British Literature Expert Available to Discuss Final Harry Potter Book
By Lori Wright, Media Relations
July 11, 2007
British literature expert James Krasner is available to discuss the seventh
and final Harry Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” scheduled
for publication July 21, 2007.
Krasner, a professor of English, can discuss the book in the context of
the genre in which it is written – British Public School novels,
a popular writing style of 19th century Britain that may be unfamiliar
to most Americans. He also can share his thoughts regarding what characters
he believes will or will not survive J.K. Rowlings’ final book.
The classic novel of British Public School genre is “Tom Brown's
Schooldays” set in the Rugby School for Boys. Others include “David
Copperfield” and “Jane Eyre.”
“The heroes in these genres simply do not die – they are
stories of development that focus on family and education. Sacrifice matters,
and important characters are sacrificed, but it’s never the hero,” Krasner
says.
According to Krasner, Rowling’s success has been through working
in these genres – giving us complicated plots, likeable young orphaned
heroes, hateable authoritarian villains, mean step-parents and humorous
minor characters. To step out of that would be like Bach shifting to an
atonal scale in the last part of a cantata – it would seem terribly
dissonant, and would undermine the structure she’s worked so hard
to create.
And Rowling is more attentive to narrative structure than virtually any
20th or 21st century novelist – she wouldn’t throw it away
just to reinforce a theme or prove a point, according to Krasner. Rowling
changes the tone of the novels, just as Dickens’ tone becomes darker
as he deals with more mature subjects in his later novels, but the basic
structure of the stories doesn’t change.
“We like this genre because it makes us happy. Justice is done,
the protagonist learns some lessons and ends up content. Harry doesn’t
get everything he wants, but he does get friends, he gets a surrogate family
in the Weasleys, he gets respect from Dumbledore, he gets recognition for
his magical powers, and he usually wins the competition he’s in,
whether it’s Quidditch or the house cup. Big holes remain in his
life, but the stories give us a sense of satisfaction. Harry dying might
make some abstract point about good and evil and the necessity of sacrifice,
but we don’t read these books for abstract points. We read them for
emotional fulfillment,” Krasner says.
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