Harry Potter discussion

I have not done this yet, but have been thinking about it for a while. How does Harry compare to the classic western hero using the Joseph Campbell Monomyth stages of a hero's journey.

What do you think?

The Hero with a Thousand Faces

I think so.

I AM AGREE TOO!!!!

yes of-course

We studied this in class. Harry Potter does follow the epic hero cycle. For our test, we actually had to describe why the character was an epic hero and we were given the option of Harry Potter...

But you can pick out the bits of it that follow the epic hero cycle, like(in the Sorcerer's Stone):

The Call: The letters
The Threshold: Platform 9.75
etc.

Harry being an Epic Hero is debatable. But yeah, for the most part, I would say he is. One very good example is that he has helpers: Hermione and Ron (and to some extent, other characters).

I think I could point out the all the bits that make him an epic hero if I went back throught my notes...

My English class was very interesting...

Lol, yeah, don't worry, I wouldn't make you go through the trouble of rereading your notes. :)

Using the Sorcerer's Stone:
Call to action: the letters and the owls and Hagrid smashing the door.
Supernatural Aid: The guide or magical helper here would be Hagrid.
Crossing the Threshold: Platform 9 and 3/4, where he crosses into the magical world.
Belly of the Whale: When Harry is on the train and up until he is sorted, he fears he won't be able to be a good wizard.
The Road of Trials: The classes, tests and homework, Quidditch, learning about Nicholas Flamel, the Mirror of Erised, the troll, the protection surrounding the stone, etc.
Meeting with the Goddess: The love he has for his friends when Ron and Hermione came with him and they faced the challenges when trying to get the stone.
Woman as Temptress:Note: does not have to literally be a woman. When Harry faces Voldemort, Voldemort offers to raise Harry's parents from the dead.
Atonement with the Father: (also the final battle, or the central point in the journey) When Harry faces Voldemort.
Apotheosis: Harry is resting after the encounter with Voldemort. He spends time in the Hospital Wing.
The Ultimate Boon: Voldemort is gone for now and they got tons of points for Gryffindor, causing Gryffindor to win the House Cup.
Refusal of Return: No one in their right minds would want to go back to the Dursleys when Hogwarts is an option... :P
Magic Flight: The Hogwarts Express
Rescue from Without: Ron telling Harry to come and stay the summer, giving Harry something to look forward to.
Crossing the Return Threshold: Leaving the Platform with the Dursleys.
Master of Two Worlds: "They don't know we're not allowed to use magic at home. I'm going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer..."

Percyandthekanes wrote: "Lol, yeah, don't worry, I wouldn't make you go through the trouble of rereading your notes. :)"

Haha! by the time i read that, I was already done! LOL

Not sure if I got it all right, but it was what I remember...

Lol, you pretty much got it right. I was never accustomed to some of them at school though. Most of this I learned on my own. :)

But the great thing about J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter is that, in a grand scale, you could almost do the same thing with the cycle.

My school is very strange. But we have the most amazing English teachers and... nevermind what I thought about freshman math... wasn't fun...

Lol

Jennifer wrote: "Using the Sorcerer's Stone:
Call to action: the letters and the owls and Hagrid smashing the door.
Supernatural Aid: The guide or magical helper here would be Hagrid.
Crossing the Threshold: Platfo..."

Very cool, Jennifer. I am always looking for new info when I teach Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in my Spanish class!

Thank you! :)

Wait, hang on, you teach Harry Potter in your Spanish class! That's . . . awesome! :)

I still don't understand how Harry Potter applies to Spanish, but I never had a teacher who actually taught Harry Potter as literature.

Lucky people!

Where I live, I know way to many people not allowed to read Harry Potter because it's witchcraft... Yet they all can read those vampire love stories...

I don't think teaching Harry Potter in school would go over well here...

Lol, I know about that. Even though Rowling herself has admitted she's a Christian (or was), and the morals of HP are based on Christian morals. Though I find it ironic how Harry Potter teaches about death the way Christians are also, yet it teaches it through paganism (magic). Just so nobody says anything about this, I'm not implying anything. I know Harry Potter is not pagan, and it doesn't have hidden meanings. :)

The next thing I expect is a bunch of people telling me, "What are you saying?! Harry Potter is not Pagan!" Even though I just clearly stated that it is NOT Pagan. :)

I know... :) But it's true that it isn't pagan... I have a very good friend who is Wiccan. She is a very interesting person to talk to, and she explained that her type of magic is very different. Actually, paganism and magic don't even have to mean the same thing... It can get complicated... But yeah, even if it didn't have the Christian morals (which some people around here pretend aren't in the books...), it still wouldn't really be pagan. Just an awesome fantasy story.

But my librarian once told us that someone sometime got Winnie the Pooh banned due to "magic talking animals" so...

Most of my Christian friends like Harry Potter, though.

Lol, yeah, some people just get paranoid. But the idea of magic DID come from paganism. Witchcraft was a pagan belief. And most of the ideas in HP came from that. But the morals are different.

Yep. :)

I'm paranoid about a lot of things- like being watched... I don't much like being watched... Especially by the creepy old guy who worked the wheelchair lift on my bus... Nevermind... Weird story...

But I have never been paranoid about Harry Potter...

Lol, good. No one should be paranoid about HP! It's really out there to entertain us. :)

I know right! :D

For those who wanted to know, we read Harry Potter in Spanish class( obviously IN Spanish) and study vocabulary,questions for comprehension and analysis, myths, and grammar while relating various parts to history( Nazis, Guy Fawkes day, etc.)and other stories while still writing essays and having tests. Since most of the kids have read it in English, they are able to figure out words they don't know, analyze story lines and myths as well as use higher level thinking skills in their writing. We have chocolate frogs, butterbeer, Bertie Botts beans, and chocolate cockroaches.We are sorted into houses, make banners and have competitions,guess riddles, read tea leaves, use numeration to analyze our personalities, make origami owls to send messages, etc.- all in Spanish. At the end , they make a video in their houses which can be about various parts or if Harry were in Slytherin, etc. The biggest benefit is that the kids WANT to learn and read. It helps tremendously when they go to AP Spanish Language and Literature. If a student doesn't want to do it( I have had one student not want to in 9 years), he can have alternate(boring) assignments. Many tell me it's the only reason they go on in Spanish and I have had some students study Spanish 4 and 5 at the same time because they are graduating and don't want to miss Harry Potter!

I got a spanish class in kindergarten, but then nothing until high school... At my high school, the only language classes other than english offered are college classes... My friends and I failed epically...

I think we would have done better with a Harry Potter curriculum... That class sounds amazing!!!

Of course he is :D