Blog Post 1: What Should we Expect When Reading Harry Potter?

“Expectations are scarcely ever fulfilled in truly literary texts” (Wolfgang, 53). This statement can be considered accurate while reading the Harry Potter series. J.K. Rowling does an excellent job of allowing the reader to make his/her own expectations for what is to come in the story. But because of the series being heavily influenced by the mystery genre, as we discussed in class, these expectations are often turned upside-down by the end of the novels.

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Rowling’s audience has many expectations for the future of Harry. We expect that Harry will be rescued from the Dursleys, Draco Malfoy is going to be a thorn in Harry’s side, that Harry will accomplish great things, Professor Snape is not to be trusted, that there is a reason Voldemort killed Harry’s parents and many more. Well as a reader we quickly learn that Harry is rescued from the Dursleys, Draco is a constant annoyance to Harry, and Harry does accomplish great things. But some expectations are not met in this story as well. We still are uncertain as to if we should trust Snape, even though he did attempt to save Harry, and we still are uncertain of Voldemorts reasoning for killing Harry’s parents and attempting to kill Harry as well.

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets we expect Harry to spend the majority of the summer with Ron’s family (due to the way in which the first book ended), we expect Harry to return to Hogwarts, Malfoy is the heir of Slytherin, Hagrid is the one that opened the chamber of secrets in the first place, that Tom Riddle is a stand up individual, and many more. But as we now know Harry does not spend the entire summer with Ron, harry does return to Hogwarts but not without a multitude of problems, that Malfoy is not the heir of Slytherin, that Hagrid did not open the chamber of secrets, and that Tom Riddle was actually Lord Voldemort.

Throughout Rowling’s novels the reader is given the ability to come up with an infinite amount of expectations about what will or will not happen to Harry and his friends at Hogwarts. Some expectations are met while others are not. Some expectations prove to be completely wrong, such as the audience’s initial perceptions of individuals like Professor Quirrell and Tom Riddle. As to why Rowling chooses to fulfill some expectations and ignore others, one would assume that it makes for a much more interesting story that way. When reading a novels such as the ones in the Harry Potter series it is almost more of a satisfactory reading because expectations are not met and sometimes even turned on their heads. In my opinion, coming to the realization that Professor Quirrell was in league with Lord Voldemort made the novel that much more interesting. Also considering the expectations that are not even addressed by Rowling, such as the reason behind the murder of Harry’s parents, keeps the audience infatuated with the novels. Keeping things from the reader allows for them to retain interest in the story.