The Greater Impact Of The Harry Potter Phenomenon

5010 Words11 Pages

The Greater Impact of the Harry Potter Phenomenon
Mark DePretis
Amberton University

Chapter 1
Introduction
Twenty years ago, the world of literature changed forever by the introduction of Harry Potter. This series took the world by storm and completely changed the view of the fantasy genre. No one could have anticipated the worldwide phenomenon that this series would become. From young children to adults, this series offers something for everyone and has touched more lives than any other fictional series in history. Unlike most series, the Harry Potter franchise has grown much larger than a couple books. The Harry Potter phenomenon has led to eight successful movies, three amusement park locations, and countless …show more content…

What we want to discern is what traits are present in the series that have led to its success. There have been many successful series throughout history, but the third hypothesis presented in this paper revolves around the theory that the Harry Potter series includes trait that differ from those found in traditional literature and those traits have lead to greater success. In the article Sneaking Out After Dark: Resistance, Agency, and the Postmodern Child in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter Series, author Drew Chappell explores the Harry Potter series and identifies some of the factors that allows it to stand above other series in the same genre. Chappell’s biggest point of interest revolves around the role of young adult protagonists. The article considers young protagonists like Oliver Twist, Dorothy Gale, and Charlie Bucket to be modernist constructions of childhood, and considers Harry Potter to be a part of a postmodern vision. According to the article “Child protagonists from the modernist period exist in worlds like machines, with clear notions of right and wrong and an orientation toward a natural or imposed order… By contrast, Harry Potter’s world is one of apparent dualities. Harry and his friends encounter considerable ambiguity in their adventures and learn as they age that the dualities seem more like continua and that the easy answers they receive from wizarding society are in fact influenced by those in power (Chappell, p. 282, 2008).” The author holds that in traditional literature, the child protagonists had a clear picture of what is right and wrong. There were adult figures that were there to guide and their wisdom was infallible. The Harry Potter series changed the script by giving the children protagonists reasons to question, research, and come to their own decisions. The author states, “None of the character

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