Please address either one or both of the following prompts. Reply on a new thread, using “Blog Post #1 Response:” and your own title.
Wolfgang Iser argues in “The Reading Process” that “reading removes the subject-object division that constitutes all perception, [and so] it follows that the reader will be ‘occupied’ by the thoughts of the author […] Text and reader no longer confront each other as object and subject, but instead the ‘division’ takes place within the reader himself” (67). How might you apply this insight to the first two Harry Potter books? Reflect on the way your own experiences may alter the way you read, what interests you, and how you either identify with or fail to identify with various characters in the series. Consider how someone with a different perspective, and therefore, a different perception, may read these works differently.
Wolfgang Iser argues in “The Reading Process” that “expectations are scarcely ever fulfilled in truly literary texts” (53) because the text continually modifies our expectations about what is to come. Consider how this applies in different ways to the first two Harry Potter books. What expectations are raised? Why? What expectations are and aren’t fulfilled? Why? What is important about the choice to raise an expectation and then fail to fulfill it?
Blog Post #1 Response: "Reader's Expectations"
ReplyDeleteIn comparing what Iser says that "expectations are scarcely ever fulfilled in truly literary texts" to the Harry Potter series, one can see that this opinion can in fact relate to the series. In Harry Potter, Rowling is constantly keeping the reader's on their toes. The expectations she raises are, first off, that Harry Potter is just a "normal" boy living with the Dursely's who for some reason despise his existence, when really he is one of the most famous individuals in the wizarding world. Even though the reader is constantly rooting for Harry, Rowling makes it seem like he is set up for failure, since he essentially grew up a muggle, reader's are concerned that at Hogwart's Harry will fail and perish when it all really comes to him quite naturally. For an author it is important to create a sense of suspense and wonder because, if it were all so predictable would we enjoy the story as much? For an author, setting up expectations then failing to fulfill them is a way to create a literary emotional attachment, making the reader feel like they must keep reading in order to know what happens next.