Thursday, May 16, 2013

The Power of the Word


Print by United Emporium of Kyle Louis Fletcher

By Dan Hagen
Eager to learn to read, I learned early because I wanted to read comic books for myself.
The contemporary equivalent of that literary siren song was even more effective, I believe. I don’t think we are in danger of overestimating the number of children who wanted to become proficient readers in order to share the adventures of Harry Potter.
That lure was redoubled in the texts themselves. J.K. Rowling created a Bildungsroman for Harry Potter showcasing magical power that is education-based and word-based, reinforcing the value of literacy.
So fundamentalist Christians entirely miss the point of the Harry Potter novels, but then point-missing is the single skill they have truly mastered.

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