterious case of events taking place...

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...ct and indeed in many other districts shows this opinion to be a popular one.

‘Who do you think you are?’ is a question Bennett and Royle say that people ‘try to answer about themselves’ and in this moment Katniss seems to unconsciously ask it. By identifying herself as a sister, carer and protector to Prim, she realises that she cannot allow her to enter the Hunger Games and acts on this. Describing a moment in which she herself was helpless before commenting on the name ‘on the slip of paper’ shows that she has felt how Prim feels and wants to do everything in her power to protect her.

Works Cited

Collins, Suzanne, The Hunger Games (London: Scholastic, 2011)

Rowling, J.k, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (London: Bloombury, 1997)

Bennett, Andrew and Nicholas, Royle, An Introduction To Literature: Criticism And Theory (Harlow: Pearson/Longman, 2009)