I am in the thick of finals week, and so far, all is well. Yesterday, I had my Buddhism final, which I think I did relatively well on. The exam was simple enough, but my memory wasn't all that great with terms like Bodhisattva and Avalokiteshvara as well as others that had a million letters. Nonetheless, I think its safe to say that I'll pass the class. My next final is tomorrow morning, and it will be one that certainly will be a royal pain in the butt. Its the final for my astronomy class, the class that has proven over and over with all of the ridiculous quizzes and labs to be extremely frustrating and irritating. There is so much information that I am responsible for. I can only hope that at least some of it will stick to my brain. This is the class I am worried about, but I don't think he can flunk me because there is a curve to the grades.
In the mean time, I finished my final english paper, with the help of my very generous sister. I will post it at the end of this log.
I suppose I should begin my studying for astronomy. Oh help.
Here's my paper:
The Magic of Harry Potter
Robert Parrish, author of a magician’s handbook, once said that, “Audiences want to believe what they see a magician to do, and yet at the same time, they know better and do not believe. Therein lies the fascination of magic to modern people.” All of us, at one time or another, have wanted to believe in the impossible, something so surreal, that it could never take place. Luckily, there are those who satisfy these cravings within us, such as authors of fictitious genres. These authors take us into the worlds that they so masterfully create, and allow us to escape the trials of everyday life and regress to the innocence of childhood. J.K. Rowling is a lot like a magician, drawing people all over the world to her ever-popular Harry Potter series. Just as a magician puts on a show for his or her audience, so does J.K. Rowling capture her audience of readers by way of creating an irresistibly magical world, one where both young and old are tricked into its very existence. Though the Harry Potter series is one of fantasy, its believable presentation captures a large number of adults looking to revisit their childhood and to escape from the harsh realities of everyday life, which is why this series has become such a popular phenomenon.
One of the reasons why the Harry Potter series is so popular among adults is because in many ways, adults sometimes yearn to return back to childhood, where life was simple and powerfully magical. In the series, the children not only display their overt power through their magic, but they have a covert power that enables them to take on challenging situations. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry’s condescending Aunt pays a visit to the family. Harry absolutely abhors visits from Aunt Marge, and Aunt Marge strongly dislikes and criticizes him. When she arrives, Harry puts up with her for as long as possible; however, there is a point at which he can no longer take her blows. He uses his magic to cast a spell on her. In this situation, one sees Harry’s obvious use of overt power through magic, but also the use of his inner power: the ability to stand up to his aunt in the first place. Adults can struggle everyday in finding the innocent power of childhood within their own lives. All of us have unpleasant memories of a school bully, and feeling powerless against his domineering behavior. Like the eventual interaction between Harry and Aunt Marge, there is always one child who channels his inner power to stand up for what he or she knows is right. This situation can also be translated to our adult lives; for example, one can have the inner power to stand up to his or her heavy-handed boss. In her review of the Harry Potter series, Alison Lurie says,
…it should be no surprise that [the book] often take the side of children against adults. These books are, in the deepest sense, subversive. They make fun of grown-ups and expose adult pretensions and failings; they suggest, subtly or otherwise, that children are braver, smarter, and more interesting than grown-ups, and that grown-up rules are made to be broken.
In the aforementioned example, one can see that Harry is braver, smarter, and more interesting than his obnoxious, intolerable aunt. He has his magic that, throughout his aunt’s visit, is waiting to explode, revealing that he is the one with the most power. As Lurie says in her review, Harry’s power can be seen as a metaphor for the power of childhood and imagination, creativity and humor. This innocent power is appealing to adults due to their inevitable loss of childhood, and is something that they desire to retrieve. Through the hierarchical school system they must journey through, Children learn that imagination is something to be dulled. Children learn that there is little to no use of imagination in the adult world as they are forced to simply consume and regurgitate rigid facts. Harry Potter is the catalyst for bringing imagination out of hibernation.
Another reason for the unprecedented success of the Harry Potter series is that it allows the reader to escape the reality of their own life and enter into the magical world that Rowling has created. Throughout the series, the reader learns that the family Harry Potter lives with is rather dysfunctional, although the authors of this genre usually create a safe environment for home (Nodelman 189). They do not treat Harry very well, and Harry does not like living with them in the least bit. When it is time to leave his family to go to Hogwarts, he welcomes the change. He essentially gets to escape a world where magic is not allowed, and go to a new world where his authentic self is supported. In Alison Lurie’s article about Harry Potter, she says that, “At the start of each story Harry Potter is living in exile at the Dursleys. But presently, with the help of magic, he is rescued and enters an alternate world in which imagination and adventurousness are rewarded.” In the same way, the reader escapes with Harry to this magical world that Rowling has created. This escape from reality that the reader goes through makes this series so popular because at some point in everyone’s lives, life is too hard to manage, so people look for a temporary respite. Personally, in my life as a student, there are many times in which I feel overwhelmed due to the tremendous amount of work I have to complete in a limited time span, and I often want to escape, at least momentarily. There are myriads of ways to escape reality; some people listen to music, while others find their escape in a morning jog. J.K. Rowling only adds yet another way in which one can create solace for him or her self.
The Harry Potter series has become so popular among readers because the series allows people to re-enter the realm of childhood and to evade the realities of life for a while. We can all learn something from Harry’s display of courage and power, and can then attempt to apply it to our own lives. As adults, when we encounter a dictatorial boss, we can think to ourselves, “WWHD – What would Harry do?” Additionally, a reader can escape their own life and all the maladies it entails; simply put, Harry Potter is fun for those who have a big imagination and helps those who have lost their childhood imagination, to develop one. In my opinion, this book is more influential to adults rather than children because children still live in a magical world, while adults are suffering in the abyss of the real world. J.K. Rowling has cast her spell on all readers and lovers of Harry Potter, and the magic she has created will live on.
Works Sited
Lurie, Alison. “Not For Muggles.” New York Review of Books. 16 Dec. 1999. Gale Group. 26 May 2005.
. Path: Literature Resource Center. Keyword: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Nodelman, Perry, and Mavis Reimer. “Children’s Literature as Repertoire”. The Pleasures of Children’s Literature. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2003. 184-217.
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban. NY: Scholastic, 1999.
