Readers in the WW (was: JKR and "Think of the Children!")

[zgirnius]

No: HPFGUIDX 162062

> Neri again:
> As I wrote above, there *are* exceptions, and note that most of your
> counterexamples indeed fall into the categories I mentioned as 
typical
> exceptions (I had Jo March specifically in mind). However, I suspect
> that if you'll conduct a general survey you'll find that the general
> picture is different, especially if you concentrate on the adventure
> and fantasy genres (which is where HP belongs, last time I checked).
> I'd be rather surprised if Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Jim Hawkins, Kim,
> Mowgli, Oliver Twist, Dorothy, Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, Phileas
> Fogg, Peter Pan, Robin Hood, d'Artagnan, Cinderella, Snow White, 
Nils
> Holgerssen, the Pevensie kids, Bilbo and Frodo ever read more than
> three novels between them, unless it was specifically required for 
the
> plot. But maybe my memory is failing me.

zgirnius:
Peter Pan's Lost Boys did not know how to read, but they were 
grateful that Wendy could, and told them many of the wonderful 
stories she had read. As for Peter, was there a library in Neverland?

Bilbo and Frodo did not read novels, as the form appears not to have 
existed in their culture or those around it. On the other hand, they 
wrote what must therefore be the first novels of Middle Earth, and 
both read Elven lays with great enjoyment (having learned Elvish 
enough to do so, and in Bilbo's case well enough to consider 
translating them into the Westron Tongue as well.) We know they both 
liked reading.

Robin Hood is a bad example. Cervantes is considered the first 
European author of a novel, and Robin's story is set in England a 
couple (?) hundred years before Cervantes' time. Cervantes' hero, of 
course, read more adventure stories than was good for him and 
developed the delusion that he was a knight errant. He could not have 
read novels.

For similar reasons, so is d'Artagnan. His impoverished family could 
not have owned many books; his father passed on to him what he needed 
to make his way in the world (namely, skill in fencing and the arts 
of war) and  he lived in a time and place when they were still fairly 
limited. 

Actually, this is true of lots of sword and sorcery type fantasies, 
whose lowly boy heroes from medievalesque societies cannot be 
expected to be more than barely literate. They often are described at 
the start, before they start adventuring, as being kids who like 
stories and dream dreams of grand adventures, though, inspired by the 
songs of minstrels or tales of storytellers they have heard. I would 
consider this an equivalent of letting us know that a character in a 
book set in "the Western World" during or after the nineteenth 
century likes to read fiction. The modern-day bookworm readers of 
fantasies will relate.

Holmes does not read fiction, as I believe is discussed in the 
stories, being far more interested in true crime and technical works 
on chemistry and his other interests. Though he certainly has a 
different interest in creative art through his violin playing and 
enjoyment of music (I believe Wagner is a favorite of his). His 
reading habits are definitely part of his characterization. Watson is 
the narrator, and says little about his own habits.

Mowgli was raised by wild animals, no surprise he did not read. Kim I 
haven't read myself. Tom and Huck's imaginary play suggests to me 
they read the Adventures of Robin Hood, at least, being familiar with 
such names as Robin Hood, and Guy of Gisbourne, and having some 
notion how such people would have spoken to one another, at least in 
books. (Utterly unlike two boys from 19th century Missouri, in 
particular). Which points to the fact that a writer does not need to 
mention a character reading a book, to suggest s/he has done so. Tom 
is no bookworm, but we know he enjoys, and has his imagination fired 
up by, an adventure story.

Snow White and Cinderella are the stars of fairy tales, much shorter 
works which don't give us the detail we'd get in a novel, so their 
reading preferences are not discussed. Very little about them is, 
other than the bare bones of their stories. Their favorite foods? 
pastimes? any friends they ever had? Favorite color? fabric? songs? 
animals? chores? humor? We have no idea.

Phileas Fogg's reading habits we read in detail in the first chapter. 
Every day he goes to the Reform Club, and reads the paper. Also the 
Standard (magazine?). It is implied he needs no books at home, 
because his club has a library. We presume he has read lots of travel 
books/literature, because we are told he has an encyclopaedic 
knowledge of geography and travel schedules which he produces at the 
drop of a hat in discussions with fellow club members. Apparently 
another non-fan of fiction, but we have reason to draw this 
conclusion.

Nils I don't know, and the Pevensies were too long ago.

I don't know about Jim Hawkins, I think it may not be mentioned. 
Though Treasure Island purports to be an older Jim's written (first 
person) account of his youthful adventure, where it might seem odder 
to bring up the issue. It's different when an omniscient narrator 
just drops an explanation on us. But Captain Blood (hero of another 
pirate adventure novel, by Rafael Sabatini, that I loved in my youth) 
likes Horace and quotes him in Latin in the first chapter of the 
eponymous novel. And no, it is not necessary to the plot at all, but 
it tells us something about the character. I didn't know Latin, but 
bookworm that I was, it already disposed me to like him. <bg>

Noone is saying that Harry must produce a list of novels read to be 
considered a reader by us. It is, however, the case that authors, 
even in the fantasy/adventure genres, often mention fiction and 
reading for a variety of reasons, and this can be part of creating an 
impression of their chatacters in the readers' minds. I think Harry 
is not much of a reader, and the wizarding world is poor in 
literature, since not only do we never see Harry read literature, we 
never hear him, or anyone else, discuss literature, quote it, or make 
a literary reference (such as Tom and Huck's Robin Hood roleplaying, 
I might add, not some elevated discussion).