Harry Potter and the Magic of Literature

Harry Potter and the Monsters and Magic of Literature

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Potter Time line

1990: The idea for Harry Potter is born.1995: The first book is completed and rejected by several

publishers. J.K. Rowling is warned that she will never make any real money by writing children's books.

1997: Philosopher's Stone is published in England.

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Potter Time line

1998: Chamber of Secrets is published in England and becomes an instant best seller. Philosopher's Stone is published in America under the name Sorcerer's Stone. 2003: Harry Potter has become so pervasive that “muggle” is added to the Oxford English Dictionary.


Meanwhile, publishers are asked to set release dates for Potter novels for weekends so as to avoid causing massive school truancies, The New York Times declares children's books ineligible for its best seller list, and Harry Potter takes the #1 slot in the most frequently banned books of the 21st century list.

300 million Harry Potter books (and counting) have now

been sold worldwide in at least 47 languages.


Literary Genres, Archetypes, and Motifs

The Epic

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Like the ancient epics (Iliad, Odyssey,Aeneid, Gilgamesh, Beowulf),Harry Potter has a little something foreveryone—danger, romance,moral lessons, and most of all the kind of intense suspense that comes fromknowing that the fate of the worldrests on the hero's shoulders.

The Fantasy

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As a kind of epic fairy tale, fantasy novels place ordinarypeople in extraordinary situations--like the magical worlds ofNarnia, Oz, Neverland,or Hogwarts.

The Mystery

Who is R.A.B.?Is Snape good or bad?Is Dumbledore really dead?What's the last horcrux?Will Harry and his best friends survive?Will there ever be an eighth book?

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Mysteries offer readers a chance to testtheir problem solving skills along with the hero.Series mysteries, like Harry Potter, give readers a way to bond with one anotherby discussing clues and anticipatingoutcomes between books.

The Hero

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Like the epic heroes before him,Harry was born to be bold.

He gets out of many tight spotsthrough a combination of bravery,intelligence, and skill.

It doesn't hurt that he alsoinspires great loyalty in his friendsand supporters.

The Orphan

Harry is among the ranks of Cinderella, Jane Eyre, Oliver Twist, Frodo, and Luke Skywalker as one of the most famous orphans of literature.

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The Mentor

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When Odysseus leaves for Troy, he asks his friend Mentorto look after his infant son.Thus, we get the word for thekind and wise older friendwho advises the herothroughout his (or her)adventures.

The Villain

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Beowulf has Grendel,Luke has Darth Vader,Batman has Joker,and Harry hasVoldemort.

How would we know who our heroes are without the villains?

The Journey

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Like Odysseus, Aeneas,Frodo, Dorothy, and manyother heroes, Harry's adventures alwaysbegin and end witha journey.

The Quest

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Perhaps the most famousin all of literature (and of history) is the quest for theholy grail.

In Half Blood Prince, Harryfinally gets his quest. The one thing we do know about book seven is that Harry will be spending his time searchingfor and attempting to destroyVoldemort's horcruxes.

The Task

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Like the labors ofHercules, Harry Potteris given a series of taskshe must complete in bothSorcerer's Stone andGoblet of Fire.

The Ultimate Battle of Good and Evil

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Reminiscent of the Biblicalteaching that there will bea final show-downbetween good and evil in which good ultimatelyprevails, many epicsconclude with a greatbattle—the final testof the hero's strengthand skill.

Literary and MythologicalAllusions

The Lightening ScarHarry's Scar is Lightening-Shaped, The Symbol of Zeus, King of the Olympian Gods

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Fluffy

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Fluffy, the three-headed dog used to guard the Sorcerer's Stoneis remarkably similar to Cerberus,the dog that guards the gates of Hades in Greek mythology.

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Minerva, Goddess of Wisdom

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And Harry Potter'sTeacher

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Hermes, the Messenger

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In Greek mythology, Hermesis the messenger of the gods.

Percy Weasley's owlHermes, like other owlsin Harry Potter, actsas a messenger, delivering the mail.

Owls have long beenassociated with wisdom, and the owl is the symbol of Athena (or Minerva), goddess of wisdom. The owl's ability to see at night was thought in ancient times to bea magical quality.

Argus, The All-Seeing

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Argus, the watchman of Hera, had 100 eyes,some of which where always awake.

Hogwarts students see their caretaker,Argus Filch, as having much the same characteristic.

Mrs. Norris

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Mrs. Norris, the cat, is the namesake of the very nosy and interfering Mrs. Norrisof Jane Austin's Mansfield Park.

The Sphinx

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Gryffindor

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The griffin is a mythological creature with thebody of a lion and the head of an eagle.

Gryffindor comes from the French “gryffon d'or,”meaning “golden griffin.”

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Fawkes

Dumbledore's bird Fawkes is a phoenix.In Egyptian mythology, the phoenix would rise reborn from its own ashesat the end of a life cycle.

Is it only a coincidence that the phoenix is connected withDumbledore?

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Lily Potter

The lily is often used to symbolizeChrist. Lily Potter, Harry's mother,sacrifices her own life to save Harry's and, in doing so, teaches the worldthat love is the greatest magic of all.

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Remus Lupin

Remus and his twin brother Romulus(the legendary founder of Rome) were said to have been raised by wolves. Lupin is a play on the word “lupus,” Latin for wolf.

Remus Lupin is a werewolf.

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Nicholas Flamel

Nicholas Flamel was a 15th century alchemist. Legend says he succeeded in creating the Philosopher's Stone, the goal of alchemysince ancient times. The Philosopher's Stonecould be used to turn metal into gold and to createan elixir to cure disease and to prolong life.

Alchemy was a precursor to both modernmysticism and modern science.

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Hermione Granger

In Greek mythology, Hermione is thedaughter of Helen and Menelaus. Rowling, however, borrowed the name from Shakespeare's A Winter'sTale in which Queen Hermione comesto life again after being made intoa statue—like Hermione Granger in Chamber of Secrets.

Granger is the name of a characterfrom Fahrenheit 451—the leader of “The Book People.”

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Sirius Black

Sirius, the star system, is said to have been placed in the sky at the feet of Orion because inGreek Mythology Sirius was the faithful dog of Orion. Siriusmourned Orion's death so profusely that Diana took pity onhim and sent him to be with Orion in the heavens.

Sirius Black is the son of OrionBlack and, in his animal form,is a dog.

Gryffindor's Sword

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Harry Potter pulls Gryffindor'ssword out of the sorting hat likeanother famous boy who pullsanother famous sword out of a stone.

Sibyll Trelawney

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Sibyls in ancient mythologywere prophets.

Cassandra—the great-great-grandmother of Sibyll Trelawney—is named for a woman in Greekmythology who was cursed toalways prophecy the truth whilenever being believed.

The Malfoys

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The family name of the peoplePotter fans love to hate means“bad faith” in French.

Draco means “dragon” in Latin andwas the name a Greek ruler fromwhom we get the work “draconian”for terribly harsh punishments.

Lucius is similar to Lucifer.

Narcissa comes from Narcissus, the man in Greek mythology who fell in lovewith his own reflection. Every good Potter fan knows, however, that the realnarcissist of the series is Gilderoy Lockhart.

Centaurs

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In Greek mythology, centaursare half man and half horse.

The centaur Firenze befriendsDumbledore and becomes ateacher to Harry Potter inthe same way that the centaurChiron—a noted astrologer—tutored many of the great heroesof Greece, including Ajax,Achilles, Hercules, and Jason.

Basilisk

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The legendary king of the serpents, the basilisk makes an appearance in Chaucer's“Parson's Tale.” Sometimes depected as looking more snake-like and other times morerooster-like, some stories of the basilisk say it originated from the blood of Medusa, whocould also kill with a look. Hermione uses a mirror to avoid the direct gaze of the basilisk in imitation of Perseus who defeated Medusawith a mirror.

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Grindylows

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The grindylow is a waterdemon from English folklore,often used to scare childrenaway from water.

The word also sounds similarto Grendel, and some peoplebelieve Harry's encounterwith the grindylows in the fourthbook is an allusion to Beowulf.

Hippogriffs

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A mythological cross between a griffin and a horse, hippogriffs have beenmentioned by the likes of Virgil and Cervantes. In the Middle Ages, there wasa saying, “when griffins mate with mares,” that meant something like the modern day saying, “when pigs fly.”

Lessons from Harry Potter

Love is the most powerful magic of all.

Fear is dangerous and leads to the most corruptactions known to all of history.

Fear of death is far worse than death itself.

Every action and every inaction has consequences.

No magic can bring the dead to life again,but no one who is loved ever really leaves us.

It's our choices, not our abilities, that determine who we are.

Quick Quill quotes

For the fear of death is indeed the pretense of wisdom,and not real wisdom, being a pretense of knowing theunknown; and no one knows whether death, which menin their fear apprehend to be the greatest evil, may not be the greatest good.

~Plato, “The Apology of Socrates”

Imagination is more important than knowledge.For knowledge is limited to all we know and understand,while imagination embraces the entire world,and all there will ever be to know and understand.

~Albert Einstein

My fingers are crossed for Harry.

~John Irving

Harry Potter and the Magic of Literature

Education

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