I am replying to the article by Sara Adams concerning the use of Harry Potter in the classroom. As a fan of the series, I have found this article very interesting and informative. Although I have never taken any of Karley Adney’s classes, I think Harry Potter is a good way to expose students to several aspects of a popular genre. Above all, I believe exposure to Harry Potter at the very least shows the benefit of keeping a mind open to literature.

The cutesy Harry Potter stickers that adorn the walls of the second floor of Reavis Hall do little to offer a glimpse into the world of Hogwarts. Personally, I think movie posters of Harry Potter would be better suited for capturing the interests of the passing students. The stickers already show what most presume to know about Harry Potter, the bright and colorful children’s tale about a wizard-in-training. But these images offer only a shallow glimpse into the surface of J. K. Rowling’s work. In the article, Adney already mentioned the classicism and racism Rowling’s characters face throughout the story. To add to her assertion: Harry Potter must literally cope with the scars of war. While most fantasy novels are associated with the fight between good and evil, Harry Potter shows the shattered aftermath of such a conflict. Like the community around him, Harry Potter is scarred by the conflict. While the war has made Harry an orphan, it has made others reprobate, invalid and corrupt. Through the course of the seven novels, Harry must seek to both resolve the remaining conflict while seeking his own identity.

Adams also rightly includes criticism toward Adney’s required reading. The criticism comes from Sheila Vance, a student who has “read more advanced stuff freshman year in high school.” She is right. There is doubtlessly more complex and sophisticated books. However, I believe the appeal of Harry Potter spurns from the fact that it captures the interests of both children and adults, instead of aiming for a specific class of people with a certain age or education. I am reading no less than 24 novels this semester, ranging from “The Marrows of Tradition” to “Crime and Punishment”, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying Harry Potter any less. The explication in the second paragraph was written within a half hour. But literary critics have done considerably more with the themes of Harry Potter for the past seven years. Entire books have been written on the subject of Rowling’s popular wizard, just as many term papers will definitely be written on the same subject in Adney’s class.

Richard Pulfer

Senior, Englis