Reality And Fantasy In J. K. Rowling Children’s Fiction:

Amany Abd Allah Abdel-aziz El-diasty

El-Diasty, Amany A.A. Reality and Fantasy in J.K. Rowling Children’s Fiction: A Study of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone& Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. M.A. Thesis, Faculty of Arts. Benha University, 2010.This thesis intends to analyse two widely received novels of J. K. Rowling’s (1965- ) children’s fiction: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997) & HarryPotter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998). It explores elements of fantasy adopted by the British author and how these elements reflect a sense of reality. This thesisattempts to determine, if possible, the extent to which J. K. Rowling utilises fantasyand reality in her children’s fiction in the selected works.Chapter One gives a survey to the history of children’s literature, and it traces the relationship between fantasy and reality in different literary ages and cultures,pinpointing some of the prominent viewpoints that seek to interpret this relationship.from a philosophical standpoint, the contrast between myth and reality has been amajor concern since the time of Pre-Socratics. On the other hand, Sigmund Freud andBruno Bettelheim argue that fantasy stories are important for children’s psychologicalhealth and that they provide comfort and consolation with regard to real-lifeproblems. Another view that interprets the relationship between myth and reality isthat of Max Muller who believes that myths reveal cosmological truths, suggestingthat they are originated to symbolically explain the journey of the sun from the east tothe west. However, according to the modern ’’Euhemeristic’’ view myths reveal historical rather than cosmological truth since mythic gods were representations ofreal heroes who were once so great and respected in real life that their peopleworshipped and deified them. During the 20th century, an essential viewpoint seeking to interpret the relationship between myth and reality emerged, stressing thesociological sides of myths. It argues that the function of myth is to cement social bonds by bringing disparate people together as a group. Bronislaw Malioniski stressesthat myths are charters of social customs and beliefs. The last critical attitude that gives concern to the question of myths and its relationship with reality is’’structuralism’’; a view that is not concerned with the surface of social life, but withthe unconscious foundations upon which social life rests. According to its founder, Levi-Strauss, the meaning of a certain mythic text cannot be revealed through thecontent, but through the relationships. Then, the chapter moves to the centrality ofmythical thought in literary creation (fiction) through the study of Joseph Campbell’s (1904-1987) The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1973). The book discusses ’’TheHero’s Journey’’ as a common theme throughout fantasy literature.The second part of the chapter discusses J. K. Rowling’s social, educational, and literary background and her fascination with fantasy and myth. The researchershows that Rowling approaches the concept of the Polish anthropologist, Bronislaw Malinowski, concerning her use of myths which may be meant to be charters ofsocial beliefs and ethical values in the selected works.Chapter Two considers Rowling’s limits of reality in her fictional world andhow she reflects a sense of reality through depicting some of the social issues, political ills, and contemporary concerns in her British society. She adopts manytechnical devices such as reversal, contrast, symbolism, suspense, allusion,alliteration, pun, and humour to convey her themes.The second part of the chapter answers the questions raised by some parentsand religious people about the selected works having glorified magic and black art,thus corrupting children. The chapter shows that the compensating themes such as the everlasting conflict between good and evil, love, courage, loyalty, friendship, and theimportance of choice are highly valued ethics for children and young adults.Chapter Three shows how Rowling creates a secondary world out of bits ofmaterial from different cultures such as Greek, Nose, and Celtic, yet she remains trueto the essence of each one. It also gives a vivid analysis of the names of Rowling’s engaging characters, and introduces many of her imagined creations and inventedjargon. The second part of the chapter gives a special emphasis to Harry’s character through applying Joseph Campbell’s concept of ’’The Hero’s Journey’’, and how Harry learns so many moral values in each journey he encounters in the Potter books.The thesis concludes that Rowling has created an alternative world where she skillfully blends the fantastic with the mundane. She has managed to construct theHarry Potter magical world in her contemporary nation, England. By selecting Hogwarts to be her setting, Rowling comments allegorically on her modern British society. She manages to provide a perspective of real world problems through the fantastic, gaining readers’ favour and interest. The selected books have really provedalive to Rowling society. She has outstandingly utilised fantasy as a way of exploring moral issues for children and young adults. In creating her fictional world, she drawsheavily from mythologies, an aspect which aims at creating a moral system. She utilises them to enhance and teach proper social behaviour, thus approaching Malinowski’s, A. Oden’s, Emile Durkheim’s, and William Robertson Smith’s views of myths. She also makes use of fantasy as a tool of social criticism. Since the bookshave social and moral merits, they will feature in the classic canon. Through her engaging charctersiation, whether built on real people or caricatures of others, her vividly imagined creations, her newly coined jargon, her subtle sense of humour and of course her wicked eye for details, J. K. Rowling has successfully managed to reflect the ills in her British society, without giving magical solutions to them, thuscarrying out two of the most important tasks of children’s fiction, namely to entertain and to teach.