Katie Muir
AMC II
Professor Prudden
DRAFT April 1, 2014
J.K. Rowling
Even after Harper Collins, Penguin Press, and Transworld rejected the first Potter novel, J.K. Rowling persisted with her writing. After several attempts, her first novel was published by Bloomsbury Children's Books in 1997 and then by the Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic Press in 1998. Rowling’s writing career is broad and her sales suggest her ranges of styles have been narrowed because of the success of the Harry Potter series, which has reduced her freedom as a writer.
Rowling’s success ignited once the first Potter book was published Before publishing, she used her initials to disguise her gender in order to offer an opportunity for young males to take interest in her novel (Biography, 2014). It started to flourish immensely but with its success came criticisms. Several critics believe that Harry Potter has too violent themes for young readers. Rowling agrees that Harry Potter has some themes that are mature for children, however; the banning of the stories because of the deep themes is not fair to adolescent avid readers. Rowling would consistently respond that people like the idea of magic and it something that takes readers of any age to a place where anything is possible (Shea, n.d.).
Some religious critics continue to speak out saying that the series promoted witchcraft . Some schools banned the series because of the possible influence the books could have on students. Rowling has articulated in numerous interviews that the books are not written towards a particular religion and that it is not written so younger readers can put faith into magic . Rowling also expressed to her critics that she is “not pushing any belief system her...
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Kakutani, M. (n.d.). Darkness and death, no magic to help book review: ‘The Casual Vacancy’ by J. K. Rowling. New York Times.
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Rowling, J.K, (2007). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6-6zaa4NI4
Shea, M. P. (n.d.). Harry Potter and the Christian critics.
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Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. The Hound of the Baskervilles. Great Britain, Penguin Groups, 2004. New York, Berkley Publishing Group,1993.
Over the course of this summer I read four books. The books I read were Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J K Rowling, The Giver by Lois Lowry, Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix, and Number the Stars by Lois Lowry again. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J K Rowling was the first book I read this summer and I really liked it. I decided to read the 5th Harry Potter book because I had it and I never really got a chance to read it. The book begins were it had left you of in the 4th book when Harry is just about to enter his 5th year at Hogwarts. He still lives with his aunt and uncle whom he hates because they are mean and evil to him. The letters from his friends are very dull and they have nothing to say, which confuses him and makes him furious. He is also mad because he’s still stuck with the Dursleys all summer long. The story goes with his adventures and challenges throughout his 5th year. The genre is fantasy complete with magic. I would recommend this book to anybody who likes the Harry Potter books. I would also recommend that if you have never read any of the previous books you start from the beginning. I can’t wait ‘till the next book comes out!
Bordo, S. (2013). The creation of anne boleyn. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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
Donaldson, J. & Scheffler, A. (1999). The gruffalo. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.
...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.
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.
Abanes, R. (2001). Harry Potter and the Bible: The menace behind the magic. Camp Hill: Horizon Books.
It lets children and young adults go into a fantasy world that involves around wizards, witches, and magic. This series gets children to start to read at a young age. I believe this series is deeply more because it can show what morally side path you want to go down life. This series of books show how the morally good people would act in a crisis and not in crisis. For example, Mrs. Weasley in books and movies series her character was the loving mother who loved everyone basically. But at the end of the books and movies, when she in a crisis situation with Bellatrix Lestrange, who is trying to kill her daughter. Mrs. Weasley puts down that friendly loving look and goes after Bellatrix. They battled until Bellatrix’s death. It was the first time we saw this character not in loving, happily mood. Her morals changed when she saw that her daughter was in danger. This series also teaches us how to break the rules. Even though breaking the rules is morally wrong, but in some cases breaking the rules is good for people. Its shows how even fictional characters are not perfect in a make-up world. But it does show heroic and virtuous character moments that don’t need a perfect character. This imagination by J.K. Rowling is truly impressive because she appeals to our heads and our hearts with her writing according to Philosopher Martha Nussbaum. She means that the way she wrote some of her characters and the scenes they are in they touches our self in different place like our head and hearts. This book also gives young children and adults to explore their imagination that could lead us to the next Harry Potter
Rowling, J.K. (2003). Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. New York, NY: Scholastic
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