Week 7: Harry Potter

Having watched the Harry Potter movies several times since I was a child gave me a good idea on how the world, its characters, and overall story are established and developed. I think it’s very interesting that I am only now reading the actual books, because I can look at them through a different lens that I would never be able to as a child. For example, how J.K. Rowling tackles themes of acceptance, prejudice, and friendship throughout the series. These complex motifs are very important, especially in people’s early teenage years, through their first experiences as adults, and it is hard to understand them and feel understood. Many young adults and teenagers need to find relatability in this frenetic part of their lives. An orphan, stuck under a cupboard, with no friends, and relatives that hate him; a character that feels the confusion about where his true place is, and if there is even a place for him in the world, Harry is the perfect introduction to some level of relatability between reader and character, because these feelings are exactly what many young adults feel going through an age of maturity. In addition, Rowling’s rich variety of characters ensures that many different teenagers and young adults can feel related to at least one character. The dynamics between the three main characters, Harry, Ron and Hermione, can also be read as an allegory to the friendships that can be formed between different people. It was interesting to see that Harry and Ron were not essentially friends with Hermione right away, but their relationship is established because of their experiences through  hardships together, and how they complement each other with their skills, qualities, and personalities. This is also a way in which Rowling uses the fantastical setting of the Wizarding World to introduce young teenagers with strong and well-developed relationships between people, teaching them how to respect and celebrate diversity in their surroundings.