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Harry Potter Notes 08/25/
Critiques of Harry
Harold Bloom o 1930 o Yale Professor o Literary critic o Argues in favor of “the western canon” of great literature o Coined term “school of resentment” for feminist, Marxist, and African American, subaltern, etc. approaches to literature. o Stories and Poems for extremely intelligent children of all ages Edited by Bloom Selections for children Aesop, Kipling, Shakespeare, Tennyson, Rossetti, Twain etc. Mostly 19th^ century or earlier Preface “Children’s literature is a mask for the dumbing down that is destroying our literary culture.” o What is Bloom’s main objection to Harry Potter? Overly simplistic, parts unexplained, unresolved issues in first book o What should children be reading? Mark Twain, Rossetti, etc o Compared Harry Potter to Hughes’ work Thomas Hughes: Tom Brown’s School Days Boys experiences at boarding school in the 1830’s Emphasis on sports, food, friendship Tom Brown breaks rules but is a good boy at heart Rule breaking overlooked by the kind old headmaster
Tom brown befriends underprivileged boy, Tom is good at sports, he is bullied by professor Lewis Carroll: Alice in Wonderland Alice falls down a rabbit hole into a different world Absurdity Wizard of oz Dorothy and her dog are whisked away to Oz by a tornado and must find their way home. Kenneth Grahame: The Wind in the Willows The adventures of a mole, rat, toad, and badger o Has children;s literature become dumbed down? Did survey of 35,000 children in 34 cities to name their favorite books Winners: Series Books (Rover Boys, Motor Boys, Tom Swift, Bobbsey Twins) o What books do you think children read in the 1930s-1950s A.S Byatt British novelist 1936- Numerous novels, Many award winning Wrote Possesion and Angels and Insects What are her main objections on harry potter o Has issues with adults reading Harry Potter books o She thinks it represents a dumbing down of grown up literature Why does she think adults enjoy stories? o Claims its just escape into the world of their childhood o Form of regression that is ultimately harmful What are some fantasy authors she does like?
William Safire 1929- American Conservative author Journalist and columnist Safire’s view of Harry Potter o o o o
What is Magic?
What is magic? o “the use of spells and rituals in seeking to cause or control events or to govern natural or supernatural forces” How is this different from religion? o Greek Mageia-the origin of the word magic o Greek word Magos-one who performs magic o Mageia/magos associated with foreigners especially Persians o Regarded with some suspicion o Magic does not designate particular actions but is part of a “discourse of alterity” (the others vs us) o Magic associated with foreigners, woman, and people on the fringes of society
o The Dursleys’ view of magic o The Persian Magi Greek Mageia from ancient Persian maga-sacred power The Magi in the Christmas story: Persian wise men (here positive figures!) o Simon magus “But there was a certain man called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him, they had regard, because that of a long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.” Acts 8 9: Simon Magus the archetype of the dark wizard in the middle ages o Romans suspected the early Christians of “magic” The Eucharist seen as especially disturbing-cannibalistic magic o Ancient Greek view of magic as dangerous, “other” and socially unacceptable carried on into the Middle ages and beyond Associated with illegitimate access to sacred power o Jews often suspected dark magic 12 th^ century onward: “blood libel” against the jews Must sacrifice a Christian child for the magic rituals during Passover o Dangerous Saracen magic British 12th^ century traveler of chester brought Arabic manuscript back to England Al-Kitah and al Muukhatasar fi hisab al jabar-the compendious book on calculations by completing and balancing Also called Al-jabr (algebra) Full of strange symbols
Child psychologist Jean Piaget:”nominal realism” in a child’s world view: To know somethings true name is to master its essence o Marauders’ Map, letters to Harry potter etc. o Names are always significant in the Harry Potter books Words made flesh Reification of abstract ideas and concepts Memories are white swirls that can be extracted from your head Dementors are depression made tangible, boggarts are fear How is a soul represented as a tangible substance Spells in harry’s world Performance of magic depends on spell Spells are utterances that have the power to manipulate an object or a person A spell is usually not in English, but must be in a more powerful language (which) o Greek, Latin, Aramaic A curse is a spell uttered with evil intent Most spells and curses in harry potter books are in Latin (or latin-ish), a few in ancient Greek, a few in English One in Aramaic- Avada Kedavra (the killing curse) Wands Wands are usually necessary to perform magic Wands are made of wood, with a magical object imbedded inside (phoenix feather, veela, hair)
Type of wood symbolic, represents owners personality Wizards and muggles Muggles- people with no magic The magical world is kept secret from muggles The ability to perform magic is present from birth A wizard can be born from muggle parents Squib- non magical person with wizard parents Magic and the Dursleys Magic is dangerous, unnatural, and associated with foreigners and other suspicious people How do they describe Harry’s parents? Freak, alcoholics Cast Harry’s parents as most socially undesirable people they can think of Why does Uncle Vernon refer to magic as “you know what” and “the m word” Afraid of uttering the word Afraid of attracting magic Magic and Religion o What religion does Harry Potter practice? Celebrate Christmas, Easter o What religion do the Dursley’s practice? o Very little explicit mention of religion o Christmas celebrated at Hogwarts but not as religious holiday o The missing room at Hogwarts Hogwarts similar to traditional british boarding schools: dormitories, sports fields, library, common rooms, dining hall But one essential feature of British boarding schools is missing Where is the Hogwarts chapel? o Why is there little explicit mention of religion in the Harry potter books? o What religious ideas and symbols can we find?
Problems with blonde bully named ethel Hook nosed spiteful potions mistress Terry Pratchett: Discworld novels British fantasy novels Unseen university for a school of magic Young wizard British boarding schools Residentia; schools for children 11- Traditionally separated by gender Students often sorted into houses Common rooms, dormitories, dining halls Head boy/head girl and prefects Often very expensive Only about 5% of children attend boarding schools School stories very popular in British children’s literature Boarding schools very popular during colonial era Parents would go abroad, leave children at boarding school Called “public schools” but privately owned Around 750 in UK, take train to get there Blairmore school In Scotland Divides students into four houses with colors red, green, yellow, and blue Gordonstoun Famous boarding school in Scotland Built by Sir Robert Gordonstoun “Wizard of Gordonstoun) Said to be haunted Secret passages
Attended by british royalty The Sorcerer’s Stone Published 1997 Title changed to be more appealing to U.S First chapter- the boy who lived. o What is the significance of the first chapter Life and death very significant themes Something extraordinary about fact that Harry Potter lived o What is the significance of Harry’s scar Marked by Voldemort o An unintentional prophecy? “There will be books written about Harry, every child in the world will know his name.”-McGonagall (Sorcerer’s Stone) o The Dursleys Don’t treat Harry as family-abuse him Dursleys- comic relief when it could have been a tragedy Satire of suburban life-try so hard to be perfect family Stages of moral development Dudley only concerned about himself Vernon and Petunia concerned about themselves (and what other people think of them) , and Dudley Harry shows concern for the snake at the zoon, tries to imagine how another being might feel Description of the Dursleys exaggerated Petunia- a rather ordinary flower compared to the more poetic Lily (Harry’s mother)
“The most poetic thing in the world would be the London underground railway Minerva Mcgonagall Minerva: Roman goddess of learning McGonagall: William Topaz McGonagall (1830- 1902): “The worlds worst poet” Platform 9 ¾ Absurd platform number, indicating something extraordinary Other reasons for 9 ¾ King’s cross station in London-name symbolic? Harry stayed with Dursleys for 9 ¾ years The secret of platform 13 1994 children’s book by Eva Ibbotson Entrance to magical world under a platform at King’s Cross station in London Two main characters strongly resemble Harry and Dudley The four houses Hogwarts students sorted by the sorting hat into one of four houses Based on character Many real British boarding schools sort students into houses, each presided over by a master (teacher) What do the names of the four houses and their founders signify Gryffindor o Griffin-legendary animal with body of a lion and wings of an eagle o D’or (French): “golden” o Gryffindor students good and brave o Why did Harry get sorted into Gryffindor? Ravenclaw
o Ravens known for their intelligence o Ravenclaw students clever o Why is Hermione not in Ravenclaw? Hufflepuff o Slightly comical name o House symbol: symbol of hard work and loyalty o Hufflepuff students hardworking and loyal Slytherin o House symbol is snake o House colors: silver and green o Slither=move like a snake The four Hogwarts founders: o Godric Gryffindor “He who rules with God” o Rowena Ravenclaw Germanic “Fame and friendship” o Helga Hufflepuff Germanic “The Holy one” o Salazar Slytherin Name of Portuguese dictator- Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, ruled 1932- Names of characters in the Harry Potter books are usually meaningful Names often from mythology or folklore Names say something significant about the person o Harry Potter
o Draco Malfoy Draco (Latin )= Dragon, serpent Malfoy : (French) Bad faith o Vincent Crabbe From “crab” Crabby=bad tempered Low German” Krabben=to scratch/claw Vincent=victorious o Gregory Goyle From Gargoyle o Argus Filch Caretaker at Hogwarts Argus: In Greek mythology—a giant with a hundred eyes Filch: to steal, to grab o Severus Snape Severus: Latin for severe/strict Snape: Village in England Old English dialect: “Snape”-to rebuke ,to blame o Quirinus Quirrel Quirrell: Sounds like squirrel Slightly humorous Quirrinus: Another name for roman god Janus, who had two faces o Pomona Sprout Teaches herbology Pomona: The Roman goddess of gardens and fruit trees Classes o History of magic
Taught by Professor Binns, a ghost Died and kept going to class anyway Not in film o Potions Taught by Snape Brewing drinks and potions o Charms Charms are spells, but not transfiguration o Transfiguration Changing one thing into another by magical means o Defense against the Dakr arts Cursed position o What is one subject not taught that you would expect? Latin class Most spells in Harry Potter are in Latin If you know enough latin, you can make your own spells Why are there no Latin classes at Hogwarts o Jonathan Stroud: The Bartimaeus Triolgy British fantasy series Young boy trains to become wizard Learns latin, greek, aramic, Coptic, Sumerian, etc. o Is the latin dictionary hidden in the restricted section?
o o Alchemy in the Harry Potter books “I’ve never wanted to be a witch, but an alchemist, now that’s a different matter. To invent this wizard world, I’ve learned a ridiculous amount about alchemy.” –Jk Rowling What is alchemy? Medieval branch of learning From Arabic: al=the; kimiya=chemistry An old name for Egypt-kmt=”the black land” Involved chemistry and medicine, as well as religious skepticism 1)Change other metals into gold 2) The elixir of life: prolong life indefinitely Philosopher’s stone: A mystical substance that could help with 1) and 2) Davud Terniers: The Alchemist 1659 Quest for the philosophers stone symbolic of the inner quest for spiritual transformation and immortality Some alchemical texts are Christian, some Jewish or Muslim; the souls journey toward God equated with alchemical quest Alchemy a symbol of change and transformation The philosophers stone The mystical substance that can change base metals into gold and give eternal life Some alchemical texts: Christ is the philosophers stone Depicted as a golden ball with wings, a red jewel, or a drink Alchemist Zosimus: “….this stone which is not a stone, a precious thing which has no value, a thing of many shapes which has no shapes, this unknown which is known of all…” The book of Ostanes
“They have disguised the stone under the veil of enigmas, so that it has escaped even penetrating spirits…there are only those whose understanding God has opened who have understood it and have been able to make it known.” The series of riddles Harry, Ron, and Hermione have to solve to find the philosophers stone. The golden snitch Depicted just like the philosophers stone: A small golden ball with wings Harry is the seeker, also in a spiritual and alchemical sense When Harry wakes up after his near death experience (Book 1), he thinks he sees a snitch Quidditch What does the name mean? Quidditch through the Ages: Name from a game played at queerditch Connection to medieval philosophical term quidditas (quiddity)- the true essence of a thing Nicholas Flamel A historical person 1330- Manuscript seller and alchemist Claimed to have found the original manuscript of The Book Of Abraham, also called The Codex Claimed to have learned from the Codex, how to make the Philosophers stone Claimed to have transformed lead into gold Flamel and his wife Perenelle rumored to have become immortal The Alchemyst: The secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel 2004 novel by Michael Scott
