<< Harry Potter Essay >>
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is arriving June 21, 2003. The Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets DVD is being released April 11, 2003. Just a little bit of info in case no one else has noticed how every online store and every pop-up like to advertise pre-sales and such. Hey, J.K.Rowling, do I get an advanced copy of the book for promoting your series selflessly and free of charge? ^_~
Seriously, though, I can't wait. I'm really excited -- more than I probably should be. I've been looking forward to book 5 since I finished book 4 last May. To keep myself occupied, I've been reading a fanfic trilogy and prequel by B.L.Purdom called The Psychic Serpent Series. Aside from some of its slightly lemony/trashy romance novel moments, it's a very well thought out and intricate story. Click here to go read it.
In my Japanese classes, I've had to write quite about four essays and give three presentations this semester. Since we could choose any topic we liked (and I really didn't want to write another essay on Sailormoon and JCMU) one of my papers was on Harry Potter.
(Here's a semi-literal translation. I took a few, but not many, editing liberties. I also added an extra paragraph about Voldemort and politics that wasn't included in the Japanese version. Apologies for the simplicity of it all. My language skills -- Japanese and English, ha ha ha -- are probably that of a kindergartener.)
Last June, JaydeKitten introduced me to a book. When I first saw which one it was, I laughed. I really did not want to read this book. However, since I didn't have anything else to do, I decided to read it. I spent the entire weekend reading all of the books. Immediately, it became a favorite. That book series is known as Harry Potter.
Written by J.K.Rowling, the Harry Potter series is quite popular. It's been translated into more than 1,000,000 languages in over a hundred countries, including Japanese, French, Spanish and Korean. Not only that, but at an auction, in order to obtain a card with words from the fifth book written on it, someone paid around $505,000 for it. The fifth Harry Potter book hasn't been published, yet.
As in every good story, Harry, at first, thinks he is just a regular person (similar to Tsukino Usagi in Pretty Soldier Sailormoon). Then, he receives a strange letter, which says, "You have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" (Usagi is greeted by a talking cat). After that, he studies spells and magic at Hogwarts. He also meets three people. One of them is his arch rival, Draco Malfoy. The other two, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, become his best friends. Before Hogwarts, he didn't have any friends.
At Hogwarts, Harry is famous. In the past, Voldemort tried to kill 2-year-old Harry with a spell. It didn't work. Instead, it reflected off of Harry and hit Voldemort. It created a lightening bolt scar in the middle of Harry's forehead. It is the mark of the Boy Who Lived.
I like the Harry Potter series because it makes people read. Usually, children don't like to read. However, children, mothers, aunts and everyone can enjoy this book.
Harry, Ron and Hermione are easily likable characters. They're pretty much everyday, ordinary children -- minus the magic. They have homework, relationship problems, tests and dreams. Other characters are also likable. Harry's aunt, uncle and cousin are humorous. Hagrid, Dumbledore and the Weasleys are nice. People who read these books can find someone or something to relate to.
There are various likable things in the book make it enjoyable. It has mystery.I like the themes and topics it covers. It makes people think. It touches on racism. The derogatory term "mudblood" (kegaretachime in Japanese) is used. A "mudblood" is a person who isn't a pure wizard or witch. His or her parents are regular muggles. Muggles are non-magical people and are discriminated against by some wizards and witches.
The book also covers politics. Hermione decides to lead a liberation movement. Hogwarts has house elves, who are kind of like slaves. Since Hermione doesn't like the idea of slavery and feels the house elves are being treated like slaves, she creates "SPEW." This is her liberation act.
The various governing bodies in the book are also comparable to those in the world. Voldemort and his Death Eaters are similar to Hitler and the Nazis. Voldemort's power hunger and demeaning of those not like him parallels with Hitler's own. Both constantly enforce non-legit power over others. Their followers are both either too scared to question it or just as power hungry.
The story is still not finished. The fifth book comes out this year, June 21. I want to read it. I look forward to it. It seems interesting.
(What a bad conclusion. LoL. I should re-write it... later.)
~* March 25, 2003 @ 4:17 pm *~
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