Growing up with Harry (WAS:Social skills)

[monicawitt at msn.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 29899

> But I think what this sexual tension is really signifying is that 
the 
> characters are growing up, the books are growing up, and the 
readers 
> are growing up, all together at once. It's a quirk that makes the 
> series so popular.. for at least three more books to come.

Well put. The situations the characters find themselves in (and how 
they address them) are growing up, too. GoF, especially, is much more 
sophistocated in its expectations of the reader. The violence and 
menace of the DE's & their prejudices wouldn't be appropriate 
for 10 or 11-year olds. Pettigrew's self-mutilation, and bloodletting 
of Harry wouldn't be either. Then there's the Tri-Wizard tournament, 
which acts as a kind of loose microcosm of all four books, if you 
want to bother thinking about that sort of thing.

It reminds me of Joseph Campbell-type thinking. Harry is undergoing 
the Hero's Journey. The significant thing about it, at least 
to me, is that many of the things he learns and overcomes are the 
sorts of things people in our ordinary world have to learn to deal 
with, too, like death of loved ones, insecurities, discovering who we 
are, conquering fears, valuing friendships... 

Overcoming universal personal obstacles is at the crux of the Hero's 
Journey, too, and that's what you should take from heroic myth (that 
the Hero is really a metaphorical extension of ourselves). But the 
thing that sets Harry Potter apart is that the characters will 
actually come out and address the personal significance of 
otherworldy events. Luke Skywalker never discusses how to deal with 
his father's death with Obi Wan (i'm thinking Star Wars Luke, here, 
not Empire or Jedi Luke), for example, but Harry does talk about 
those sorts of issues with Dumbledore and Sirius.

It's going to be interesting to see how JKR handles the sexual 
tensions that come up in GoF. In one way it would be good to see Ron 
and Hermione come to their senses, so to speak, and develop romantic 
relationships outside the group, but Hermione and Ron would make for 
a very interesting couple. Imagine Ron over for dinner at Hermione's 
house!