| Many articles have been written on the subject of | | | | From the Dursely's, a family that will be very familiar to |
| Harry Potter and his remarkable appeal to the mass | | | | anyone who has read the works of Roald Dahl, to |
| market, but that's not going to stop me putting in my | | | | Lord Voldemort (Tolkien anyone?), to the boarding |
| five cents on the subject.I came to Harry Potter late | | | | school environment (a setting used in many older |
| myself, having dismissed the books as something for | | | | British children's books) to the magical creatures which |
| children for several years. It was a silly dismissal on my | | | | inhabit Harry Potter's world.Now, it's important to be |
| part since I can name several children's books that I still | | | | clear on this point. I am not suggesting plagiarism. |
| happily read. However, a couple of years ago the | | | | Those allegations have been made and in each case, |
| staggering media coverage of the movies forced me | | | | clearly showed to be false. No I am talking here about |
| to read the books to see what all the fuss was about. | | | | archetypes:"the original pattern or model from which all |
| Since then, like most everyone else, I have been | | | | things of the same kind are copied or on which they |
| captivated.I have read all of the Harry Potter books in | | | | are based; a model or first form; prototype."Like all |
| order, watched the movies and read many articles | | | | writers (like everyone), J K Rowling has been |
| about various aspects of both Harry and J.K. Rowling | | | | influenced by her own experiences, by what she has |
| and I believe that I have identified two key elements in | | | | seen and by what she has read. In creating Harry |
| the success of Harry Potter. I make no claims that | | | | Potter she has called on much of that and made use |
| these are the only elements, but I believe they are | | | | of (knowingly or unknowingly) many archetypes from |
| central to its appeal to both children and | | | | both fantasy and children's literature. Archetypes are |
| adults.GROWING UP ALONG WITH THE | | | | present to some degree in almost all fiction and used |
| READEROne obvious feature of the Harry Potter | | | | well can create extremely satisfying stories.They also |
| novels is that Harry ages. With each book, a year | | | | tend to create stories that have a mass appeal, |
| goes by. While this is not unique to Harry Potter, it is | | | | because archetypes are things that we are all familiar |
| unusual for a writer to stick with a single feature | | | | with to some degree and humans by nature (whether |
| character over so many years. Particularly when | | | | they will admit it or not) like the familiar. Don't believe |
| those years encompass the key ages of ten through | | | | me? Look at one of the most popular movie series of |
| seventeen.As a result of this, and the fact that the | | | | all time.Star Wars was heavily influenced by Joseph |
| books have come out over an approximately nine | | | | Campbell's The Hero with A Thousand Faces which |
| year period (most likely ten by the time the final book is | | | | maps out the common underlying structure of myths |
| published), the children who read the Harry Potter and | | | | using archetypes. It is the use of that very structure |
| the Sorceror's/Philosopher's Stone have effectively | | | | which allowed Star Wars to break out from the sci-fi |
| grown up with Harry Potter.Whether by accident or | | | | niche and become a cultural phenomenon. The use of |
| design, it seems that J. K. Rowling has reflected that | | | | archetypes made the alien situation less threatening to |
| increasing maturity in both Harry and her audience by | | | | audiences.Rowling is in good literary company on her |
| telling tells that become progressively darker and more | | | | journey. J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings can |
| complex in their characterization.This reflection of | | | | also be mapped against the same mythic structure |
| Harry's growth towards adulthood conveniently mirrors | | | | and it has more than stood the test of time and |
| the same growth that Rowling's core audience was | | | | popularity.Of course following Campbell's roadmap the |
| experiencing. It also has the side benefit of attracting | | | | story should end with "The Hero's Departure"...But |
| the interest of adults, many of whom became aware | | | | that's a whole other discussion.Eoghann Irving is the |
| of the books through their children but discovered | | | | webmaster for Solar Flare, the long-running science |
| something with a little more depth than the average | | | | fiction news blog. A lifelong fan of the sci-fi and |
| children's tale.So the increasing sophistication helped | | | | fantasy genres, Eoghann writes news, reviews and |
| Harry Potter capture an ever larger audience, but | | | | commentary for all forms of science fiction including tv, |
| what was it that appealed to them in the first | | | | books, movies and comic books. Eoghann is always |
| place?THE IMPORTANCE OF ARCHETYPESThe | | | | looking for news and information on all things sci-fi. |
| Harry Potter books are packed full of archetypes. | | | | |