The Hogwarts Library

JK Rowling began writing the Harry

potter series in 1990 after the idea hit

her on a train trip to London. She

released the 1st book, Harry Potter and

the Philosophers Stone, in 1997 through

the publishing company Bloomsbury

after some initial setbacks from other

publishers (I bet they are kicking

themselves now after the success of the

series). (About J.K. Rowling, 2012)

The seven books in the series were

released consecutively from 1997

through to 2007 with the additional

Hogwarts Library books Quidditch

through the Ages, Fantastic Beasts and

Where to Find them and Tales of Beedle the

Bard published partly in 2001 and 2008.

Film Versions of the series were

released and accepted with huge

success from 2001 to 2011 winning

awards for services to film.

Book Releases:

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone1997

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets1998

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban1999

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire2000

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them2001

Quidditch Through the Ages2001

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix2003

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince2005

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows2007

The Tales of Beedle the Bard2008

Film Releases:

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone2001

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets2002

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban2004

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire2005

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix2007

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince2009

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 12010

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 22011

The Monster Book of Monsters

Harry Potter and high fantasy

As some critics like to kindly remind us the world of harry

potter has been created from the bones of many other

mythological and legendary stories, creatures, concepts,

names etc. however it is these elements which make the world

of the Harry Potter series relatable and believable and what

makes the stories work . It is this that makes the secondary

world so easy to believe and has helped readers become

entranced with J.K Rowlings stories. As argued by some

(Beagley, 2014) the Harry Potter series is not one completely of

high fantasy but something that steadily grows from

something simple to something far more complex and

challenging over time. In the beginning of Rowlings series

events and consequences are effecting only the immediate

community within Hogwatrs however this soon begins to

escalate as the power of lord Voldemort grows and fear

spreads throughout the wider wizarding community building

tension and becoming a world altering high fantasy series by

the time it concludes.

Episodes

Events began effecting only the immediate Hogwarts

community and Harrys pocket of friends.

The Troll

Sneaking Norbert to Charlie

The mystery of the

Chamber of Secrets

Quidditch matches

Rescuing Sirius from

the Dementors

The Triwizard

tournament

Before long events began to impact of the wider community

and the greater good.

The return of Voldemort

Fighting death eaters at the ministry

Creating Dumbledores Army

Finding and destroying Voldemorts Horcruxes

It is this change from a local and confined issues and events to

the expansive and worldwide problems that make this text

difficult to categorise as solely fantasy or high fantasy however

one could suggests it uses characteristics of both at times.

The Heros Journey

Harrys Call to adventure began with

the death of his parents and his survival.

All the events leading up to and

including the arrival of his Hogwarts

The Herald in this instance is Hagrid and his

arrival in the Hut on the rock when he finally

gives Harry the letter. Although other characters

come into play later in the series.

There are multiple thresholds throughout the

series beginning with the magical entrance to

Diagon Alley through the Leaky Cauldron and

including platform 9 3/4, Flu powder, port keys

and many more.

Harry faces many trials throughout the series

beginning with learning magic and fitting into the

magical community before having to defend it

from Voldemort . Along the way he is forced to

compete in dangerous competitions, face

unsavoury creatures and characters, experience

grief to an unimaginable extant and trust his

relationships in order to survive.

The many protective figures in the series include:

Lilly and James Potter, Dumbledore, Hagrid, Snape,

Sirius, Ron and Hermione, Order of the Phoenix,

Dumbledores Army and The Weasleys.

By fulfilling the prophecy and destroying

Voldemort Harry saves the wizarding world and is

then able to move on with his life.

Harry crosses back and forth across the

threshold into the mundane world constantly

throughout the series but in the conclusion

appears to remain settled in the magical world.

The Statue of Secrecy

The World of Harry Potter

Set in the primary world that we know the Harry Potter series came

to life over the course of a schoolboys life and experiences. This

was something that many children of similar ages could relate to,

especially those living in the UK at the time of release. As the series

progressed and Harry grew so did the themes and complexity of

the series which allowed the readership to grow along with it.

Rather than remaining a series for children the stories transformed

along with readers and became a series for young adults (which

even provoked the need for an adult cover design). The emotional

connection between the characters and the audience along with

realistic locations in the crossover between the primary and

secondary worlds make the Harry Potter stories highly relatable.

The series was based on the mundane world as we know it but the

added secondary world elements remained unnoticed by Muggles

(us).

The Crossover

The various thresholds between the

worlds were commonplace and eas-

ily recognised by the audience but

were fantasised and transformed by

the magic of the secondary world.

This, and the events of the series,

aligns with the typical fantasy struc-

ture of separation, crossing the

threshold, facing trials and recross-

ing the threshold. From the death of

Harrys parents and his acceptance

into the magical community at Hog-

warts to the confrontations with

various trials and rivals follow the

heros journey typically focused on

in the fantasy genre.

Primary/Secondary World

The

Mundane

The Magical

Fantastic Themes & Where to Find Them

Crime and Consequence:

Breaking News One of the major themes of the Harry Potter series is the

presence of morality, humility, heroism and choices and with

this comes the associated consequences. Just as our world does,

the world of Harry Potter functions around law and authority

and of course with this comes rebellion and crime. These of

course have their consequences but action taken by the

authorities in turn provokes further retaliation from the

opposing forces at work. Lord Voldemort is the prime example

of rebellion and lack of morality

in the series with his over

powering desire for death and

destruction. The counter to this

force of evil is of course our

protagonist Harry and his deep

humility and moral compass

throughout the series. As

Dumbledore states in The

Chamber of Secrets "It is our

choices Harry, that show what

we truly are, far more than our

abilities" and it is the choices that

characters make that separate

them from one another.

Some of the major themes in the Harry Potter series include:

relationships (family, friendship, romance, rivalry etc.),

heroism, humility, morality, death, violence, acceptance, grief

and of course magic. These themes have been pulled apart by

critics over the last decade but in my opinion the series still

remains one of the best pieces of childrens literature in recent

times. We are able to see these themes through the

interactions between characters and through the actions of the

main protagonists as the stories progress. As the stories grow

so does the intensity of the themes, bringing into focus darker

ideas.

The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters

Although this is often how it seems in fantasy stories there

isn't always a clear cut line between good and evil and as

suggested by Wolosky it is to do with Love and Power

struggling to coexist. An individual either choses to love or

power and this drives their subsequent choices.

Fantastic Themes & Where to Find Them

Me, Myself and I

Gossip column We are exposed to the dysfunction of families (Percy Weasleys

abandonment) and the close bonds between others (the

Grangers support)

and the pain that

these groups must

endure for the good

of humanity. We are

introduced to teams

and allies through

the order of the

p h o e n i x a n d

Dumbledores army.

The many relationships in Harry

Potter are one of the major themes

throughout the series. From the

more obvious to the subtle and

perhaps more complex,

relationships are what force the

story to keep moving. The main

events of the series revolve around

various interpersonal relationships

and their outcomes in turn revolve

around and affect others. As the

story progresses the relationships

between characters begins to grow

and change such as Harry close

friendships with Ron and

Hermione and their loyalty to him

throughout the series. We also see

friendships grow and change such

as Harry and Ginnys relationship

moving from a young girls

admiration through friendship and

into romance.

We are also able to see rivalries begin to alter, whether that be

growing stronger or weakening to the point of becoming allies.

This is evident with the feuds between Harry and Malfoys as

well as Harry and Snape. The two boys started out from the

very beginning as enemies however by the end of the series the

issues causing them to fight one another begin bringing them

closer, close enough for Harry to save Malfoys life. A similar

alteration occurs between Harry and Snape as he discovers the

links between his teacher and his mother and the lengths he

has gone to over the years to protect her and himself.

Fantastic Themes & Where to Find Them

Death and Violence

As Dumbledore states death is a part of life and it is not to be

feared unreasonably. The Harry Potter series gradually

introduces the idea of death and violence from an early stage.

Although reader understand Harrys parents were killed in

the first book it is not until The Goblet of Fire that death truly

shows itself in full. Harry must come to terms with the death

of many characters close to him throughout the series

including close family (Sirius) and friends (Fred Weasley,

Cedric Diggory, Mad-Eye Moody, Lupin and Tonks) and his

mentor Dumbledore. Many of these deaths he witnesses first

hand and quite damaging to Harrys emotional state.

Grief and Acceptance

"After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the

next great adventure."

Harry is forced to accept death in many instances but

nothing compares to the acceptance of his own death as

he faces Voldemort unarmed. It is the sign of a true

humanitarian and hero to face your fate head on with no

protection willing looking your own death in the face

and this is what Harry must do in order to save all

wizard kind.

Fantastic Themes & Where to Find Them

Racism and Hierarchy

Something well noticed in the Harry Potter series is the presence

of social hierarchy. The most evident is the distinction made be-

tween wizarding families of pure bloodlines and those with

mixed heritage. Wizards born of muggle families are seen as

lowly by those with egotistical issues such as the Malfoys and

many other Slytherin wizards.

Voldemort and his followers place themselves in top rank and

feel all non-magical beings are to be put in their rightful places.

Some social distinctions include:

Pure bloodwizards coming from a pure pedigree

Half bloodwizards with a mixture of magical and non-

magical blood

Muggle born (mudblood) - wizards born spontaneously into

a completely non-magical family, the reverse situation is

a Squib.

Slaves (house elves) - creatures used for the benefit of man

Non-human magical beingscentaurs, merpeople, goblins

and giants.

Death Eatersall of pure blood descent with high levels

of self-entitlement

Mugglescommon non-magical folk

It is not always the muggles

that fare the worst but the

non-humans and half-bloods

that are exposed the greatest

acts of racism and exclusion.

creatures are forced to work

or lived isolated and forced

to near extinction while

wizards are persecuted for

their heritage.

The Standard Book of Spells

Magic in Fantasy

Although the idea of magic itself is not an idea original to the

Harry Potter series criteria for good childrens fantasy requires

the need for the supernatural elements and thus J.K Rowling

has based her fantasy around the learning and use of magical

abilities.

Magic in this series is a means to an end and creates an

adventurous coming of age story that many children can relate

to regardless of the extraordinary because it provides readers

with a reason to imagine that which they can never really hope

to achieve without it.

In keeping with the culture of fantasy stories Rowling created

a story mundane enough to be credible whilst balancing

with the extraordinary and building towards high fantasy.

The Origins of Harry Potter Magic

Much of the magic in the Harry Potter series has a basis in

mythology or history somewhere. The bulk of the spells

found in the stories link directly to Latin meanings relating to

the use of the spell.

Some example of the use of Latin in Rowlings spells:

Accio for example simply means to call or to summon in

Latin and is used to summon objects from other

locations by wizards.

Lumos means light in Latin and is used to magically light

rooms.

The incantation Expecto Patronum means to throw out

a patronus or guardian which will protect or convey

messages.

It has even been suggested that Avada Kedavra the killing curse

has links to middle eastern or roman healing spells for

vanquishing illness and could likely have originated from

abracadabra.

Hogwarts, A History

Also taken from outside sources are

Locationsthe grey area between worlds:

Kings Cross Station, central London, the underground.

Namesused for their meanings:

Sirius Blackreferring to the

brightest star in the constellation

Canis Major. The name literally

means black dog.

Malfoyfrom the Latin

malificus,English maleficent and

French mal foi referring to evil doing, and bad faith

Luciusperhaps an echo of Lucifer and a reference to

his evil nature.

Dracoa star in a northern constellation, meaning

dragon or snake.

Creaturesborrowed from various mythologies around the

world:

dragons, goblins, giants,

centaurs, phoenixes,

unicorns and

werewolves and

Hippogriffs.

Durmstrang Academy draws on

ideas of Nazi Germany with its focus

on the Dark Arts and rebellion rather

than morality and integrity.

Dumbledores defeat of Grindelwald aligns with the end of the

second world war and the defeat of Hitler suggesting that

perhaps magic had something to do with the war and terror

spreading across Europe at that time.

Rowling draws on many sources from history for her

characters. Many character names originate in myth or legend

or are based on specific cultures and meanings however one

particular character Nicolas Flamel was a true alchemist born in

France in the 1300s.

Some other include:

Fluffyoriginally Cerberus the

guard dog to hades in Greek

mythology

Sphinxbased on both the Egyptian myths and the

Oedipus story in Greek mythology

Bagshot, Snape and Flitwickare towns in England

Events in modern

history

ReferencesThe Restricted Section

Primary Sources:

Rowling, J.K. (1997) Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. London:

Bloomsbury.

Rowling, J.K. (1998) Harry Potter and the Chamber f Secrets. London:

Bloomsbury.

Rowling, J.K. (1999) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

London: Bloomsbury.

Rowling, J.K. (2000) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. London:

Bloomsbury.

Rowling, J.K. (2001) Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them London:

Bloomsbury.

Rowling, J.K. (2003) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

London: Bloomsbury.

Rowling, J.K. (2005) Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. London:

Bloomsbury.

Rowling, J.K. (2007) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. London:

Bloomsbury.

Secondary Sources:

About J.K. Rowling. (2012). Retrieved from J.K. Rowling: http://

www.jkrowling.com/en_GB/#/about-jk-rowling

Beagley, D. (2014). Harry Potter and High Fantasy. Bendigo: La Trobe

University.

Colbert, D. (2001). The Magical World of Harry Potter: A Treasury of

Myths, Legends, and Fascinating Facts. Kent Town: Wakefield

Press.

Green, A. (2009). Revealing Discrimination: Social Hierarchy and

the Exlusion/Enslavement of the Other in the Harry Potter

Novels. The Looking Glass: New Perspectives on Childrens

Literature, 13(3).

Matthews, R. (2002). From Antiquity to Infinity: The Development

of Modern Fanstasy. In R. Matthews, Fantasy: The Liberation

of Imagination (pp. 1-36). New York: Routledge.

Tucker, N. (1999). The Rise and Rise of Harry Potter. Children's

Literature in Education, 30(4).

Wolosky, S. (2010). The Riddles of Harry Potter. New York: Palgrave

Macmillan.

Images:

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