Mugglenet.com's Harry Potter Should Have Died - Emerson Spartz [59]
And, perhaps that is as it should be, since the Potter books are a hodgepodge of elements from every fairy tale and children’s classic ever written. Even with original and memorable characters, the plotlines are derivative of everything from Homer’s The Iliad and Greek mythology, to horror stories and the Hardy Boys mysteries. Harry is an orphan, which is a cliché of children’s stories. That proves that there are no new plots in the world, but tugging at the heartstrings is a great way to sell books. It doesn’t, however, make a book a classic. Neither does comparing it to great achievements in fantasy, such as Tolkien’s works. Obviously, J.K.R. modeled Dumbledore after Gandalf, right down to his long white beard and brilliant mind. But J. R. R. Tolkien created an entirely new world, with maps and mythology surrounding the men, elves, dwarves, and hobbits who speak completely original languages invented by Tolkien. Rowling, on the other hand, uses nothing but the English language and a sprinkle of Latin, some British genealogy, and an ordinary landscape with suburban homes and alleyways near the main streets of London. So the Potter books do not compare.
Most students discover classic books in reading groups at school, but honestly, it is difficult to see how Harry Potter could be taught in the classroom. The storylines are just too complicated, and none of the books stand alone. What teacher has the time to explain relationships between fifty characters per book, or the meanings of twenty spell-words? And what purpose would it serve besides reading for fun and pleasure? The Harry Potter series, brilliant as it is, simply has not contributed much to literary convention. It’s not unique and does not deserve to be treated as anything other than a good take on old ideas.
Yes
Of course the Harry Potter books deserve to be included with literary classics. The reason books become classics in the first place is because they are popular, and no series has ever come close to matching the popularity of the Harry Potter series. Over 400 million copies have been sold to date. Some scholars may think that because a book is written for a general audience, it can’t have classic status. But let’s remember that Shakespeare’s plays were written for royalty and commoners alike and had a lot of comedy and tragedy mixed together, just like Harry Potter.
One reason for that popularity is that Harry Potter is a coming-of-age story in the tradition of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. And yes, like those famous characters, Harry is an orphan, and the orphan tale is a classic element of literature. The main character suffers grief and loss at an early age, but succeeds against the odds due to special gifts. It’s a theme everyone in the world can understand because all children feel misunderstood or mistreated, and the characters generate sympathy. Harry also goes on a journey of discovery, feeling very alone, much like the motherless Huckleberry Finn or the children of widower Atticus Finch in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird; those children learn to look beyond the prejudices of their time and see the humanity around them. Harry and others do learn those lessons with Hagrid, the house-elves, and even the Slytherins. So the message is every bit as powerful as the ones in some of the greats of the literary world.
But Harry isn’t the only character who reminds us of classic literature. The story of Tom Riddle, a boy raised in an institution when his mother dies giving birth, is right out of David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. As Tom grows up, he follows the philosophy of Machiavelli’s The Prince, seeking power ruthlessly in a desire to take over the world. He becomes a monster, rather like Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. And the way Dumbledore and Harry