J.K Rowling's Harry Potter Series - Essay Example

(What is a Literary Canon) The past decade witnessed some classic works from different writers but none got as much appreciation as the J.K Rowling who could undoubtedly be called as the queen of children literature of the present era. Starting her career in 1997 from her first book 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone' which was well appreciated by the global audiences, she quickly rose to a figurehead among the children and elders alike. Despite her huge achievements in such a less time, she is not recognized as a part of the literary canon.

In this paper we would discuss why J.K Rowling should be included in the literary canon. Many of the critics argue that Rowling's books run along the same theme as many of the previously published children books. Like Dickens's Pip and Bronte's Jane, Harry begins his life as an orphan and a normal boy who is a subject of taunts and snide comments from his relatives. Like almost all its preceding children books, Harry Potter is punctuated with social concerns with a touch of personal feelings, emotions of passion, selfishness, selflessness, petty misunderstanding, love, anger and vindictiveness.

However Rowling has done something with Harry Potter which no other writer has previously done which has what earned Harry a place unlike that of his fellow epic heroes. Her sense of writing is what has earned Harry its current place. Rowling has described characters in an interesting way, describing enough to give true idea of the characters while leaving enough to arouse curiosity in the readers. Her description of scenes and their interaction with the plot acts like a key in a lock- perfectly matched.

Through her characters and story, she has got her readers engaged in the fascinating web of the story. Therefore even though her storyline is similar to many other children stories, her way of expression and writing gives her a level far above the other writers, making her a worthy candidate for the literary canon. (Nye)A point which is often raised against Rowling's admission into the literary canon is actually a point in her favor. Many say that Rowling's story is not unique as it runs on the same theme of magic, wand lore, wizards, witches, elves, giants, goblins, unicorns and fairies.

Rowling makes this simple repetitive theme wonderful and appealing through the magic of her writing. Rowling combines all these magical elements into an extensive tale of a teenage boy. The Harry Potter saga could be seen as a product of every child's dreams and nightmares which is the reason why it gained such an appreciation. Like all other books which runs on the theme of magic, apparently Rowling's 'Harry Potter' too seems outlandish and out of the world but the story is intimately linked with the human elements which does not alienate the readers.

This representation of human experience combined with a magical theme is one of the best qualities of her writing. Obvious examples include Arithmancy which could be called as Mathematics, Potions as a counterpart of Chemistry, Healers are actually doctors while the Policemen as Aurors. Even the wizard sport Quidditch could actually be seen as aerial football. These human elements separate Rowling's work from other stories and earn her book a place in the hearts of its readers. (Harry Potter and the