Blog Post 1 : Expect the Unexpected

Ever since the last movie came out, I've been going Harry Potter crazy. I knew the movie was going to be amazing, even though the books, of course, are infinitely better. This excitement got me on a HP kick I can't seem to get over, so when I read about the class in the newspaper, I registered right away. Luckily, I got in! On the first day of class, Professor Heller asked us who had read the series or seen the movies. I'll admit I was seriously surprised to see that some students hadn't ever read a book OR seen a movie. I really don't know how they got through the past ten years without catching the Harry buzz. Ten years, that's crazy! I remember reading the first book in third grade and thinking, alright, whats next? Then it got to the point where there weren't anymore and I actually had to wait?! Like Iser suggests, I was lost in the world of Hogwarts. There was no division between the real world and the one written in the pages. I grew up with Harry, Ron, Hermione, their teachers, and the rest of the people, creatures, and objects that make up J.K. Rowling's world. As these characters grew up and went through awkward stages, so did I, although mine seemed incredibly longer than theirs. All that said and done, I envy those students who are new to the series. I wish there was some way I could un-read all of the books and start fresh. Rereading is not the same as when you first crack open the series and it would be cool to read it fresh at a different stage in my life. It would be so different from when my third-grade self first connected to Harry feeling unsure and self-conscious... Will I be able to handle fourth grade? vs. Am I going to make the best of college and not crap out like my brothers?? More than personally interpreting the series differently, each and every person who reads the series will connect with different things and in a different way. It was hard to imagine Harry living with such horrible people and in such a horrible place -- really, a cupboard under the stairs?! -- considering that I lived in a nice house with my loving and supportive parents and three other siblings. Someone, say in foster care or even just a rough situation, would connect with Harry completely differently and that is the beauty of literature. I think Iser is right when he states that, “expectations are scarcely ever fulfilled in truly literary texts”. If everything we expected came true, there would be no point in reading something! If Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone had ended with Snape in front of the Mirror of Erised with Voldemort chillin on the back of his head, the series would have ended there for me. First of all, what a different series that would have made for, and second, boring. No one likes knowing what's going to happen. I like reading the books and thinking along the same lines as HR&H (yeah, I just did that) then getting to the end and being utterly surprised. Tom Riddle is Voldemort?!?! P-P-P-P-Professor Quirrell is hiding Voldemort under the turban?!?! OMG! That's what you look for in a novel, the "?!?!?! OMG" factor. Always, always, always expect the unexpected because in true MTV Diary form, you think you know.. but you have no idea.