[HPFGU-OTChatter] A Question

[Readalie]

--- BJMBriggs at zianet.com wrote:
> I had posted this on the HPGrownups Board but I think it really 
> belongs here.  I was wondering since most of us are over 18 what 
> attracted you to Harry Potter?  

I'm a fifth grade teacher, so I originally started SS in the hopes
that I would be able to use it to get my non-readers excited about
reading. I have to admit that I started it two times and didn't get
past chapter one *hangs her head guiltily*. There was too much set-up
in chapter one for me and not enough action. Also, for those of us
used to reading American authors the sentence structure and word
choice in British writing can make it less accessible and I was
thiking that my inner city students weren't ever going to like this.
Besides, I wasn't reading it for myself (so I thought) just to
evaluate it as a possibility for the kids. So I put it down, but when
they started advertising the movie I dug it back out again thinking
that I could use the movie as a hook with the students. This time I
pushed myself past chapter one and found myself enthralled with
Harry.

What really attracts me to the books is Harry's sense of character. 
He struggles with the same things we do (being judged based on
appearances, trying to find his niche in the world, family and
friends that cannot truly understand what he is going through, the
desire to brag about our accomplishments while knowing that we
*should* be more humble or we will alienate our friends) and JKR does
a good job of making him *struggle* and not giving him the easy out
as so many kid's (and adult's) writers do. 

In character development, JKR is much more adept than most writers of
adult fiction. She gives us main characters that are three
dimensional, and hints at the complexity of characters who have yet
to become the center of attention. She allows her characters to grow
(witness what we learn of Snape from SS to GoF) and she allows her
readers to acknowledge that some characters are doing the right thing
while still allowing us to dislike them immensely (again... Snape).

I also appreciate that she has strong female characters who are
neither the "mother figure" or the "femme fatale" (although she has
both of those archetypes in there as well). Hermione and Professor
McGonagall fit in neither of those categories. Instead they are
strong and accomplished on their own merits.

Readalie, who is very eager for the next book. When can we expect it
again?





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