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theory about magical realism
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essay on magical realism
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Who has never dreamed of witches, broomsticks and full moon light? I always wished, when I was younger, I could turn and do magic like a witch. I even bought little magic kits, but it was nothing like the magic I wanted to produce. In my teen years, a book called Harry Potter caught my attention. It took me to a world I thought could only belong in my head. J.K. Rowling brought words of description to my dreams and brought out the little witch and wizard in many children's lives. I have not been able to find a more descriptive, memorable, imaginative, and well-written books for both children and adults to read and enjoy.
Why do so many Harry Potter fans reread these fantasies over and over again? Are there secrets that gradually unfold? Are there layers and layers of understanding they are peeling away? Does the imagery enrich each time? The magic remains; whatever the reasons, readers are motivated to read, then once more, and once more again and immerse themselves in the enjoyable world of the written word. First as books, but now as movies, video games, and a multitude of toys Harry Potter has become an important feature of modern popular culture.
The Harry Potter books, written by J.K. Rowling, have sustained consistent attack from Christians because of how they portray witchcraft. It has been said that the Harry Potter books encourage children to accept a view of witchcraft that is benign, even good, and thus will lead them to adopt some form of paganism or Wicca. Christians naturally object to this and...
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...is structured by comforting stereotypes and doesn't upset preconceptions. If it's true that the Harry Potter books are ideologically conservative and, furthermore, exploited by conservative corporations for their own profit, then both the books themselves as well as the wider cultural phenomenon need to be read more critically. It would be inappropriate to take them at face value.
References
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" J.K. Rowling Sep 1998
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret" J.K. Rowling Jun 2, 1999
"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" J.K. Rowling Sep 1999
"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" J.K. Rowling Jul 8, 2000
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" J.K. Rowling Jun 2003
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" J.K. Rowling Jul 16, 2005
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
Like this excerpt from JK Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” the majority of the book series takes a clear stance against discriminatory practices. However, she also portrays serious stereotyping oversights throughout her work.
...ave evolved about the subject matter of these books. The greatest controversy, though, centers on the series’ religious references, which have caused many parents to despise the “immoral” concepts of the stories and forbid their children from reading these books. Such people feel that Rowling promotes paganism through the magic performed by the characters, and promotes evil through various connections to Satan. Still, Harry Potter does not reflect the practices of Wicca and good always overpowers evil in the end; therefore, we should not be concerned with the effects of the series on children, or even adults. After all, readers have been enjoying stories containing magical references for centuries and humanity has not suffered because of it. Harry Potter is just another magical story and should be enjoyed, rather than judged because of its controversial references.
All kids love the "Harry Potter" series. But they don't know that by reading it they are "indulging in sinful and Godless acts" or that these books are putting them on the fastest train to Hell. I own A Clockwork Orange, Lord of the Flies, To Kill a Mockingbird, Twelfth Night, and Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, all of which have been or are banned. What's going on here?
JK Rowling could have never imagined in 1990 when the thought of Harry Potter first appeared to her, how much this fictional character would capture the hearts of readers all over the world. Similarly, Tolkien’s Series The Lord of The Rings has had a resounding effect on its readers, some even going so far as to learn the Elven language that Tolkien himself created. Both of these fantasy works, though incredibly different, are very similar in regards to their Christian themes and underlying message they read. Probably more debatable by fans is whether or not the Harry Potter series is a Christian work, let alone if it even carries Christian themes and undertones. Many within both the evangelical and non-religious world seem to be offended at such a thought as this. Half offended that the story of the gospel could be hidden within the confines of a book of witchcraft, the other half offended that a book of witchcraft and wizarding could carry a Christian message. Yet to Rowling herself the Christian themes seem to be quite obvious. Whatever party one may find stand in, it is clear the Harry Potter series is a Christian work, because of JK Rowling’s deliberate use of Gospel themes, biblical references, and biblically allegorical figures placed throughout the books.
...y for the lunatic fringes of my own religion” (“'Harry Potter' Author J.K. Rowling Opens Up About Books' Christian Imagery”).
Whitehead, A. N. (2006). God, C.S. Lewis, and J.K. Rowling: Christian Symbolism in Harry Potter.
It is impossible to please everyone. This is a simple fact that cannot be argued. Books are a form of expression, and not everyone will agree with the way an author expresses him or herself. For example, according to Pastor John Hagee, “The books and films teach moral relativism and numb the minds of children to profanity and off color humor. Many of you believe it's just harmless fantasy, but its fantasy laced with witchcraft and demonology,” (2007). This was in response to the Harry Potter series, the number one most challenged book for the years 2000-2007 (ALA). The issue is not about how the books have inspired many children to read, it is that they are saying spells that the author has invented. If books are banned because they offend one group, we will not have any boo...
Rowling’s writing sparks controversy with readers. Rowling has dealt with criticism about how her books teach children about witchcraft and evil powers (Kirk 103). To shield children from these teachings, schools and libraries across the world banned the books and occasionally, a book burning. “It conflicts with the values I’m trying to teach my children,” reports Ken McCormick, a father (qtd in Cannon and Cataldo). Evidently, the series’ plot teaches children revenge, and parents and teachers across the globe agree that banning the books will protect them from harmful lessons. However, her works have encouraged children read more. Today, fewer children and teens read for pleasure, causing a great drop in test scores, vocabulary, and imagination (Hallet). According to U.K.-based Federation of Children’s Book Groups, fifty nine percent of kids believe that Harry Potter enhanced their reading skills, and forty eight percent say that the books turned them in to bookworms (Hallet). In other words, Rowling’s books became children’s, in this day of age, video games. She published Harry Potter at a time where children, teens, and young adults were starting to consume their time with technology instead of reading. Without these books, generations across the spectrum would diminish in terms of reading skill. Rowling not only helps children improve their skills, she gives back to them through her
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.
In this study, I set out to find how freshmen UT Engineering students’ battles correlated to the struggles of first-year students at Hogwarts and how that proved J.K. Rowling’s characters were relatable and that the fantastical themes presented in the Harry Potter series were realistic. This is a qualitative study focused on paralleling a fantastical series to normal life. Many scholars are curious about the millennial generation’s behaviors and attitudes, and by having representative people of the age group compare a work of literature to their lives, these questions can be dissected. This study clearly complements current discussions of the fantasy genre. Many people believe that fans of fantasy read (or watch) the genre to escape into an exotic new world. This research question helps ask why people want to run away to the made-up worlds created by fantasy authors by comparing struggles and characters to actual, real life situations. This can aid scholars in “figuring out” the millennial generation.
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.
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.
Before reading Harry Potter, I very rarely read for pleasure. I found reading boring, almost old fashioned. My frame of mind more readily paralleled Danny Divito in the movie Matlida, who says that “[t]here's nothing you can get from a book that you can't get from a television faster.” While my view of reading as a child could be summed up in that quote, everything changed when I was introduced to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I can remember to this day when my Dad began reading Harry Potter to me, and how I did not understand just how much this book would change me. Harry Potter and his world of wizardry became my own personal Shangri-La, my escape, my own world. Anytime I wanted, I could ascend to a world of fantasy and explore the depths of my own imagination in a way that I had never been capable of doing before. I became obsessed with the book, reading it before, during, and after sc...
MacDonald, Joan Vos. J.K. Rowling: Banned, Challenged, and Censored. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 2008. Print.