New Literature Assignment: Harry Potter and Children Literature


Name: Ashish B. Pithadiya
Roll Number: 2
Topic Name: Harry Potter and Children Literature
Paper Name: New Literature
Submitted To: Department Of English
G-Mail Id: Ashvribhay@Gmail.Com
Enrolment No: 2069108420190037


Introduction:



Harry Potter is a series of fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story arc concerns Harry's struggle against Lord Voldemort, a dark wizard who intends to become immortal, overthrow the wizard governing body known as the Ministry of Magic and subjugate all wizards and Muggles (non-magical people).
The Harry Potter books combine the intricate plotting of a mystery with the sweep and scope of epic fantasy and the intimacy and character development of a classic boarding school narrative. The result is purely pleasurable to read at any age: The puzzlebox mystery plotting keeps the pages turning propulsively forward, the fantastic mythology gives the world scope and magic and joy, and the boarding school structure makes the characters warm and familiar and charming. It also makes their eventual death (for some) and trauma (for all) deeply affecting.

Characters:

Themes:
·         Love
·         Death
·         Friendship
·         Choice
·         Humility
·         Power
What I find especially remarkable about this is that there has been a lot of debate in the past as to whether J.K. Rowling's epic series is truly considered "children's literature". It's not even a matter of adults enjoying the books (which obviously we do), but rather the very unusual arc of the series. Never has a popular series taken such a marked turn from squarely children's lit territory into such a dark, decidedly YA, if not occasionally adult territory. In the context of the time it wasn't much of a problem, since the kids who were hooked on the series from the beginning were grown up and ready for it when the later books came out, but it's interesting to navigate it with children who are starting to read it today and have the full series accessible to them. I know some parents of kids who will only let their kids read the first two or three and are "saving" the rest until they're older, to be dished out at certain intervals when they're ready for them.
Following are five ways that Harry Potter changed the young-adult genre.

1. Fattened the size of YA books. Harry Potter was the first series that surpassed 300 pages, and later 800 pages, yet young readers weren't deterred by their size. The Booklist Reader found that in 2006, the average middle-grade book was 174.5 pages long, and that average has risen to 290 pages.

Research by the National Endowment for the Arts found that because of the popularity of the Potter series, there was a 37 percent increase in page lengths between 1996 and 2006.

2. Merged literary culture with pop culture. Midnight Potter book parties on release dates and mass-produced paraphernalia were primarily the realm of comic-book characters before the series.

But Harry Potter's rise in popularity coincided with the increased use of the internet, where fans could find other Potterheads just a chat room away. As fans of all ages became more active online, discussions of YA fiction to science fiction became commonplace.

3. The series increased empathy in children. Because Harry Potter maintained a staunch loyalty and friendship to stigmatized groups in the books  for example, Mudbloods, those half-Muggle, half-wizard students scorned by Lord Voldemort he set an example of kindness.
A 2014 study by the Journal of Applied Social Psychology discovered that reading Harry Potter books helped improve attitudes toward "out-groups," a group with whom one didn't identify.

4. Kicked off the boom in young adult reading. By 2004, in the midst of the Harry Potter phenomenon, sales of children's lit were increasing by 2 percent each year, according to Vox Media. Since then, the children's market has seen a sales increase of 52 percent, while the overall book market has only increased by 33 percent since 2004.

5. Opened the door to more YA series. "The release of Harry Potter really opened a lot of publishers' eyes to the fact there is a huge market for well-crafted young adult literature," says Kelly Flemings of Barnes & Noble in Hamilton Place.

Why 'Harry Potter' is More Than 'Just A Children's Book'
·         The 'Importance Of Love' Message Transcends Age
·         It Questions Morality As Actions Vs. Intent
·         Adults Need To Learn Some Of These Lessons Too
·         It Reminds Us The Importance Of Forgiveness
·         We Can All Learn From Luna Lovegood
·         Everyone Should Learn From Its Lessons Of Tolerance
·         It Explores The Idea Of Compassion Vs. Revenge
·         Sometimes We Need To Be Reminded Of The Skepticism We Need To Have In The News
·         It Reminds Us Of The Importance Of Friendship
·         It Deals With Death In A Real And Tangible Way
·         Everyone Needs A Little Magic In Their Lives
·         It Explores The Concept Of "Superiority" Vs "Inferiority"
·         No One Is Ever Too Old For Harry Potter


Conclusion:
Children have to read this book. Reasons I mentioned on page.
It’s brilliant storytelling with complex plot and world building that entertains readers so thoroughly that it’s easy to keep reading and reading and reading. Hence, the Harry Potter books develop a child’s LOVE of story and of reading.
The writing is filled with rich word choice that will improve your child’s vocabulary.
The fantastical, magical world of coming-of-age, adventure, and suspense ignites and improves a child’s imagination.
Harry Potter teaches essential life lessons (that are sometimes easier to learn in a fantasy book than in a realistic one).
These lessons include:
– Friends stick together no matter what.
– We must think of others; be kind and accepting of those who are different.
– People aren’t all bad or all good but a mixture of both. Just like in our own lives.
– Bravery means standing up for what’s right and acting on it — even when it’s hard.
– Your family isn’t always your blood relations and that’s okay.
– Intelligence, loyalty, and courage are important.
– Love is stronger than evil. (why Harry was’t killed as a baby)
– Our choices determine who we are.
The Harry Potter stories build empathy in readers.
The books are appealing to both gender of readers. Boys and girls love these books.
The strong female characters are fantastic role models for girls: Hermione, Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, Professor McGonagall, and Luna Lovegood, for example.
The books are better and more complex than the movies.
Harry Potter is an important part of our common mythology, the classic cannon of children’s literature, that we share with other readers. (Plus, the fandom (community) is AWESOME — check out Pottermore or MuggleNet to see for yourself.)
Harry Potter’s story exemplifies the iconic hero’s journey which is an important literary device and will come up in almost all language arts and literature classes.



(LORD)
(NORMAN)

Works Cited

LORD, EMMA. “What Is The 'Harry Potter Effect'? How The Series Changed The Face Of Children's Lit.” 03 March 2016. https://www.bustle.com . WEB. 08 March 2020. <https://www.bustle.com/articles/145714-what-is-the-harry-potter-effect-how-the-series-changed-the-face-of-childrens-lit>.
NORMAN, ZOOEY. “15 Reasons Why 'Harry Potter' is More Than 'Just A Children's Book'.” 02 Feb 2017. https://www.thethings.com. WEB. 08 03 2020. <https://www.thethings.com/15-reasons-why-harry-potter-is-more-than-just-a-childrens-book/>.


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