Good Wizard or Bad?
The Harry Potter series is prominent for its extreme controversial topic displayed throughout the book. The everlasting dispute between Acocella and Bloom continues. Joan Acocella, a world renowned author, famous for her career as a dance critic for Dance Magazine, the New York Daily News and the Wall Street Journal. In Potter’s defense, Acocella supports Rowling’s writings to support its relative, yet imaginary tone in her piece “Under the Spell.” On the other hand, there is Harold Bloom, a well-educated professor who spends his time studying western literature. In Bloom’s article “Can 35 Million Book Buyers Be Wrong? Yes.” Bloom discusses the book 's underlying message. He suggests that the Potter series is not relatable.
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The trinkets are whimsical, and so are the people. “The Hogwarts staff is a display case all its own,” (Acocella, 530) as she lists the various characters in the story. For one to truly understand this book they must be open minded in a sense where the normal is, but doesn 't always have to be. Bloom mocks Acocella’s ideas by stating that there are children 's books more superior to the Potter series. For starters, he says, “..The book is not well written.. (Bloom, 538) noting on the fact that it has more potential than what Rowling actually produced. However he also states, “The ultimate model for Harry Potter is ‘Tom Brown’s School Days’ by Thomas Hughes, published in 1857" (Bloom, 538). This empathizes the fact that the overall outline of Harry Potter was not even original and because these ideas were not her own, readers cannot understand them since she can not either.
Acocella believes in Rowling’s capability pin points certain social issues, One of the biggest being, discrimination. First off, there is discrimination due to race. As Acocella discusses, “But racism is a major problem at Hogwarts. Yes, the student body includes Cho Chang and Parvati Patil and Dean Thomas, who has dreadlocks" (Acocella, 532). Instead of turning against Rowling, she applauds her efforts to make this issue noticeable.
The books Redwall by: Brian Jacques and the Harry Potter Series by: J.K. Rowling share many similar and different character traits, themes and symbols. Redwall takes place place during a medieval time in an abbey and the characters are woodland animals. The Harry Potter series takes place in modern day England primarily in school of magic where teenagers learn how to harness their magical powers and abilities. The two may not be similar in terms of plot, but Redwall and Harry Potter both share the themes and symbols of courage, compassion and evil.
How Pharr off is Mary Pharr on the significance of the novel about Harry Potter? I believe very far off. I think the argument Pharr makes is not connected to the educational benefits of Harry Potter. Rather she argues the morality presented throughout Harry Potter by saying this is what all readers crave. “In Medias Res” by Mary Pharr is a response to critics’ critical analysis of the Harry Potter (HP) series’ ability to educate readers. After thinking and reading Mary Pharr’s text about the ‘educational value’ has concluded with few, if any educational benefits through Harry Potter. Though these lessons exist they are typically taught by parents not school, not quantitative skills or tools that are typically taught in schools,
Two weekends ago, I found myself accidentally proving the old theory that Harry Potter is a gateway drug to the wider world of serious literature. Standing in the very back of a gigantic horde at my local bookstore at midnight, wedged into a knot of adolescents reading People magazine through oversize black plastic glasses, I picked up and nearly finished a great American superclassic that I’d somehow managed to avoid for my entire life: Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Under normal circumstances I would have been perfectly happy to go on ignoring it—the paperback had an unmistakable high-school-syllabus stench about it—but I was bored to death and the aisles were clogged with potbellied wizards and it was the only readable book within arm’s reach. A few pages in, I found myself hooked. By the time I got to the register, I was three-quarters of the way through (just after—spoiler alert!—Lennie the man-child mangles the bully Curley’s hand) and all I really wanted to do was finish it. But the employees were all clapping because I was the last customer, so I closed Steinbeck right on the brink of what felt like an impending tragic climax, took my Potter, and left. Ironically, this meant that Of Mice and Men was now suspended at roughly the same point in its dramatic arc as Rowling had suspended the Potter series before Deathly Hallows. So I went home and conducted a curious experiment in parallel reading: a two-day blitz of 860 pages, with a pair of nested climaxes—one hot off the presses, one 70 years old.
The Harry Potter series, written by J. K. Rowling, is about a young boy who finds out he is a wizard and uses his magic powers to vanquish evil. The series is currently the target of many protestors, as they scrutinize and penalize the books for their creative and imaginative topics. Ranging from education to religion, protestors' reasoning's behind theses attacks have sparked nationwide debates. Everything from censorship to book burning, protesting and pulling theses books from school shelves, have been done to outlaw the Potter series. Elizabeth D. Schafer, author of "Harry and History", summarizes how these controversies stem forth and how she disagrees with the protests against the Potter series. Censorship of the Harry Potter books is a vain attempt to maintain control and power over citizens as their rights and freedom of choice is being severely violated by forbidding the viewing of certain sources of entertainment.
The work of C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling is of grave vital on the grounds that their work portrays actuality as well as adds to it. Yes, their work is not just a portrayal of actuality; it is somewhat a quality expansion. Their meeting expectations are depictions of the reasoning examples and social standards pervasive commonly. They are a delineation of the diverse features of regular man's existence. Their works serves as a something worth mulling over and a tonic for creative energy and innovativeness. Lying open a single person to great artistic lives up to expectations, is proportional to giving him/her the finest of instructive chances.
Harry Potter is a very sensitive issue to many people, especially now that a movie has been made, based on the first book – a movie that broke almost all US box office records as flocks of people came to watch it. The movie alone brought in just under one hundred million dollars in the first week (Brook). In addition, J.K. Rowling’s first four Harry Potter books (there are three more books planned in the series) have kept her on the bestseller list for the last four years. Each book has sold over a million copies (BBC News Online).
The logical appeal of this paper is showing of how Radcliffe’s displays his feelings of being Harry and idolized as such by his fans. Radcliffe is Asked in an interview “How do you feel about becoming famous?” he replied with “It’d be cool!” demonstrating that in his early childhood he was very open to this idea. These quotes tell of how a young boy demonstrates how a change in life would be, he had no clue of how his life would change just by these movies. Daniel tells how he feels, “I’m more nervous about the anticipation about feeling bad,” telling the interviewer that he worries about those letting the fans down and not signing all their memorabilia. This quote shows that he likes to make people happy. When he cannot accommodate his fan base do so he is left in sadness. Susan Dominus notes that Daniel deserves to receive the golden ticket he earned at age ten, He will not squander his fame on little things when he has the ability to be a major role model. He does not want to hurt his fans feelings but he cannot be at places fo...
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
Ever since J.K. Rowling first introduced Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in 1997, children and adults have read and loved the series. It has gained such popularity that all of the books have been made into major motion pictures, and a Harry Potter attraction has been opened in Universal Studios, Florida. Though the readers love Rowling’s intricate and exciting story lines, many controversies have arisen from these stories, not only in the United States, but also in various countries around the world. Perhaps the biggest controversy is the religious implications perceived by some critics. Although these critics believe that the series promotes paganism and encourages evil actions, these theories should not be taken so seriously.
The portrayal of female characters in British literature has most often reflected the larger perception of women by society during the time of a work’s publication. In this regard, the immensely popular Harry Potter series written by author J.K. Rowling is certainly no exception. The circumstances for women in late 20th century Britain have improved and in many ways are nearing equality with men, yet a notable upper barrier to success still remains. Rowling captures this gender dynamic throughout the Harry Potter series by including a diverse cast of resilient female characters who are not allowed to take on the same leadership roles dominated by the men at Hogwarts, at the Ministry of Magic, in quidditch, and during the Triwizard tournament. The novels also center on an important theme of motherly love that Rowling uses to explore the sacrifices women must make in order to raise their children well. Such issues have been present in British literature for well over a century, with each generation seeing steps toward equality, both for the fictitious characters and the women of a given time period. The Harry Potter series, therefore, constitutes a reflection of female status in modern Britain that has advanced, but remains perpetually flawed.
Wolosky, Shira. "Harry Potter’s Ethical Paradigms: Augustine, Kant, and Feminist Moral Theory." Children's Literature 40.1 (2012): 191-217. Project MUSE. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. .
Goff, Patricia. Producing Harry Potter: Why the Medium is Still the Message. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2006. Print.
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.
This literary analysis will define the importance of self-realization in the fantasy world of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. Rowling’s fantasy world presents the challenges of a young boy, Harry Potter, that is trapped between the “real world” and the fantasy world of Hogwart’s School. Harry’s transport into the world of Hogwart’s provides him with the potential for self-realization that will fulfill his true identity as a wizard. Hogwarts School is, in fact, a fantasy location, but the overriding realism of his identity as a wizard teaches him about the importance
Mikhail Bakhtin has provided an intricate insight to what a novel entails. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone fits into the form that Bakhtin has created. Using laughter, plot, setting, and character development, Harry Potter is able to connect with its audiences in the way that Bakhtin feels a novel should. Mikhail Bakhtin’s study of the novel’s form allows readers to better understand the world and characters that are constructed in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.