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The greatest story ever sold

KATE TAYLOR

From Saturday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 7:34 PM EST 07/07/07

Big issues raised by little boy from Hogwarts ...Read the full article

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  1. Stewart Reed from Port Huron, MI, United States writes: I don't want to engage in the nastiness of popular culture, but I have to ask: what idiot wrote/edited this article?

    Hermione is a weak character? Are you reading the same character I am?

    What would you have her do? Own a semi-automatic weapon? Cuss a lot?

    Class issues? Heavens, what a crock! It is clear in the books that discrimination based on class is a BAD thing. Do any of these academics actually read the books?

    Finally, please don't lump all "Christians" together. Just because medeival types have a very loud voice and use it often does NOT mean that all people who call themselves "Christian" are mindless bible-thumpers.

    I find this article shows a marked lack of maturity and a serious chip on the shoulder of someone. I assume that childhood itself would offend the author and that she has never had a daydream in her life. What a shallow existence these "academic" critics of Potter must live!

    -Stewart Reed
    Port Huron, MI, USA
  2. Shiyam Pillai from Waterloo, Canada writes: Sometimes you just have to read the Harry Potter books for what they are - fantasy books for children / pre-teens and an indulgence for adults. Overall, the article was well written and researched; thought provoking at best / an interested read at worst. However, the first poster does have some credible points. Hermione is not just a minor character - after Harry she along with Ron are the major supporting characters. The other point about not lumping all Christians together is true as well. I do think the academic critics had valid points in their different areas of interest. In the end though just read the books for what they and don't overanalyze them - they surely are not masterpieces of fiction that will mark this era in centuries to come. Harry Potter will be considered the stepping stone between the Narnia tales (and other fairy tales) and the Lord of the Rings (and other SF/Fantasy) for children interested in the genre.
  3. Richard Marcus from Kingston, Canada writes: I was a late commer to Harry, my older brother gave me book one while Iwas recovering from surgery a few years ago (he'll be fifty to my forty six about now) I think I could safely say that we are both what a lot of people would refer to as elitist as we generally hold most popular culture in disdain. Having said that, I would just like to extend my condolances to those who feel the need to analyse the joy out of their lives, and try to do the same for others. J.K. Rowling created a place of magic in a world that is less and less magical as the days pass and that in of itself is praise worthy. As to the comment that it's parents who have fueled the sales and created the myth of the book that children love let me remind you of the old adage of horses and water and apply it to books. Do people really think that anybody would be able to force a child to read anything against his or her own will outside of a classroom? Of course there's a lot of hype, but for once it is nice to see it about something good for a change. I just think that my colleagues in the world of litteray criticim need go get the stick out their collective butts, relax and enjoy the world once in a while. Richard Marcus Editor Epic India. com Arts and Culture magazine/ Contributing editor Blogcritics.org
  4. shaun narine from Fredericton, Canada writes: I'm going to add my voice to the outrage about Hermione. Actually, I've heard other people complain about Hermione and her "earnestness" -but it is also clear that she is the smartest and most principled of the three main child characters. Certainly, her campaign to free the house elves and her general attitudes towards other magical beings is based on a genuine sense of right and wrong, a much stronger sense (in many ways) than Harry, who would rather not question the racial relations of his world. Rowling's take on these questions of race is actually much more subtle than the article allows. On the one hand, Hermione's efforts to free the elves are sabatoged by the elves themselves, who want to serve and feel purposeless without that function - a notion that most people would find uncomfortable and which backs up the "essentialist" critique noted in the article. On the other hand, Dumbledore in the books makes it very clear that the cruelty and racism of the wizards towards the other magical races is wrong and is going to have dire consequences for the wizarding community. So, there are - very interestingly - contradictory ideas here. Back to Hermione: she is certainly one of my favourite characters and I think that I've read somewhere that Rowling sees her as her own counterpart. So, leave the poor girl alone! ;-)
  5. Yolande Lamothe from Ottawa, Canada writes: The real question in my mind is what will JKR come up with next? Can it possibly have an impact to compare of the colossal result of her first foray into authorship?
  6. Miles Nicholson from Canada writes: An article based on people who have made a career analyzing Rowlings work. What ever happened to fun...?
    Reminds me of those 'Star Trek Next Generation' courses they used to offer at some schools.
  7. Rain SCM from Vancouver, Canada writes: So the author of this article brought up the fact that Harry Potter pilfers from previous "masterpieces." Any literature student will tell you that they learned about the 8 archtypes of protagonist and 10 categories of stories that all other stories fit into. Within that, there is bound to be similarity. One could argue how Shakespeare plagiarized from the bible because characters and stories may be a little too similar. The point being that there is no longer any good writing, just good rewriting. Now, the only way feminazis would be happy would be if the books were called Harriet Potter. Even then, I'm sure that they would find something to complain about. That is why the movement is now a joke compared to the real goal that the rank and file feminists are trying to accomplish, which is female equality. Try to find something that Christo-fascists don't find blasphemous. Never mind the fact that their brand of Christianity has become so irrelevant to normal people because no one can live up to those kinds of expectations. One thing that the Harry Potter books has done has been to illustrate different classes, but not in the traditional sense. These books have always brought out the worst in book critics who honestly think their opinion is significantly more important than those of the readers. This the "intelligentsia" or "academia" continue to lament the fall of literary enlightenment when these books promote literacy, a skill that had been in great decline due to other prominent media. So these critics, who believe in their own intellectual superiority (Daniel Richler) and that they are above Harry Potter. However, it would seem that their criticisms fall an deaf ears as they quibble about irrelevant literature and the rest of the world learn the true meaning of friendship and its importance in the face of difficulty. I am not going to go on and on about the virtues of the Harry Potter novels because the numbers speak for themselves.
  8. Peter Francis from Mississauga, Canada writes: It seems that whenever somethings gets too big and reaches monumental popularity, there are always those bent on bringing them down. The books do contain elements of racism and troubles resulting from social classes, but the books' messages are AGAINST it all. As well, what about Professor McGonagall? Is she not a a very vibrant symbol of the strength, intelligence, and courage that women posses? And to say Hermoine is "just the sidekick" is a demeaning view and reflects poor reading on the part of the critics.
    I think it's funny that many critics highlighted in this article find fault in the writing of the novels. Perhaps they should take a few seconds to put the books in context; the series is written for children, not the intellectual elite. Would any children read these books if they were written in the language of Tolstoy or Faulkner?
    Like I said, people are bent on finding unnecessary faults in just about everythings these days.
  9. Cymro yn byw yma Canada from Canada writes: Never read Harry but saw one movie. Was it true to the book? I believe so; I accept the advice of the younger set on that score. Kids lack power. But not Harry. The feminists scream, "We've got the power." Hary has the power in spades. Kids like friends and Harry's got them. He's even got a girl friend who's bright and could even be regarded in the way she behaves an energetic, bright, cute boy. That shoud appeal to those feminists who hate the word "waitress" Harry does not take revenge on hos adoptive family biut they get punished anyway. Harry is no snob and that too is appealing. Moreover he does not have that annoying and limiting thing called a family which he misses yet loves but at a distance. That's my analysis. I tried to read him once but I found that as adult reading it is boring. I love the story of Rowlings shopping it around several publishers and none of them had what it takes to see that it was very appealing to the 12 year old. Good for multimillionaire Rowling; don't they just hate her? Books with elements I have listed were appealing to myself in my prepubescent years. To digress: I found it strange that some religious people still believe in witches but then those people have many strange beliefs. I heard a wonderful quote on TVO which applies: Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge. It is those who kniw little and not those who know much who so positively assert that this or that problem exists.
  10. Blair . from vancouver, Canada writes: On the subject of well written, is it just me or is this sentence missing something:

    Whether or not they believe the books are well-written — and many critics, most notably the conservative Bloom, who has denounced Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as cliché-ridden escapism — scholars can place the books in a tradition of children's literature that helps prepare readers for adult life through the safety of a fantasy realm.
  11. Cymro yn byw yma Canada from Canada writes: I like the names she invents which is sort of Dickensian in a way.
    Good introduction to Greek and Latin roots for kids maybe.
  12. Mother Focker from Grey County, Canada writes: Real academics - those whose careers are not founded upon endless muttering about children's books or 'graphic novels' - find it funny that any adult can take such 'academic' work seriously...go to the math or science department, take some Latin and Greek, look up the history of art - but please let the kids and the adults enjoy a little fun in their lives... pre-teen fantasy novels, comics books and Star Trek are not academic - that whole side of the university is a giant make-work project for middle class people who either did not grow up or had no childhood at all...
  13. Megan Holsapple from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada writes: Hermione is no sidekick. She's one of the three main characters, and she's usually the one who figures out how to solve whatever problem the trio are in.

    Ginny, Lily, Luna, McGonagall and Tonks weren't mentioned in this article, but they are strong women. Mrs. Weasley is not a mother hen; she and Mr. Weasley are stand-in parents to Harry.

    If Ms. Taylor bothered to read the books rather than getting her information from the movies, she would have discovered that Bellatrix Lestrange is one of the strongest characters, male or female, in the entire series. But perhaps this would just have supported her view that the books are sexist. There are more female characters than I could name: each one is different and is no "drip", whatever so-called "feminists" might say. (Who are these feminists, anyway?)

    I also must take issue with the notion that it is simply in the nature of the characters to be whatever they are. This is Voldemort's opinion (he's the uber-baddie, for the uninitiated and Ms. Taylor), but it is certainly not the message of the books. In fact, Rowling has gone out of her way to stress that the books are about the choice between what is easy and what is right.
  14. erik anderson from montreal, Canada writes: the fact this article exists is amusing. what's the problem? well, i guess the problem is that adults are reading these books and some are so troubled by the fact they're enjoying a kids' book; they need to analyse why. or overanalyse. The whole article overanalyses. the quotes from professors overanalyse (though the one from the guy at UBC is pretty on-point). the question shouldn't be why these are so popluar, it should be how on earth could they NOT be popular. Of course they're popular! They steal from every popular childrens' book, and fantasy adventure movie ever made. From Roald Dahl to Top Gun, the characters and plots are totally lifted from other popular sources. There's no way these books could fail. They're like taking pizza, coke, and brownies to a kid's birthday party.
    As for the feminists... this is just tiring. Drippy girl is in fact the classic neo-female character. She is made smarter than the boys to compensate for the fact she is not the main protagonist; and to avoid calls of 'sexism', because were she NOT to be the brightest problem solver, the books would be accused of even more sexism than they already are. But obviously the movement has gone so far that merely having a boy as the protagonist is considered sexist, no matter how many good female characters there are. Why don't the feminists complain that all the really dopey or evil characters are men? Isn't that stereotypical and sexist? This would be a more refreshing angle. No one would see it coming!
  15. MKK Flatron from Toronto, Canada writes: The above posters have said it all for me.

    Too many critics of this book have no substance to their over-complicated lives, and need to bring down a kid's fairy tale to find some sublimination. Others have not even actually read the book. Just 2 days ago I saw on CH news channel this guy representing some Christian fundamentalist organization called Canada Family Coalition Action or something, and he was ranting against Harry Potter because according to him the book promoted human sacrifice - speechless.
  16. Angry West Coast Canuck from Canada writes: Not "the greatest story ever told". However, certainly the most marketed story told so far. Still, a good, light-hearted read.

    I'm also kinda glad that it's bringing some of the mainly Christian nutjobs out the closet so they can be shown to be the idiots they are.
  17. I. M. Al Wayswright (not opinionated) from Summerland, Canada writes: I agree with all the above comments. It was my son, age 10 at the time he discovered Harry Potter, and we are both fans ever since.
  18. Jim Odell from writes: Hmmm, just for the record, I wonder just what the "critic's perfect children's novel" would look like.

    It seems to me that all fiction necessarily not only reflects the author's ideas and imagination but also is as much a reflection of society as it is a moulder of people's opinions and values.

    While we naturally identify with the eternal struggles of life in fiction, values in children, in particular, are shaped by much greater and more fundamental forces of development and not nearly so affected by the overrated external influences of the media, however pervasively portrayed. Media is much more reflective than formative.

    Thus, we can relax in the comfort of knowing that, as it has always been and always will be, it is perfectly safe to enjoy an imaginary adventure and not fear for our children who are MUCH more discerning than they are often given credit for.
  19. K Wilson from New Westminster, Canada writes: What everyone above has said is true. But there's a small point which I picked up on. It is interesting that the critics consider the Harry series to be "cliche-ridden escapism". What is the purpose of a non-fiction novel whether for children or adults? Escape from reality for a few hours. Harry provides that escape. Critics of both books and movies seem to have forgotten what is important. Both are forms of entertainment, and that is their original purpose. Not everything needs to be an immediate classic, like Dickens, Austin, Kipling, Lewis, etc. In this day and age we have too few avenues of pure entertainment through a good story. JK Rowling provides that avenue, and it is one which appeals to adults and children alike. Children are aware that these are stories, it's the adults who naysay the books who are not. I have been a fan of Harry for years, as was my father, for one reason plain and simple. She tells a good story. Maybe Harry will have the publishers rethinking what makes a good children's novel. Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys are great for the 6-10 yr old bracket, but there aren't too many books out there today for the 10-16yr old bracket other than Harry, and occasionally Eragon (the books are much better than the movie). While Rowling may have wrote the books for children, the writing itself is better than some writing which is geared towards adults. Eragon is a good series, but you can tell the audience it is geared toward - children/pre-teen. Publishers need to open their eyes and understand that children have views which are not coloured by the issues of adulthood. They are receptive to imagination, and in turn can take that imagination places we adults have forgotten. Rowling reminds us. On July 21, enjoy the return visit to your forgotten imagination - I know I will.

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