Harry Potter: Suspending Disbelief Analysis

    Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is just one of many the genre of fantasy that readers are "willing to suspend their disbelief" for the sake of the story itself. Allow me to elaborate further. How many of us like the thrill of scary movies, or of actually being scared when a ride at the amusement park? We are willing to subject ourselves to the unknown because we know that there is a reward in the thrill itself or entertainment (fun) to be experienced. When it comes to the fantastical, many of us have that tiny bit inside that still wonders...if only I could.

    At the onset of the book by J. K. Rawling, we are introduced to Harry's Aunt and Uncle, the Dursley's, and their spoiled rotten son, Dudley. They are mean to Harry and keep him from doing anything pleasant. When Harry receives mail from Hogwarts, Mr. Dursley keeps it from him. The letters keep coming, but Mr. Dursley moves the family from one outrageous place to another in the attempt to be rid of the letters. No matter where they go, the letters keep coming. Finally, when they are on a huge rock, in a shack in the middle of the ocean, Hagrid bursts through the door. He is the caretaker at Hogwarts and he arrived to personally give Harry his letter and a birthday cake (it was his 11th birthday). The scene begs the question, how did Hagrid get to the rock island, with the letter and a birthday cake? We soon discover from Hagrid that Harry is a wizard.  "'Harry -- yer a wizard'" (35), and so is Hagrid...sort of. 

    First of all, Harry's relatives treated him so awful that part of us wished for something to happen. We were willing to accept it when Hagrid gave Dudley a pig's tail because Dudley was so mean to Harry (41). So, why do we accept the implausible for realism? In her article, "The Magic of Harry Potter: Symbols and Heroes of Fantasy" Sharon Black recalls when her daughter, who was college-age, had picked up a copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and remarked that the book " had reaffirmed her faith that despite its dark recesses, the world is good, and people can overcome their difficulties and find joy" (Black, 238). Rawling uses magic to help tell the story of "power and love" as seen in the characters of Voldemort and Harry.

    Readers of all ages are able to relate to characters and the plot, which gives the story a human touch. What mother wouldn't die to protect her child, no matter the means, as Harry's mother, Lily, did for her son? Dumbledore told Harry that is was the powerful magic of her sacrificial love that gave Harry is protection (Rawling, 218). We are willing to accept the improbability because we want to believe that there is a love that strong. 

    Amid criticism that the Harry Potter series is evil because of magic and witches, Black uses the argument of Bruno Bettleheim who states, "that any child familiar with fantasy understands that these stories 'speak to him in the language of symbols and not that of everyday reality'” (239). Children love these books because there are so many situations they can relate to and identify with, especially in regard to theme, such as, being the underdog, being an orphan, being bullied, being loved, and being understood.

Works Cited

Black, S. (n.d.). The magic of harry potter: Symbols and heroes of fantasy - children's literature in Education. SpringerLink. Retrieved July 6, 2022, from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1025314919836 

Rowling, J. K. (2020). Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone. Scholastic Inc