J.K. Rowling's Bigger Contribution
Mark had a comment about my recent post about the upcoming release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I started to reply to his comment, then realized I had more than a little to say on the matter.Mark asserted that "JK Rowling is almost single-handedly bringing back literacy to the planet."
And, to a certain extent, this is true. Certainly she has managed to capture the imaginations of the world's youth and inspired a new generation of readers. To me, this makes her more deserving of a Nobel Peace Prize than many of the past recipients. Really!
In this age of instant gratification, where children are constantly plugged in to some electronic gadget or another, inspiring children to unplug and open a book is a real achievement. Think about it. Television, ipods, gameboys, xbox, dvd, computers, our children have their own electronic fields!
JK Rowling and the world of Harry Potter get a lot of crap from those not-in-the-know for being about "witchcraft," "black magic," and worse. But, in actuality, the stories always ALWAYS stress positive lessons. The major theme in the series is choosing to do what is right, not what is easy. For children, this is an imperative lesson that must be taught if we are to raise fine young people of courage. Even the Pope has gotten on the bandwagon and branded the novels as heresy and un-Christian.
Anybody who has ever actually read the books knows differently. In actuality, Harry Potter's world is really all about facing the ultimate evil. If one insists upon painting the stories in a biblical retrospect (a parallel I despise, but will participate in only for the purposes of pointing ou the Pope's and Christian Book Banners errors), then Harry is Christ to Voldemort's Sin. Voldemort is evil incarnate. He runs a band of "death eaters" who commit murder for fun. They spread enmity and discord and reap murder and mayhem as fruits. They are everything that is evil and despicable and wrong. Harry, on the other hand, is the good, the pure, the innocent who is the world's only hope for salvation. Oh, yeah, and he has magical powers. But then, so did Christ, if you recall. What was all that walking on water if not magical?
JK Rowling has spurred children to read. The stories are full of life lessons that are much more palatable than those sickening and saccharine "Very Special Episodes" on television family sit-coms where one child does battle with some societal ill. I always hated those "Very Special Blossam's" because they weren't fun or even funny. Rowling's works, on the other hand, are rich tales of intrigue for children. We love the characters for what we see of ourselves in them. There is no doubt in my mind that I am a Hermione Granger. And I love her all the more for it. Hermione started S.P.E.W. (Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare) to gain rights for house elves, I lead a strike to gain the right to play outside for children. We have a lot in common.
Rowlings works capture the minds of children and make them dream. To me, this can only be a good thing. I don't know how one would go about measuring the value or the impact that Rowling's series has had on literacy. Personally, I've been reading since I was old enough to hold a book. My father insisted upon it.
(You see, my sister and I would go out to the farm every summer. My father, a voracious reader, became worried that my sister and I were not learning to love reading. So, he told my stepmother to take us to the library and get us some books. However, the local library of a small farming community didn't have a great selection and we quickly ran out of items of interest. This problem was compounded by the amount of time we spent in vehicles. You see, as I have discussed before, we lived out there. It was 4 hours to the nearest mall, 30 minutes to a grocery store. Most days we spent more than an hour on the road. So, my father insisted that we find a book store or some other material to read. My sister and I discovered Archie comics. My father funded our addiction and subscriptions. Then, as we grew older, we discovered sci-fi, fantasy, and other books. But there is no doubt in my mind that my father and stepmother are responsible for my 2 books/week habit.)
JK Rowling's first novel was, literarily speaking, not the best. But, each book in the series has gotten better from this starting point. I know many poo-poo Rowling's achievements for the simple fact that she has been well-rewarded for her efforts. To me, this just means she is a smart business woman. What Bill Gates did for personal computing, I believe JK Rowling has done for literature, literacy, and heaven knows how many generations of readers. She has done a wonderful thing and deserves every penny of what she has been paid.
I read the books because they bring me joy. If you haven't read them, I highly recommend picking them up. You won't regret it.
And so ends the JK Rowling love-fest.
Labels: Harry Potter
