Where is the magic?
I've been dying to update my blog for a good few days now. But guilt pushes my fingers away from the keyboard everytime my hand twitches. Guilt at taking time off when I have so much work to do. But today is a relatively quiet day. Almost the first breather I've had in the last 10 days or so. So a rant I've been holding in with a degree of discomfort.
Harry Potter Book 6: London's dailies are urging parents to have their children "grief counselled". The papers are full of stories about 14-year old school-children asking their parents if they are still going to be "there" when they return from school. Then, there are the numerous reviews and the fan theories on the death. I've read a few. Agree with a couple and find the others a bit far-fetched. But that's besides the point.
The point is, Rowling had no business writing that book. In doing so she has betrayed the interests of her core readers -- the 7-13 year olds. Why did anybody pick up Book 1? Surely, because they were looking to escape from reality. Look at the ingredients--the (male) Cinderella story of rags in the muggle world to riches in the world of magic, the fictional boarding school, magic and, of course, good vs evil. Over the books, the fairytale has become darker, all the other charming ingredients subdued, while the war between good and evil, with all its accompanying traumas, takes centre stage.
Book 6 epitomises this descent. It plunges readers into the grown-up world with a vengeance. This is an adult's reality with dollops of sickmaking ingredients--teenage sex and surely an uncalled-for death--dealt with in a rough-handed, ruthless fashion. What was the reason for the death? Surely the same purpose might have been achieved by incapacitating and robbing the victim of their powers. When asked at a recent interview, Rowling's described herself as a "ruthless bitch". Meanwhile, children's fiction fans like me have to read on to know what happens to the ill-fated boy next. As the Guardian review said, "Into the gloom she is determined to take all those devoted readers." This fairytale sure is turning Grimm!
Harry Potter Book 6: London's dailies are urging parents to have their children "grief counselled". The papers are full of stories about 14-year old school-children asking their parents if they are still going to be "there" when they return from school. Then, there are the numerous reviews and the fan theories on the death. I've read a few. Agree with a couple and find the others a bit far-fetched. But that's besides the point.
The point is, Rowling had no business writing that book. In doing so she has betrayed the interests of her core readers -- the 7-13 year olds. Why did anybody pick up Book 1? Surely, because they were looking to escape from reality. Look at the ingredients--the (male) Cinderella story of rags in the muggle world to riches in the world of magic, the fictional boarding school, magic and, of course, good vs evil. Over the books, the fairytale has become darker, all the other charming ingredients subdued, while the war between good and evil, with all its accompanying traumas, takes centre stage.
Book 6 epitomises this descent. It plunges readers into the grown-up world with a vengeance. This is an adult's reality with dollops of sickmaking ingredients--teenage sex and surely an uncalled-for death--dealt with in a rough-handed, ruthless fashion. What was the reason for the death? Surely the same purpose might have been achieved by incapacitating and robbing the victim of their powers. When asked at a recent interview, Rowling's described herself as a "ruthless bitch". Meanwhile, children's fiction fans like me have to read on to know what happens to the ill-fated boy next. As the Guardian review said, "Into the gloom she is determined to take all those devoted readers." This fairytale sure is turning Grimm!
posted by Sabiha | 10:59 AM
5 Comments:
ah sabiha, you are going to be a nagging mom, i can tell ;)
and i don't think kids picked up harry potter to 'escape reality' but because it captured their imagination. and as you grow older you draw on your real life experiences to pepper your imagination. i think the latest book has managed to keep that imagination alive without losing touch with the reality that harry and his freinds are old enough to experiment a little (i don't recall any serious teenage sex there, in fact the ron-lavender episode is quite a caricature and it kinda tells kids how one can get sucked into unwanted liaisons just for the sake of trying out something new or to be 'with it') kids are way smarter than we give them credit for (ask me, i interact with several now-a-days) so the idea should not be to talk down to them but speak to them in their own language in terms of their own environment to get the right messages across.
and i'm sure the death has a special significance. unfortunately, we have to wait till 2007 to understand that significance. that just adds to the frenzy doesn't it? that's the marketing bit of the book!
Rums, thanks for the links. Have read Samit's link and must say that I enjoyed both reviews a lot.
Your comment made me think and research my argument. But feel free to point out the flaws.
I would be the last person to suggest that Children's Books should talk down to a child. I'm glad to say that the children's books I enjoy certainly don't.
I don't agree that kids didn't pick this up to escape reality, because escapism is a key aspect of fairytales and Harry Potter is above all a fairy tale, in both a fantastic and realistic setting.
Here are 2 pieces of writing that support my argument. The first is from a course on Harry Potter being taught at a university which analyses HP thus:
“a modest little protagonist, typically male, who does not at first realize how talented he is … departs from his home on a mission or is banished until he fulfils three tasks. He generally enters a mysterious forest of unknown realm on his quest. Along his way he meets animals or friends who, in return, give him gifts that will help him. Sometimes he meets an old sage or wise woman, who will provide him with support and aid. At one point he encounters a tyrant, ogre, or competitor, whom he must overcome to succeed in his mission. Invariably, he defeats the opponent and either returns home or settles in a new domain with money, wife, and happy prospects.”
The school story “[satisfies] the pre-adolescent craving to belong to an elite, a clique, a gang, with its particular mystique and allusions, where outsiders are spurned and only the initiated can understand the jokes and the slang.” Also a nostalgic re-enactment of lost youth for adult reader...
The other piece is from J.R.R.Tolkien's essay on Fairy-Stories, where he says: "...Though fairy-stories are of course by no means the only medium of Escape, they are today one of the most obvious and (to some) outrageous forms of “escapist” literature..."
"I have claimed that Escape is one of the main functions of fairy-stories, and since I do not disapprove of them, it is plain that I do not accept the tone of scorn or pity with which “Escape” is now so often used: a tone for which the uses of the word outside literary criticism give no warrant at all."
Yes there isn't any serious teenage sex, but there is enough coarse reference to offend my (admittedly Victorian sensibilities). And I mourn the loss of innocence.
The death: Rowling admits 2 of the deaths are to make Harry go it alone in the last book. That could have been accomplished through less traumatic means. Unless of course she is a "ruthless bitch". In which case, she has no right to write for children.
Which brings me back to my point: Is this book for 7-13 year olds? I grant that today's tweenies are less sheltered and innocent than the previous few generations. But am still not convinced that they can deal with all this emotionally. I remember reading Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights when I was 10 (not heeding the mom's warnings against)and being unable to face it to this day.
Having said all this, I will probably be one of the first to stand in line for Book 7. More woe is me!
no sabiha, the intention was not to point out flaws in your post,there weren't any. it was just my point of view, just that i see the whole thing differently. for instance, i don't think my daughter will cherish the same fairy tales that i had as a child for the simple reason that she will find most of the stuff ridiculous. and you yourself pointed out the reason. so from my perspective it's best to weave fantasies around some solid reality. and yes, i do see escapism as a 'dirty' word in this context. i would like her to be as gounded as possible, afterall she will be growing up in a place that has the reputation of being 'the rape capital of the world'! it's just my way of protecting my child from unwanted tragedies. ideally, if you ask me, i would want her to be protected from all that threatens her innocence but practically it's not possible. so i'd rather that she read books that are steeped in the environment she is growing up, with a dash of fun. otherwise she will be terribly confused (i guess that is the reason for grief counsellors in the UK, in india children are doing just fine). i suppose that the 7-13 year old kids would have read the earlier books and they would expect harry to grow up and face the challenges of growing up just as they would in real life, except that harry's life is a fantasy therefore the challenges fantastic! my 12 year old cousin thinks malory towers, famous five and william are just not interesting enough (i was shocked!!) because they are so juvenile. but she likes harry potter because 'i can relate to harry and his life at school, but i find william a little irritating'!!!. i just got a look which said, 'what an old sentimental geezer!' when i replied, 'well, don't you find it endearing that william means well but ends up making a mess everytime?' maybe when gaea is old enough to read harry potter she won't find it interesting enough.
as for tolkien's essay, it's common knowledge that he discarded the various theories about LOTR's underlying political messages, he wanted his books to be read and enjoyed for their own sake. fair enough but if as a reader i want to see the political messages (and i do very strongly) in order to enjoy the book then he can't really take that away from me. i'm a different kind of reader, i like to read a book and think about it at length and make connections and figure out underlying messages.
sabs crosswords is selling just william books for 80 bucks! can you believe that? i bought a bunch of them and reading them right now!! tralalalala!
You lucky bum!!! Just over a pound! Must ask Nishu to buy a whole lot of them for our "library" in Hyd. And when I'm in Delhi this Dec, shall borrow your collection to read.
Post a Comment
<< Home