Ever wonder why Harry Potter is so, well, magical?

shannarafan · 03-20-2004, 10:38 PM

What do you think makes it such an "enchanting" read, if you personally find it to be so?
And have you ever found it kinda funny but cool at the same time on how Harry Potter is so popular with all ages of people?
Like when I go to get the new book on the night it comes out, it always makes me laugh when I see the utter loads of people clamoring for the book.
Such a sight. XD

I'm not gonna say HP is among the best-written and deepest, most thought-provoking of books because it's not, but I do think what makes Harry Potter special is how it seems to make people think a magical world might actually exist the way it does in the HP world, it makes you wish everything that happens to Harry and co. was all happening to you too.
Not that that feeling only comes from the HP series but from the other mystical-type books I've read, it's definitely the most pronounced.

Not that it's any of my business, but do any of yall have parents who like the series?
I haven't been able to get my mom to sit down and read any of em since she's always "busy", but my pop on the other hand loves all the books.
He even likes to talk to me about them and once commented on how cool it would be if he was a part of the HP world.
If I do say so myself, I fully agreed with him.

BTW, is it just me, or does this forum always seem dead?

RobbieBond008 · 03-21-2004, 01:29 AM

I think it appeals to all ages because it's just so creative. Plus, since it gets so much attention nobody wants to be left out from a conversation, so they give it a try. My mom absolutely loves them, but I get first shot when they come out. We talk about them a lot, and 'cause I've got a better memory I make better predictions. My dad loves the movies too, so I can get a conversation outta him occasionally as well. The forum isn't dead, it's just that Harry Potter isn't the main concern here. Animes (such as Yu-gi-oh and Pokemon) as well as Trading Card Games (Magic) get the most attention.

RCG_ · 03-21-2004, 03:42 PM

Well people aren't drones. They won't read it if they don't like it. People love the thought of having power at their control or watching others have it. Why do you think animes and movies are so big? It allows people like Yugi, Ash, Wolverine, and the Terminator to have superhuman power that one can control. Harry Potter is no different. It appeals to what many of us desire - a magical world. JK's idea was original and combined the desires of people across the globe in to one great idea. Tie that in with great and sicere writing and you have a bestselling series that change the way people read.

Village Dag · 03-23-2004, 05:42 PM

Probably it's appeal. Like, why was Pokemon so popular?

Linzoy · 03-25-2004, 12:22 AM

My mom likes harry potter, but my dad thinks it's just a childrens book.

I think it's more than the idea that makes harry potter popular. Fantasy books like this wern't very popular when harry potter first came out, that's why they didn't expect it to sell. The way a story is written is a lot more important than the actual story.

Almost any book and movie I can think of is about a poor helpless victem of fate who suddenly discovers their destiny. Harry potter had no freinds or family, and then he learned he's one of the greatest wizards alive. Stories like that are espeically appealing to preteens because they're just starting to really care about what they do with the rest of their lives. The idea of forces pulling people over to the dark side also shows up in just about every book. (The sorting hat almost put harry in slytherin.) Harry potter really reminds me of star wars.

Busterslash35 · 03-25-2004, 03:14 AM

Star Wars... yea... But my parents don't read it, they think it's just another book like any other. But all of my friends read it. I think a lot of people who are into it started reading it because at the time, if you haven't read a Harry Potter book, you were weird or something. From there people got hooked. For me, I'm naturally into the fantasy stuff so it was easy for me to keep on reading.

PhoenixTail234 · 03-25-2004, 05:43 PM

My mom reads them and enjoys them, I’ve tried to get my dad to read them but he “just can’t get into them”

I don’t know about everyone else, but keeps me coming back to Harry Potter is the mystery. Whenever I finish the book I always have million questions in my head, what will happen to Harry, will we find out why Voldemort was after him, why Harry, what’s so special about him? Why him? What did he do? There’s, to me, just so much missing from the story. And I want to know what it is; I need to know what it is. There’s something else there, something that hasn’t been reviled, something that’s just below the surface. And I think that’s what keeps us coming back for more, that thirst to know what will happen next, what will happen to poor Harry.

I think another thing is, we’re so bored with this world and everything we do in life, we need to believe there’s something else out there, a world full of magic is so majestic to us. A world where you’re living everyday not knowing what will happened next or what kind of danger we will get into. It’s just so different from the world we’re used too, but at the same time, we feel like we’re going through exactly the same thing as Harry. That’s another thing, JKR writes in such a way that you feel as if you’re in the story, playing an active role, she makes you feel like you’re Harry!

All those things are what keep me coming back for more, the mystery, the world, my role in what will happen next.

Great question by the way!

shannarafan · 03-27-2004, 12:51 AM

hehe... a somewhat late response here, but I accidentally forgot. xD

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCG_

Well people aren't drones. They won't read it if they don't like it.

oh I didn't mean to make it sound like that, I just found it kinda funny how Harry Potter is so phenomenally popular with all ages of people, even though there's lots of other creative magical-type tales out there.
More than a few people diss HP because y'know, it's mainstream, but even so, I personally think HP is a work of creative genius.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixTail234

I think another thing is, we’re so bored with this world and everything we do in life, we need to believe there’s something else out there, a world full of magic is so majestic to us. A world where you’re living everyday not knowing what will happened next or what kind of danger we will get into. It’s just so different from the world we’re used too, but at the same time, we feel like we’re going through exactly the same thing as Harry. That’s another thing, JKR writes in such a way that you feel as if you’re in the story, playing an active role, she makes you feel like you’re Harry!

*nods head*
Yep, I couldn't have put it any better myself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenmixTail234

Great question by the way!

Thanks

well i guess that's the end of this thread...

I know some of the forums here get a lot of traffic but when you compare this board to most others here, it really is dead. O_O
It's a pity, since it used to be so busy back when i first found it on the old board and you'd think it'd be more active, what with how popular this series is and how many people come to Pojo's. O.o

Busterslash35 · 03-27-2004, 02:51 AM

It won't be as dead when June 4 rolls around and especially after the next book is released.

Charninja · 04-27-2004, 11:34 PM

Don't you people know anything! Rowling is perverting your minds with satanism! she will doom your souls to the firey pit of Hell! God has commanded me to command you to stop reading anything remotely unrelated to God and all His Glory at once!

At least.... that's what some guy wearing 15 jackets at once with gloves that had the fingers torn off of them told me. In Tucson. Last July. In a K-Mart parking lot.

pedrobobo · 04-28-2004, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shannarafan

I know some of the forums here get a lot of traffic but when you compare this board to most others here, it really is dead. O_O
It's a pity, since it used to be so busy back when i first found it on the old board and you'd think it'd be more active, what with how popular this series is and how many people come to Pojo's. O.o

I remember how active the old boards were...

but then again... I started posting on the old boards right after the 5th book came out... that may have had something to do with the "popularity" of the board back then.... nah

at least RCG_ (Retrained Celtic Guardian?) still makes lots of posts and stuff...