The Essay That I Couldn't Hand In
Harry Potter
and the
Hallowing Half-Blood Secret of the Fire Philosopher's Phoenix Prisoner:
A Kiddie Book or a Piece of Serious Adult Literature?
Harry Potter is seen as being a miracle that brought children back to reading from things like video games and computers. However, many people, parents and other adults, most of whom have "never read more than a page and a half" 1, do not think that their children should be exposed to things like magic and death - especially at such young ages as Harry Potter has become loved - at least five-year-olds.
Four different methodologies have been implemented in the making of this PIP: Observation, online survey, secondary research and interviews. They each yielded results similar to one another, making it little wonder that the verdict is as it is.
My hypothesis of this question is that the majority, if not all, the books will be seen to be worthy of adult, rather than children’s, classification. I am not doing this P.I.P. because I want it to be changed - on the contrary. I believe that Harry Potter should be open for those of all ages who wish to read it.
The areas of society and culture that I have chosen to study in this P.I.P. are Location and Age.
The freedom of literature is challenged all over the world. Some countries believe that the government should control the literature escaping it; others think that no one should restrict the flow of creativity.
However, the fact that Harry Potter has been placed on the Banned Books List in America is something entirely different. It means that no person in school can borrow or read the book for class or from a school library. Harry Potter joins such illustrious books as Frankenstein and Black Beauty (South Africa), the Bible and the Quran (Russia) and many of Shakespeare’s plays.
The author herself thinks it is a glorious thing. “Once again, the Harry Potter books feature on this year’s list of most-banned books. As this puts me in the company of …writers I revere, I have always taken my annual inclusion in the list as a great honour.” 2
People of many age groups and many occupations have been contacted for help in this debate over whether the books are for children or adults. Teachers in their 30s, teens, children in primary school, councillors, teens, social security officers, book store owners, even the author herself (from her website!).
As there are millions of people around the world who have been with Harry from any stage of the books, I am sure that most, if not all, would agree that the last four books, Goblet of Fire through to Deathly Hallows, are not suitable for such young audiences. As such, they should not be considered children’s books.
Environment is something else that must be looked at within this PIP: With the terrorists attacks and the war in the middle east, death and destruction is something that most people see on their television screens every day. Although they might seem ‘desensitised’ violence, the violence does hit hard, still.
For the last decade, people around the world have been flocking together, either over the internet or in person, to talk about the literary phenomenon to destroy all others: Harry Potter.
For as long as there have been the Harry Potter books, there has also been the discussion over whether the books should really be considered ‘children’s’ books’. Each volume in the 7-part series has become increasingly dark and deathly, bringing about a dark affinity with stories like ‘Lord of the Rings’ that not even the Chronicles of Narnia can beat.
On a return trip home last November from Town Hall station to Macarthur Station, I watched the people around me. Roughly a hundred people were in the same carriage as me; roughly another two hundred were on platforms that we passed. Of that, approximately two-thirds were reading books, as this was a peak-time trip on a weekday. Of the roughly-two hundred not engaged in reading a magazine or a newspaper, I was able to identify over fifty people reading one of the first six Harry Potter books. That is a lot of people - 23% of all the people, while a great 25% of those people were reading Harry Potter! While this does not seem to be that great a number, I might remind you that this was at a point in time where the ‘Pottermania’ had yet to come within peak time (at and around July 21 2007). And all those seen reading Harry Potter were over the age of 25.
For ten years there has been a discussion over whether the books should really be found in the children’s section of the bookstore. Death, relationships and ‘witch craft’ are something that many people would like to see only on shelves in the Young Adult or Adult section of the bookstore.
The last book in the series, for instance, delivers the death of seven main characters, three of them non-human, and many more secondary and extra characters. Death is something that “no child should be able to look at with indifference.” 3
The last of the books is one that has created many, many assurances that the book belongs in the category of adults’ fiction to many, many fans and critiquers as one. Deaths and a war are the main themes of the book, as well as killing and ripping apart your soul.
Magic is something else that no one really thinks a child should be learning about - over in America Harry Potter has been placed on the ‘banned books list’ for its use of magic, both Light and Dark. Amazingly, it has been the portrayal of Light magic that has struck a core more than Dark Magic. Portraying magic in a good way, in a country that was founded and is currently run by Orthodox Christians, is something that they will not tolerate.
And yet, people of all ages on all continents have been seen walking down the street, sitting on a train station or scouring the library for anything to do with Harry Potter. Two different covers have been produced: the adult and children’s’ versions.
Each has the same content; it is just a different cover. Supposedly this is because adults do not want to be seen reading a children’s book, despite the fact that there are some who do wander the streets with the children’s’ edition in hand, especially on the day of a release, like July 21st, 2007 - the end of the series.
However, it seems that more than that bought the seventh book on the day - 11 million copies of Deathly Hallows were sold in the USA within the first 24 hours. 38 million were sold world wide within the first 24 hours. For adults, even only 22%, to have been seen in a book store lining up for the seventh book at midnight/2am/9am means that it must appeal to those of a higher age anyway - regardless of the language of the books.
The question is not how popular they are, but what level they should be considered as: Adult, Young Adult or Children’s. Aside from the general deaths and things within the books, we need to look at the key themes.
DEATH
Death is something that is found in almost all children’s stories. ‘Humpty Dumpty’ itself is one such story. ‘Rock a by baby’ is another. However, these merely allude to the theme of death. In order for it to be truly ground breaking, we need to be ‘hit in the face by death.’3 Even the movies help to show how non-children’s the books are.
The deaths in the first books themselves are not too bad - Professor Quinius Quirrell dies, but he was the harbour for evil. He seemed to deserve it. Nicholas Flamel’s imminent death is merely mentioned - ‘They have enough Elixar stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die’ 4. The deaths of Harry’s parents, Lily and James Potter are also merely glossed over. The blow of death is softened by the youth of the character. The movie, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, was rated PG.
Ginny Weasley is almost taken by the Basilisk in the second book. The news that Moaning Myrtle was murdered by a ‘dirty great snake’5 fifty years beforehand is something else that is also merely glossed over. The ghosts living at Hogwarts are also glossed over - '"You would think, wouldn't you … that being hit forty-five times in the neck with a blunt axe would qualify you to join the headless hunt … I mean, nobody wishes more than me that it had all been quick and clean and my head had come off properly, I mean, it would have saved me a great deal of pain and ridicule … Half an inch of skin and sinew holding my neck on, Harry!… Most people would think that's good and beheaded, but oh no, it's not good enough for Sir Properly Decapitated-Podmore.”’6 The movie, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was rated PG.
In the third book, the escape of Sirius Black, a supposed-mass-murderer, and the introduction of creatures that devour the soul of anyone takes the story on a darker angle. The close-call with Harry’s soul and the introduction of Pettigrew, not to mention Sirius Black wielding a knife 7 and attacking a portrait 8, convey the darkness in the book. This movie, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, was also rated PG.
The fourth book, however, is the first one that people agree on that drags the rating of the series up from Children’s - or even Young Adult’s - to the next level - Young Adult or even Adult literature. The Death of Cedric Diggory in the graveyard 9 happens right so the reader can see it - so Harry can see it. The theme of death has just jumped out of the shadows - as none so far has been ‘on screen’ - and throws the books forward into the war. As well as the death of Cedric Diggory, the fourth book shows an admission of murder - that of Bartemius Crouch Snr at the hands of his son, Bartemius Couch Jnr - ‘I stunned Diggory. I killed my father.’10 Even then, that is not the end. The death of Frank Bryce is set ‘on screen’, while the murder of Bertha Jorkins is not. The Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie was the first in the series to be rated M - as good as an ‘Adult’ classification.
The fifth book gives the Death of Sirius Black 11 (The movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, was rated M). The battle in the Ministry of Magic, and the explanation of the Thestrals, is something that adds to the darkness of the book. Creatures only able to be seen by those who have seen Death itself is something that is more at home, supposedly, in a horror story.
The sixth, the Death of Albus Dumbledore 12 as well as the maiming of Bill Weasley13 are the elements within the story that bring up the 'rating'. The character of Fenrir Greyback is a character that ups the rating all to himself. He's a cannibal, and he enjoys it.
The seventh book is the greatest in the death department. Being the middle of a war, it is to be expected, but that is something that not many wish to see. Characters killed on-screen include Gellert Grindelwald, Gregorovitch (the wandmaker that made Viktor Krum's wand), Charity Burbage (Muggle Studies Professor), Hedwig, Fred Weasley and Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange. That's already almost four times as many as any other book. However, unseen deaths include Ted Tonks, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin, Colin Creevy, a goblin, Dirk Creswell and over fifty others in the Battle of Hogwarts. “At the very least, this book should be in the Adult section.” 14
WAR & MURDER
Every fantasy story has a war, whether it's the Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis or the Song of the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce. A war is a conflict that always happens in a fantasy novel. A murder usually sets it off, whether directly or indirectly. Name one fantasy novel that has no war or murder. Go on. I dare you.
Didn't think so.
The war in Harry Potter is one that coincides with the deaths of many main characters, as well as being a running theme in the books. The first four books were the build up to the war, the last three the war itself. The seventh book is Harry darting about in the middle of the war, rather than being relatively sheltered within Hogwarts' walls.
Although it might seem that I covered this in my last chapter, war and murder are a far cry from simply seeing death. Death is a general term. War and murder are direct causes of death, the same as suicide or an accident.
However, there is nothing suicidal or accidental in the murders or wars in the Harry Potter universe. At least twenty murders have been told of in the seven books. Those of Moaning Myrtle, Cedric Diggory, Frank Bryce, Sirius Black, Albus, Kendra and Ariana Dumbledore, Dobby the House Elf, Hedwig, James and Lily Potter, Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, Ted Tonks, Dirk Cresswell, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin, Colin Creevy, Voldemort, Severus Snape and Bellatrix Black-Lestrange are the twenty that come straight off the top of my head. Harry Potter was hit with the Killing Curse twice, one point-blank to the chest, and yet he was sent to limbo and still survived because of the power of self-sacrifice.
Each was killed by another. Only two of the above are classified as 'accidental murders': Those of Kendra and Ariana Dumbledore. Ariana, half-insane, accidentally killed her mother Kendra 15, while either Albus or Aberforth Dumbledore or Gellert Grindelwald accidentally killed Ariana during a fight over her 16.
Three different wars are alluded to in at least the seventh book: The war with Grindlewald, the First War and the Second War, both with Voldemort. Both bring heavy casualties, their deaths all the product of murder.
Murder itself is something that generally leads an 'Adult' category, though there are certain exceptions. As one person interviewed said, “The murder of the Lion, Aslan, in the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is one that dodged the categorising of the murder, as he returns to life. There is far too much murder and war in the Harry Potter books for them to dodge it that way; Harry is the only one to survive.” 17
MAGIC
Yes. Magic.
It is the single, most important thing in a fantasy story. And, yet, it is also the only thing most people complain about when trying to ban it. Most of the people who are trying to ban it, however, have never even picked up a book except to 'throw it in the bin and spit on it'.
Those who do actually read it will notice that there are two shades of magic: Light and Dark. However, some parents believe that any magic, any at all, should be banned. That means, they should all be taken from the Children's section and placed in the adult's section, just for that.
"The books contain numerous positive references to the satanic art, falsely drawing a distinction between black and white magic," the Vatican's chief exorcist said in January 2006. "Harry Potter [is] a potentially corrupting influence," the Pope was hears saying the year before. 19
And it is because of people in the power of the church that influence people in power in America, who influence the American people, who want to ban Harry. Or, at the very least, have the books restricted to those Adult readers.
That alone is one reason not to have the books moved immediately; although the Pope held a large amount of sway even up to eighty years ago, that time has long past. Many people now do things against the church, just because they can.
However, religious freedom is something highly-prized in democratic states. As such, it is very hard to keep children from the 'satanic art' if their reading of the Harry Potter books and other such fantasy novels is not restricted.
Never mind that there is a whole genre promoting the 'satanic art'. The fanatics just pick on the popular books.
But, I digress. The reason this PIP was created is to present an argument over whether Harry Potter is a kids or an adult's book. I think I have kept reasonably well to the topic when you consider that Murder, War, Death and Magic are things that some consider ban-able from the hands of children - thus, by default, becoming adults' books.
LEVEL OF LANGUAGE
I have presented a lot of information over why the book should be an adult's book. However, I have never stated a reason for why the books should be a child's book, but I can tell you the reason it is a Children's book. As a fellow author that has written a story with a multitude of wars, magic and murder, there is one thing within my story that keeps the audience as Young Adult rather than Adult: The Language of the Story.
The narrator talks on a level equal to that of a five-year-old, regardless of the events being narrated. It is hard to pass off a child's book as an adult's book if it has the language that an eight-year old would understand, just as it is hard to pass off an adult's book as a child's if even a teenager would find it impossible to read. It is hard to change a story's language to one of another level, despite the events. Jumping audience isn't easy.
The last reason that completely settles this is that the stories are split between audience levels. It does, however, make sense to have a split audience. The children who "grew up with Harry Potter don't notice the shift in darkness, just as those who start reading from the beginning of the series don't realise just how dark it gets until the attempted-murder of Harry in the seventh book." 5
One fan, however, has pointed out how "adult [Deathly Hallows] was, I think just both just in writing style, because Jo's come a long way in how it was written, but also in the use of her curse words as well," 6 for she does use two swear words in the seventh book - this is another jump in audience: up to adult.
When surveyed on the language of the books, and which level the language reaches to, 97% said that the book could not be changed in audience because of the language - only 3% disagreed. However, of that 97%, 56% believed that the books cater to a split level of audiences. 47% agreed that the first three were children's books - the other 53% disagreed which book finished the children's section of the series.
However, 69% agreed that the next three books, Goblet of Fire through to Half-Blood Prince, cater to the Young Adult audiences. The 31% disagreed - 77% of those disagreeing thought that Half-Blood Prince was already in the Adult section. However, all those surveyed agree that Deathly Hallows is borderline Adult - "Only the language holds it back," one person surveyed said.
Bibiliography
- Interview, Sara Winters, July 12th 2007, in response to 'Why do you think people wish to ban the books?'
- J K Rowling, www.jkrowling.com, News section, Banned Book Week.
- Mugglenet.com podcast number 101.
- Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Page 215, JK Rowling
- Ronald Weasley, Harry Potter an the Chamber of Secrets, Page 216, JK Rowling
- Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpoington, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, page 95, JK Rowling
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Page 196, JK Rowling
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Page 120-121, JK Rowling
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Page , JK Rowling
- Bartemius Crouch Jnr, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Page , JK Rowling
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Page 711, JK Rowling
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Page 556, JK Rowling
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Page 572, JK Rowling
- Mugglenet.com podcast number 101.
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Page 456, JK Rowling
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Page 457, JK Rowling
- Interview, Diane Hunt, July 12th 2007, in response to 'Why do you think the books should be in a higher audience?’
- The Sydney Morning Herald, Linda Morris, February 4th 2006.
- Interview, Sara Winters, July 12th 2007, in response to 'Why do you think her audience shifts between books?'
- "Chris" Mugglenet.com podcast number 101.