There is no better book to
demonstrate the truthfulness of Wolfgang Iser's words about the subject-object
division than Harry Potter. When he says that the reader is "occupied by
the thoughts of the author," he could not be more correct. I'm sure many
others have experienced this within the series (it's why I believe it was so
popular); the books seem to come alive inside ones mind. At a certain point it
stops being a story and instead turns into another world that draws the readers
in. I know I felt as though I wasn't reading, but I was watching and listening
to what the characters were saying and doing. This is of course achieved
through Rowling's excellent choice of words and showing, not telling, techniques.
Like mentioned above, I do believe many readers had the same
experience as I did in being drawn into the book, but when it comes to the
connections with certain characters I am a firm believer that all of us had
different opinions and judgments towards all the characters we got to know.
For example, I have grown up in a family that does all it
can to save money. This made me empathize greatly with the Weasleys. They were
constantly buying things second hand and at times got made fun of for it. I
remember when I was that age always being worried about what people would think
of my hand-me-down clothes and my home-made, non-exciting lunches. This also
made me really despise the Malfoys for their wealth and the way they flaunt it.
For those people who may have grown up in a wealthier family, they may not be
able to understand the embarrassment or struggle of the Weasley family. Instead
they may tend to empathize more with the Malfoys.
Overall the experience one has had with reading the Harry
Potter series entirely depends on the circumstances in which they read them. No
matter what a person’s situation was when reading the books was though, I’d bet
we can all agree it didn’t decrease the enjoyment of reading the books.
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