Comments on: Academic Nook: Revisiting Harry Potter [from the lenses of an archaeologist/social scientist]

By: Kathe

Kathe — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 03:48:19 +0000

I think it was a good decision for you to read the books and not look for any more information online. Books are meant to be read without any distractions, without having to be on guard for spoilers. I wish I hadn’t watched the movies, either, now that I look back at it; my ideas of the characters have been influenced by the actors, and as lovely as they are, I wish I still had my old images of Harry, Ron, and Hermione with me. Things like that.

After reading all seven books, this statement comes to mind – if Harry was the ego, Ron was the id, and Hermione, the super-ego.
Y’know, I’m a psychology major, but I never thought of Harry Potter in this way. Thinking about it now, shows and stories do need to have that sort of balance: the joker, the brainiac, and, well, the hero. Something like that. It actually can be more interesting than stories with the protagonists’ being love interests and merely “balancing each other out” by being opposites… which, as we know now, doesn’t really work in real life, right? Haha!

I love what you mentioned about how “the child is father of the man”, too, and how that can war with the power of choices. I pay attention to character histories and see if their development since childhood makes sense, but I tend to forget how important the act of choosing is. It makes me wonder about the Sorting, too; if people knew they could choose their own Houses, like Harry did, what would that mean for the ritual? Just a thought.

Thank you for this post.

By: B V

B V — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:25:03 +0000

I have not read any of the Harry Potter series, I had no thought either to read them but after reading this review i am motivated to read.
Review itself is captivating and compelling.
Thanks.
BV

By: Grace Barretto-Tesoro

Grace Barretto-Tesoro — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 09:19:23 +0000

Hi Patricia Tilton, Many thanks for your comments. It would be nice to reread the books after five or ten years to see if our perspectives changed.

By: Patricia Tilton

Patricia Tilton — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 02:53:09 +0000

Fabulous. This is the first time I’ve listened to an expert discuss Harry Potter in terms of archetypal roles. I have studied archetypes, and I noted them as I read. I know that I would most definitely be the super-ego, Hermione. Loved your discussion. And, I always believed that Snape acted because of Lily and didn’t betray Dumbledore. Had not made the connection of Dumbledore’s death as justice for his sister’s death. Thanks.

I enjoyed the books because I was intrigued with J.K. Rowlings writing style. I thought the books were brilliant. Others have commented that she was too controlling of the characters and left little to the imagination. I didn’t feel that way.

I read the first 3-4 books, before the movie came out, which allowed my imagination to soar. The movies, did bring something to the Quiditch games, which I hadn’t quite gotten my mind around. I found the first book magical. Each book that followedbecame a little darker, especially with book five, “The Order of the Phoenix,” and I felt the “magic” was gone. Had to read it again to appreciate it. But, as Dumbledore tried to understand Tom Riddle, what he was up to, and his discovery of Voldemort creating horcruxes — I was hooked. I was obsessed with tyring to figure out the objects, the locations they were hidden. Thought it brilliant that Harry was the ultimate horcrux — hadn’t figured that one out.

Enjoyed your post very muh. Didn’t mean to rattle on — but I loved the books. Now you’ve given me something more to think about.