I think that when Wolfgang Iser says that reading "removes the subject-object division," he is describing that experience of getting lost in a book. If the book captures your attention, instead of recognizing that what you are reading is a fictional description of events, you start to feel as if you are really there, and that these characters are your friends, and that the events are happening in the very real world around you. I think this is what made J.K. Rowling such a successful author, even within the context of the first two books of the Harry Potter series; her readers are very quickly interested and then immersed in this entire world that she has created. I also think that she has been incredibly successful and doing this regardless of differences in the individuals of her audience--this is why children and adults alike adore her series, and I very highly doubt that people experience the books incredibly differently. I think this is also why people tend to dislike "classic" novels that are fed to us in high school English classes--it is so difficult to enter a world to which you don't relate, but Rowling has created something that people love being a part of.
For example, when I was about six or seven, my mom read the first Harry Potter book to me, and, similar to falling through Riddle's diary into his memories, I felt like I was there, right next to Harry the entire time. It was almost difficult for me to separate this fictional world from my own reality, and I think this is the very thing Iser was describing. I also think that every first-time reader can't help but feel this way.
Naturally, however, perceptions change. As an adult re-reading the series for approximately the 10th time, I no longer feel like I am entering the wizarding world, but Rowling's own mind. I have grown from experiencing the magic of Harry and his friends to the magic of Rowling's brilliance. The 10th time around, I still find myself thinking, "I never noticed that before!" I am finding new connections between these two books and the events of the other 5. I imagine that this is how perceptions change for all her readers.
Regarding the second prompt, I feel that my change in perceptions has also changed my expectations about the series. For example, my first time through the series as a child, Rowling had made me so sure that Snape was after the Sorcerer's Stone that I was absolutely stunned--horrified even--that Quirrell was the real culprit, even as my mother showed me the words on the page. Naturally, when I reached the second book, I was very wary of the suspicions she raised about the Heir of Slytherin. Malfoy did seem a likely culprit, but remember what happened last time? Even as Harry and his friends suspected him, I did my best to think about who else it could be. I found myself constantly thinking about it between chapters, trying to keep up with her, finding that she had outsmarted me still at every turn.
In fact, I think the only expectation I have of Rowling now is that she will shatter all of my expectations. Her genius continues to surprise and amaze me. She draws a lot of power, interest, and intrigue by keeping her audience on her toes, but looking back through the series, I realize that the answers to these mysteries weren't pulled out of a hat, as if by magic, but that she had indeed left clues the whole time. I think this is what makes her a good author, as opposed to a cheap one, and I think this is why she is so great at eliminating that subject-object divide in readers regardless of their different perceptions and backgrounds.
No comments:
Post a Comment