Abstract Since the "Harry Potter" series is such a success, it has had its critics claiming the books should not be considered literature because many critics believe that having merit and being a commercial success are mutually exclusive. This paper argues that it is important to believe in the literary merit of the "Harry Potter" series because it is a reflection of our culture. By looking at some common elements of literature and then finding them in the "Harry Potter" series, the paper argues that the "Harry Potter" series is true literature.
From the Paper "The Harry Potter series is, so far, five books by J.K. Rowling, chronicling the life of the young, orphaned wizard Harry Potter. The series is a coming of age story, beginning when Harry is eleven and following him through adolescence and young adulthood until he is seventeen. Harry's life includes all the prosaic struggles of a young boy, like interaction with the opposite sex, or questioning authority figures. Harry's struggles take place against the backdrop of the turbulent world of magic, with dragons, unicorns, trees that are bewitched to demolish anything in the path, broomsticks, and dark wizards. The series is a classic good versus evil story, with epic battles, complex villains, and moral dilemmas."
A discussion of the role of adulthood versus childhood as depicted in Enid Blyton's "Five on a Treasure Island" and J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone".
Abstract The paper uses as a starting point the comment of children's literature critic Peter Hunt, that 'before 1970, it might be said, adults were, on the whole, reliable: since then they have not been.' It analyses language and plot to compare and contrast "Five on a Treasure Island" and "Harry Potter", as examples of pre- and post-1970 children's literature, respectively and draws conclusions about the extent to which adult characters have changed over time. Then, shifting emphasis to Rowling's work, the paper discusses more complex literary theory including a psychoanalytic analysis of the protagonist's relationships with his father, uncle and nemesis, and asks how we can really know which characters function as adults and which as children.
From the Paper "However, it is not difficult to contest this view with obvious instances where adults are unreliable in Five on a Treasure Island. Throughout the story, adults cause the problems that the children have to work to solve. Moreover, despite Quentin and Fanny's essential reliability, there are also crucial times when they fail to protect the children in the most basic and obvious ways, for example, when they are trapped on the island in chapter fourteen. They also fail to protect the children in more subtle ways. The children are exposed to distinctly adult problems like the family's lack of money. Julian, Dick and Anne's parents mention casually that Quentin and Fanny would appreciate 'a little money' (p. 2), and later in the book Quentin thinks nothing of disappointing George by selling the island to make money."
