Harry Potters offers more than entertainment

By Luara Luettger
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

I have another obsession to admit. I know I’ve taken to writing about crazy things like shed hunting and fishing with my dad, but this next obsession is pretty mainstream, at least for some people. I am head-over-heels in love with the Harry Potter series.

The weirdest thing is that lately we’ve been addressing these books in class, not for their entertainment value or to figure out whether Harry will ever kill Voldemort (I won’t give away the ending for those of you have still haven’t finished the seventh book), but for their educational value.

I realize all books have some sort of educational value, whether it’s the morals behind the book or that the book itself allows one to increase literacy skills, but when I read for entertainment, I choose not to analyze this.

However, when I was in class the other day, I was forced to, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Harry Potter is supposed to be about a fantasy world in which magic exists, and where there are animagi, talking portraits and the ability to fly.

Apparently it isn’t.

Instead, Harry Potter is a book with so much fan-fiction that the fan-fiction has its own following. While I would wait until midnight the day of the release of the book to obtain it, some people wait up to receive information about characters that J.K. Rowling never even developed in her books. Not only that, but there are Web sites springing up that allow kids to become involved in activities that impove grammar, and sites that allow children to believe they are actually a part of Hogwarts.

I don’t think these are bad by any means; I’m just shocked they exist. I know about the board games (I own one — and I’m good at it), and I know about the clothing and other paraphernalia, but I never dreamed that the Internet would allow children to become so actively involved in telling a story that has already been written.

That being said, I’m kind of distraught.

Harry Potter was just a way to escape for a bit while I pretended to ward off Voldemort and make pretty silver stags erupt from the end of my wand. I liked to speculate about the subplots and major themes, but I’m not sure anyone could do justice to a book like Harry Potter by expanding on it unless it’s J.K. Rowling herself.

I’m not trying to stifle anyone’s imagination by any means though. I think it’s great that kids are actively involved and are continuing to learn after they close the books. I just get a little bit sad when I see stories involving how Hermione and Harry got married instead of Ron and Hermione. That’s just messed up.

Although I say this, I am partaking in this pop culture phenomenon, but only for school though. For my children’s literature course, we have to select a scene from a children’s chapter book and make it into a picture book. I of course chose Harry Potter. I’m going to be as careful as possible recreating the scene though, because I wouldn’t want Neville’s remembrall to be blue, or Malfoy to turn into the good guy.

If you’re interested, I’ll have it on display in my office once I get it back next semester. Then, you can be critical of my work as I am of everyone else’s. Just please don’t tell me I ruined Harry Potter for you. Then I might really cry.

Editorial: Freedom of speech or hate crime

Luettger: Harry Potter offers more than entertainment

Seef: Remember to always wear sunscreen

Craddock: Save a pet, make a difference

Jennings: Increasing prices affect hops

Democracy Matters campaigns for fair elections

Couldn't wait for the summer at the Warped Tour