How can you decide if a book is written for children or for adults? By the title? By the cover? What if you see an old man sitting in a subway with a book that its cover shows a little boy flying with his broomstick? He might be old, but he found something in that book, fascinating enough to make him read it on the subway instead of reading news. In the opinion of many people, the primary targets of fantasy novels are children and young adults. However, J.K Rowling with Harry Potter novels engages not only children but also people of all ages and all races. Every fantasy novel has its own world; some are darker and more mystical than others while others are full of lights, clever elves, and good fairies. Most of these worlds contain similar elements such as magic, supernatural creatures, witches and wizards. Giving the title of fantasy to Harry Potter’s books is a proper choice because this series has all of those elements and also follows the definition of fantasy by Tolkien completely. In his paper about Fairy Stories, Tolkien considers a story to be a fantasy when it has a specific criterion which is creating a new world with magical elements while all the elements of that story make sense (Tolkien, 4). J.K Rowling does her job perfectly in this area. Her work is so believable that many believe in Harry Potter’s world as if it is real and it is just mysteriously hidden away from non-magical people or “Muggles”.
In June of 1997, a new world of magic was represented to the public by J.K Rowling and made lots of children around the world wait for a promised owl from Hogwarts on their 11th birthday. Within the first year, the Philosopher’s Stone (first Harry Potter book) found enormous popularity, critical acclaim, and worldwide success. One of the first critics, Lindsey Fraser, who wrote a review on this book in The Scotsman, mentioned how this book is indeed a classic entertaining thriller and soon after a wave of positive critics found their ways into different media, praising Rowling’s style and her first book (H.Flint, 2017). Rowling used many almost forgotten myths and symbols and created a world where magic is the best gift to humanity and at the same time, the most dangerous one. Through the use of Christian myths and archetypes, the Philosopher’s Stone appeals to its audience and depicts a world where the salvation of humanity occurs through love while delivering a mystery story through a complex narrative.
Beneath the edifice of Harry Potter’s world, there is another world full of ancient creatures, old prophecies, and odd events. Just like Hogwarts and subterranean realm underneath it where the philosopher’s stone is hidden away inside a mirror, the whole world is full of multilayered stories and events. This multilayered structure engages the audience because while the familiarity of myths establishes a connection to readers the complexity of story creates a mystery that inspires readers’ affection for discovering clues and hidden meanings. The main story of the first book is based on the desire of Voldemort for finding that philosopher’s stone which can give him a physical body and an eternal life. The philosopher stone is made by Nicolas Flamel, a real who person lived in the 14th century and was known as the alchemist. Rowling cleverly uses a familiar concept and a real person to strength on her story and make it feel more real. The idea of resurrection itself came from Cristian mythology and also has roots in old Egyptian myths, but in most of those tales and stories, the critical figure who is going to save the world is the one who is having a rebirth, not the evil. Here is where Rowling creates a brilliant twist in her narrative and adds layers to her story. In contrast to all those myths, in harry potter, it is the ultimate evil, Voldemort, scared of the unknown realm of death, and incapable of feeling for others, who clings to any device to resurrect himself. He might be one of the most powerful wizards of all time, but all of his power is useless around Harry who is protected by love.
An alternative world full of magic can be exciting for anyone, but if a reader can’t relate to characters and meanings behind the story of that world, that book is going to be forgotten after a while. The world of Harry Potter is packed with dragons, potions, spell and stories but it is because of the connection that readers establish to values presented by its characters that it became one of the most influential fantasy novels in the entire history. These messages and morals can be found behind every action of multiple characters or archetypes in the Harry Potter world. Archetypes are people, animals, or creatures who aid the protagonist in her/his quest. In Harry Potter any kind of archetype is present, and amusingly each archetype follows her/his journey to save the world. They all help harry, but at the same time, their roles are as important as him. J.K Rowling by depicting Ron and Hermione as Harry’s “loyal sidekicks”, Hagrid as “eternal child”, Neville as “Everyman” explains how at the end any character can be a hero if she/he can overcome their fears and doubts, answer to their inner call and care for others. Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces states that “it is only those who know neither an inner call nor an outer doctrine whose plight truly is desperate” (Campbell,17). Here and there, in her books, Rowling summons our deepest feelings and warns us how important is to believe in ourselves, fight for our beliefs and be the hero of our story. Moreover, these novels teach its reader another important lesson, and that’s the power of common people, and insignificant creatures. The way Voldemort treats his sidekicks and common people is the reason he becomes lonely at the end. In this world, it doesn’t matter if you are an orphan child, an 8ft tall guy, desperate house-elf or not rise in a family with a “pure-blood”, you have the power to change things, and you are the reason that events follow different paths. If Neville wouldn’t step up for his friends, if Hagrid didn’t choose to tell the truth despite of his fear, or if Ron and Hermione didn’t sacrifice themselves in the underground chamber, Harry wouldn’t be able to overcome Voldemort. Through various activities in the first book, Rowling presents characters with different traits and powers and makes her readers follow those characters among dark tunnels and scary situation, feel for them and believe in their strengths and existence as if they are truly present in this world, walking among others and can be role model for any of us. Harry Potter novels assist both children and adults in acquiring values and encourage them to become beneficial contributors to their society.
Five hundred million is the number of Harry Potter’s books sold by the beginning of 2018, and they were not only in English but eighty different languages such as Mandarin, Italian, and Farsi (pottermore.com, 2018). This means that all around the world, in any group of fifteen people, at least one person has a Harry Potter book in his/her own language. Translators around the world use many techniques to make harry Potter book more appealing to different audience. Changing the name of some characters or even changing the characteristics of the western folklore in the story into local mythological rituals (newrepublic.com, 2018). For example, in the French translation the middle name of Voldemort is Elvis or in Japanese translation Hagrid speak with Tōhoku dialect and all of these changes are made to make Harry Potter books more interesting for people from different cultures. According to Christine Folch in her article Why the West Love Sci-Fi and Fantasy depicts how the West loves mystical books and movies while the East is more focus on drama and other types of mystery (CITATION). Maybe her statement is true about superhero movies or Sci-Fi Tv series that are more likable in the West, but in the case of Harry Potter, her statement only works at some degree. Her general idea of fascination about fantasy among people is absolutely true but she is not right about the locality of this fascination. The distance between London to Shanghai, New York to Delhi or Boston to Tehran is more than eight-thousand-miles, but Rowling found a way to cast a wide spell and engage the whole world, east, and west, north, and south with herself and fashioned the world with something more than a just a story; she created a global phenomenon.
The success of Harry potter’s novel is not only due to people’s longing for fantasy, myths, and magic; something more is going in these books which attracts all ages, all races, and all minds to follow the story of a young boy trying to save the world. One of the most significant reasons why these books are so popular is how Rowling uses narrative in her favor. According to Robin Stevens who herself is an author of children’s fiction, Harry Potter stories are marvelous detective stories just as much as they are “glorious, magical fantasies” (Stevens, 2014). Rowling uses a “whodunit” narration in most of the books and grabs her reader’s attention by giving them almost enough clue to figure out who stole the real Slytherin’s locket, who opened the chamber of secrets for the first time or who put the Gryffindor sword into the river. By engaging her readers in solving the mysteries, she attracts not only children but also adults into her books which are not just about hero’s quest like other fantasy books but also about crime and murder. Her complex, plot-driven stories are appealing for any kind of readers, and that’s one of the reasons that these novels have this wide range of popularity all around the world.
The fascination about fantasy books and stories is because they are a bridge between our ordinary world and a world full of unbelievable possibilities. Tolkien believes that fairy stories offer their readers recovery, escape, and consolation. Indeed, Harry Potter's books give most of these key features to their readers by including old stories about morality and resurrection while creating a sense of comfort and relief with happy endings in some of the books and the triumph of good over evil. Rowling uses the audience fascination for mystery and fantasy in her benefit and creates a world that sometimes feels more real than our world. Through recreating old myths and with the help of lovable characters, she conveys the importance of goodness and love to her readers. The world around us is constantly changing, but some stories and novels remain intact, and their messages become life’s mottos. The importance of friendship, love, loyalty, and heroism are all well-defined in different lines of the Harry potter’s novels and makes these novels go further from being just a work of fiction and turn into a life lesson for all generations. Kids read these novels and learn from it while adults found their lost dreams and hopes having a rebirth through various characters. Anyone, anywhere in the world can find someone or something in Harry Potter’s books to relate to and this is the reason that from 21 years ago until now, everywhere in the world you can find a kid, a teenager or even an adult carrying a Harry Potter book, wearing a T-shirt with Hogwarts castle on it or talking about the next Fantastic Beats new movie with enthusiasm.