Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Affusion: Is Harry Potter worth reading?

Affusion: Is Harry Potter worth reading?

A young lady blogged about a conversation we have recently had revolving around the question, "Is Harry Potter worth reading?" I must still proclaim that the answer is an emphatic NO! It was argued by the young lady that there were residual benefits to reading commercial fiction - such as the reader (young reader, specifically) gains increases in his/her levels of language usage and structure. This conclusion was based upon anecdotal evidence that people that this blogger has encountered in life tend to have a more sophisticated grasp of language and literature when they "read for fun." And so I ponder still, have we asked the question of what these "people" are reading? As the blogger in question sited unspecified studies, as will I. There have been numerous studies conducted recently that illustrate that most children who are encouraged to read Harry Potter (or other such pop movie-like fiction) tend to read nothing else. The diction and sentence structure of commercial fiction is similar to that of an average newspaper article - requiring barely more synapses firing in one's mind to comprehend than an average TV show. Therefore, when many children (and even adults) are exposed to a less linear genre (be it a novel or cinema) the cliche'-driven expectations established by the rote memorization of simple and linear plot lines and language usage, they immediately feel a sense of being unsatisfied and will more than likely stop reading the William Falkner novel that a well intentioned young lady blogger has handed to them. So I amend my first sentence - Is little Harry worth reading? Maybe, but only with the understanding that it is not particularly good literature and that there is only something to be gained by an evolution away from the prosaic toward the poetry of our collective souls

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