Blog Post #1 Response: Perception & Expectations

I would absolutely agree with Wolfgang Iser that "reading removes the subject-object division that constitutes all perception...", especially with the Harry Potter books. I am constantly finding myself getting lost in the world of Harry Potter, only realizing it is not my own reality when something from the outside world distracts me; a phone call, a text message, a knock on my door. J.K. Rowling has a fantastic way of drawing her readers into her world, into Harry's world, and it's hard to let go. Since I was reading the books growing up, I was the same age as Harry, Ron and Hermione. I identified with them, even though they were "wise beyond their years". Since I picked up my first copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, I always wondered "Where was my letter?" and "Why can't my life be like this?" Being 11 years old at the time, I was searching for adventure, just like Harry, Ron and Hermione were. Sometimes it seems adventure always found them, and I always wondered when my day would come to be the heroine. Someone with a different perspective could easily disagree with me. Whenever I find myself reading a book I don't want to read, I am not engaged. There is definitely a clear division between text and reader, and quite frankly, I won't read it if I have no desire to. This is why I was excited when I learned there was a Harry Potter class at UC this quarter. Finally, something I would enjoy and relate to.
I wouldn't wholeheartedly agree that expectations are scarcely ever fulfilled. It depends on what expectations are being defined as. If expectations are defined as what is going to happen, then I would agree. In the first Harry Potter novel, almost everybody expects Professor Snape to be the one who is out to get the stone. However, my expectations of the novel being exciting, fulfilling, and leaving me satisfied at the end were definitely beyond fulfilled. In the second book, I wanted Malfoy to be the heir of Slytherin. Maybe it would have given some explanation as to why his family is so evil, and why the sorting hat picked Slytherin for him before it was all the way on his head. However, because Malfoy was not the heir, it still left my expectations of reading a good book fulfilled. The importance of raising an expectation is so you are always searching for something in the story. It wouldn't be any fun to read a story where you always knew what was going to happen and there was no excitement to be found. I think the Harry Potter novels do the perfect job of just that.