Secondly, I still feel silly and yet increasing, overwhelming and immensely happy when referring to Harry Potter as a text, and this post feels more like a dream than a homework. So. Thanks, professors.
Getting to the point, I can't help but love the idea of be being "occupied by the thoughts" of J.K. Rowling. Doesn't that just take the reading to the next level? As readers, our understanding of the text can only be page by page, but (if I'm understanding this correctly) Iser is saying that we can fabricate our own expectations as we read, that we can understand a passage completely opposite of the next guy, but still take away the same final product. How a connection to the text itself allows for legitimate feelings and intuition to affect they way the reader anticipates the rest of the story.
For me personally, and I've discovered this more and more with the addition of the Appreciation Club on campus, I enjoy comparing Harry Potter as a literary work to other parts of literary canon (i.e. the Bible, Dickens, mythology, yada, yada, yada). I get so excited to see allusions, I mean, uhh, intertexuality (a word spell check is not recognizing, but that's what allusions are supposed to be called now, RIGHT?) as I read through this series. Rowling is the first to admit that she has been greatly influenced by handfuls of books and authors, and recognizing these in the plot gives each character and situation greater death, they become multifaceted.
I know as I read I tend to focus on Biblical imagery and parallels because I feel like the series is thick with it, and it is something I know about and enjoy studying. Especially when it comes to literature. I like sharing the connections I draw, and listening to ones from other readers I certainly would not have caught.
Being able to identify with characters in that sense is also something to take into account. Comparing to real life relationships and/or ones someone has seen or read about, gives more depth to the ones in the texts. Seeing similarities in the text and being able to attach it with something in your own mind is a great means for understanding and identifying with characters. For instance, having three older brother I can't help by LOVE and appreciate the chemistry of the Weasley brothers. And the state of their house. And their mother. And their father . . . and perhaps that is why I just can't seem to make up my mind of who is my favorite.
And, honestly, seeing these connections is what makes the story as special as it is.
It was unintentional, but I feel like just the idea of perspective and perceptions makes a great soapbox to advertise for our POTTER CLUB, because it is a hodgepodge of contradicting and sometimes rather harmonious perspectives. Please come, our discussion needs you!
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