Ybarra 1

Samantha Ybarra

Lauren Brandenburg

ENG 101

22 October 2021

Harry Potter Evaluation

Whether you’re in Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Syltherian, or Ravenclaw, all fans share the

same love for the Harry Potter series. JK Rowling, the famously known author was responsible

for the creation of the eight movies based on her books. Harry Potter has been a pop culture idol

over the decades. Its franchise has grown to be a worldwide favorite. Characters like Harmine

and Voldemort have become household names in western cultures. Harry Potter is the greatest

book and movie franchise because the author has created an exceptional fortunity of success

from it, has amazing character development, and leaves you on the edge of suspense.

One reason JK Rowling series of Harry Potter books were so extraordinary, they

transported you to the magical world of witches and wizards that she has created for audiences of

all ages, which is primarily following the life of young Harry Potter. JK Rawling, one of the

greatest and wealthiest authors,who while unemployed came out with the Sorcerer's Stone, a

book to a hooked series. “The Stateside publication of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

made for one of the biggest U.S. book releases ever—and the start of a cultural game

changer.”(Canfield 35). The love for the fictional series grew as everyone could easily recognize

Harry Potter as the boy “who lived” a story of a boy from rags to riches after finding out that

both of his parents were wizards. There is no doubt that the Harry Potter series has been the

greatest success in chirography and cinematic history. “She bestrides the worldwide best‐seller

lists, having sold 450 million copies of her seven‐book series. The six movies released to date
 Ybarra 2

have garnered $5.4 billion at the global box office, making Harry Potter the most profitable

movie franchise in history.” (Brown and Patterson 544). As long as this series has been around

there is not one person who hasn’t heard of the great Harry Potter.

One reason Harry Potter is a great coming of age movie is through the characters he's best

friends with throughout the series, Ron and Hermione. The characters can be treated as similar,

or close to, the complexity level of real people (Nikolajeva 34) Harmione Granger for example in

the movie “Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets” she is singled out by Draco Malfoy after

he called her a ‘Mudblood’ a mix of muggle (human) and wizard, despite being the most brilliant

in her whole class. Ron Weasley, Harry's other best friend, comes from a long line of purebred

wizards, the Weasleys, who live in poverty,but are the most humble; Harry oversees and

remains loyal to their friendship. Both always accompanied him in each adventure. As the series

gets more complex the characters develop change, a type of change that can make the dynamic

chronological or ethical.Considering her heroism “Hermione undergoes a transformation as the

series progresses (fie 151-152). “Dresang posit that early in the series, her displays of

intelligence are "annoying," but that, in the later novels as she matures, her intelligence becomes

a virtue”(Dresang 221-222) .Certainly as the characters mature and develop they go through

chronological change. They become well rounded people who you can easily identify with either

positive or negative traits, like Professor Snape or Dumbledore.

One reason The plot of Harry's life is based on tension, thriller, and dilemma is what

makes the story leave you wanting more. Harry's story began as a baby after his parents were

murdered by the dark lord, after living with his dreadful uncle and aunt for twelve years he finds

out that he's a wizard. Harry never knew who he was until after attending Hogwarts, he was

famous in the wizard world because he was the only one who was able to defeat Voldemort. As
 Ybarra 3

the stories progress, each book leads up to the final battle between Harry and Voldemort. It is

distinguished through his villainous character“His goal is to kill Harry Potter, however, because

the boy is the only true challenge to his power.”( J. K. Rowling 195). In the last book Deathly

hallows, it takes a turn of events after Severus Snape killed Albus Dumboldore. Harry was

distraught on how he was going to go up against Voldemort without guidance. As Harry,

Herminoe, and Ron quest to find the horcrux to destroy them, quickly Harry realizes that he is a

horcrux, and has to die in order to defeat voldemort. Leaving the audience on edge about what

was going to happen after Harry dies. “All of the Harry Potter films have had huge anticipation

but this is really different. We really get immediate feedback that shows us how connected the

fans are." (Mcnary 2010). The relation that fans share with the movies and books self explain

how flourishing the series is.

JK. Rawlings has built a successful empire off of Harry Potter beginning with books,

leading to movies, and building a dedicated theme park. Fans are able to connect with the

character and share transparent similarities. The empathetic experience of the reader can occur

in a number of forms and intensities, not necessarily reliant on a strong level of reader/character

resonance, or even complex characterisation.(Steining and Rewena 85). The fandom over Harry

Potter is unbelievably sustained, undoubtedly exceptional at glorifying each Potter head.

Work Cite

Brown, Stephen, and Anthony Patterson. “Selling Stories: Harry Potter and the
Marketing Plot.” Psychology & Marketing, vol. 27, no. 6, June 2010, pp. 541–556.
EBSCOhost, doi:10.1002/mar.20343.

Canfield, David. “Building a Blockbuster Book Series.” Entertainment Weekly, no.

1533/1534, Oct. 2018, p. 35. EBSCOhost, search-ebscohost-

com.libproxy.gc.maricopa.edu/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=a9h&AN=132352854&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Freier, Mary P. "The librarian in Rowling's Harry Potter series." CLCWeb: Comparative

Literature and Culture, vol. 16, no. 3, Sept. 2014. Gale In Context: College,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/A387349122/GPS?u=mcc_glendale&sid=bookmark-

GPS&xid=8fe37afe. Accessed 22 Oct. 2021.

McNary, Dave. "Doubling up on 'Harry'." Variety, vol. 420, no. 13, 8 Nov. 2010, p. 9.

Gale OneFile: Business, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A242668261/GPS?

u=mcc_glendale&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=89ac8245. Accessed 22 Oct. 2021.

ROWLING, J. K. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." Literary Newsmakers for

Students, edited by Anne Marie Hacht, vol. 3, Gale, 2009, pp. 195-216. Gale eBooks,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3234300021/GPS?u=mcc_glendale&sid=bookmark-

GPS&xid=ed4148d3. Accessed 20 Oct. 2021.

Stening, Rowena Y. Z., and Bruce W. Stening. “‘Magic and the Mind’: The Impact of

Cultural and Linguistic Background on the Perception of Characters in Harry Potter.”

Children’s Literature in Education, vol. 51, no. 3, Sept. 2020, pp. 285–308. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1007/s10583-018-9380-8.

“The Harry Potter Effect.” Earth Island Journal, vol. 32, no. 3, Sept. 2017, p. 4.

EBSCOhost,

search-ebscohost-com.libproxy.gc.maricopa.edu/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=a9h&AN=124744356&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Vezzali, Loris, et al. “The Greatest Magic of Harry Potter: Reducing Prejudice.” Journal

of Applied Social Psychology, vol. 45, no. 2, Feb. 2015, pp. 105–121. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1111/jasp.12279.