HP as YA Lit

1. HP as YA Lit General Characteristics Trites article

2. HP as YA Lit • HP I and HP II have many characteristics of children’s literature. • HPIV and higher have many characteristics of YA Lit (also called adolescent literature) • HPIII is perhaps a book that transitions between the two. • Of course, categorizing literature is always fuzzy . . .

3. Don Gallo compiled a list of characteristics of most YA Lit: • I’m listing some of these; those which most apply to the HP books. • 1. The main characters are teenagers.

4. YA Lit characteristics • 2. The point of view is that of a teenager. • How would the HP books be different with a distinctly adult p.o.v.?

5. YA Lit characteristics • 3. The story is told in the voice of a teenager as he experiences the story, not from the p.o.v. of an adult looking back on a childhood experience. • How would the HP books be different if they were told in the past tense, from the p.o.v. of an adult Harry?

6. YA Lit characteristics • 4. The language and vocabulary is that of a teenager and manageable by readers of average ability. • How is the language used in HP that of the average (British) teenager? In what ways is it not?

7. YA Lit characteristics • 5. The setting is most often contemporary. • In what ways is the setting of the HP books contemporary? In what ways is it not?

8. YA Lit characteristics • 6. YA books contain characters and situations with which teenagers can relate. • Are there teen issues in the HP books?

9. YA Lit characteristics • 7. In many YA books, the protagonist’s parents (or surrogate parents) either play a minor role or are seen as “the enemy.” • Is this the case in HP?

10. YA Lit characteristics • 8. The outcome of the story is usually dependent upon the actions of the main character. • And, increasingly, • 9. The best YA books appeal to an audience of adult readers as well.

11. Roberta Seelinger Trites • Essay: “The Harry Potter novels as a test case for adolescent literature” • Trites’ argument about YA Lit is a complex one and is described in detail in her book, Disturbing the Universe: Power and Repression in Adolescent Literature. • I’ll try to present a few of her points in a clear way, hopefully, without oversimplifying too much.

12. In her article she discusses depictions of: • Death • Sexuality • Power • But all of these, ultimately, are framed by a discussion of power. • How does she say these topics are portrayed differently in works written for children?

13. Trites’ thesis: • “The Harry Potter novels are among scores of adolescent novels that inculcate in teenagers their power relative to institutions, authority, and the limits of the human body.” • YA books, in other words, are about teens learning to negotiate social systems and institutions, and their own limits within these.

14. A quote to work through: • “During adolescence, adolescents must learn their place in the power structure by experiencing each of three interrelated issues: They must learn to negotiate the many institutions that shape them, they must also learn to balance their power with their parents' power and with the power of authority figures in general, and, finally, they must learn what portion of power they wield because of and despite such biological imperatives as sex and death.”

15. Questions we can use to apply Trites’ ideas about YA Lit to the HP novels • What social institutions exist in the HP books? Examples. • When does Harry struggle with authority figures? Examples. • Does he always win? When does he win, when not, and what does he learn about the limits of power from each experience?

16. Rest of the term . . . • Monday, April 14: Writing Workshop Drafts due. • Wednesday, April 16: Essays due. • April 16 and 21: HP3 Film & discuss adaptation • April 25: Final exam 11 a.m.