Finally, I've found someone who can summarize how I feel about Harry Potter.
From Left of the Dial:
"And what I’ve decided is that J.K.Rowling is one of the great storytellers of our time, able to spin a tale wonderfully, keep multiple plots in the air successfully, create interesting characters and worlds and situations. What’s she’s not, however, is a great writer, the way J.R.R.Tolkein, for instance, or Charles Dickens or Mark Twain or Willa Cather or Fred Chappell are; every one of them are both outstanding storytellers AND magnificent writers, whose language glows like burning coal, to borrow The Bard’s words. Rowling’s prose is never more than pedestrian. And that’s okay—Stephen King is one of my very favorite writers and he’s the same way: a phenomenal storyteller but a journeyman when it comes to the actual language.
[Interrupted for me to exclaim: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! I totally and completely agree; there are some books (Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine, for example) which, quite literally, made me cry with how beautiful the language was. Others, like the Harry Potter books, are marvelous stories without that same stunning impact: the language really IS pedestrian. And finally, there are the Tolkiens of this world whose language and story are equally full of goosebump-inducing, spine-tingling, make-me-hurt beauty.]
[...]
Now, breaking rules is no big deal, per se, as long as there is a consequence attached. You sneak out, you get caught, you get punished. That’s life. You run the red light, you get caught, you get punished. But Harry virtually never gets punished. Yes, there are a few exceptions, but they are comparatively minor. And here’s the thing: the rules he’s breaking aren’t arbitrary and foolish; this isn’t your basic civil disobedience here or minor schoolboy pranks. The rules are there for one very good reason: to keep the children from being killed. Yet time and again, Harry breaks the rules and, frequently, almost gets killed, or worse, almost gets someone else killed...and gets away with it because he’s such a skilled liar or because he’s Harry Potter and he gets special dispensation.
[...]
Again, I cannot stress strongly enough that I have enjoyed the books and that the witchcraft angle doesn’t bother me in the least; it’s part of a long and noble history in children’s literature. What bothers me is the fact that the hero is a charming boy who lies and cheats and gets away with it."
Now go and read the rest!!!
And then this follow-up piece.
And then this one.
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Amazing, darling!!! I just wasted a whooole bunch of time reading these, but it was definitely time well-wasted! I now really want to read at least one HP book, now that I'm aware of its central flaws...
ReplyDeleteThe point that really struck me was the whole "Would Harry use Sauron's ring?" question, because the whole POINT of Lord of the Rings is that the hero's not supposed to use Sauron's ring. So, as a hero, Harry is an utter failure. Interesting...
I know! I really loved that part of the article, too, but I wasn't sure how much I could copy-and-paste here without infringing on something. :P It is an excellent point, and, having read the HP books, that totally IS Harry's character.
ReplyDeleteAnd do read the books! There's been a lot of hoopla about them in homeschooling circles, especially about all the magic/witchcraft elements, but I found them to be really well-told and enjoyable stories. Rowling works in a lot of allusions to other legends/fairytales/myths (which I absolutely loved) while inventing equally enjoyable "original" bits. I think you're old enough to handle those kinds of plot elements anyway. ;)
My summer reading list is already longer than I'll ever be able to read, but I'll add these too.
ReplyDeleteI have heard plenty about the pros and cons of Harry Potter, and to my mind, the cons outweigh the pros. I wouldn't read them if someone gave them to me. Did you know that the spells are actually really Wiccan?
ReplyDeleteI totally agree about the language of Tolkein! It is soooooooo beautiful! I wish I could write one third as well!
Yeah, I totally understand that those aspects of the books really trouble some people, and I'm not dissing them, or belittling their viewpoint. I actually do have a post in the works that comes from the "other side" so to speak.
ReplyDeleteEven though I like the books (and I by no means classify them as great literature, no way Jose), they are problematic. Honestly, I was bothered more by the fact that such a flawed character was held up as the hero of the story rather than the spells (most of which are based off Latin words; I'm not that familiar with Wicca, so I'd have a hard time telling how much the magical elements from the books resemble Wicca/witchcraft. It's definitely an issue with the books, and I wouldn't recommend them to someone who was remotely likely to develop an attraction to Wicca or the Occult through reading them). It's not like Harry had his flaws and through striving to overcome them he became great and saved the world; no, his flaws are almost in a way what allow him to conquer Voldemort and succeed in life. The author of the posts makes an excellent point when he compares Harry to Frodo -- Frodo resisted the Ring to the bitter end, no matter what it cost him, and it cost a heck of a lot. Harry would have used the Ring, and wound up exactly like Voldemort or worse. Frodo is the kind of hero that I want my (potential) kids to look up to, and "The Lord of the Rings" is the story that they're (potentially) going to grow up with. Harry I can live without; not Middle Earth.
And please understand that I'm not trying to start an argument or put down the people who don't like the books. I found them to be a fun but flawed read, and I'm definitely (now that I've read them all) going to go back and re-examine both sides of the issue. Some people that I respect very highly have found the Harry Potter books very spiritually problematic, and, because I respect them so much, I definitely want to research the issue before I make a final call on how I feel about them and how I recommend/don't recommend them to friends.
And thanks for reading and caring enough to comment. The fact that people actually read our blog and then take the time to comment makes the writing worthwhile. :)