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| Yes | 58% | 570 votes | Total: 975 votes | |
| No | 42% | 405 votes |
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Add to FavoritesOne of the main reasons why JK Rowling had been able to keep me as a die hard fan is because she keeps a grip on reality amidst the fantasy world of witches and wizards.
Unlike other children's books where it almost always ends with a "happily ever after", the Harry Potter series reflects the cruel realities of the world. I felt that most strongly when Sirius was acknowledged as an innocent man only upon his death and when Dumbledore, the greatest wizard in the world was trapped and killed by worthless Malfoy and the detestable Snape.
She instills the right characteristics and values in her characters but conveys that even the good and heroic will face terrible injustice and unjustified endings to their perfectly noble lives. That is the reality, a bulk of her teenage readers will have to learn to grapple with in their growing up years.
The developing romance between a few of her key characters is simply another way to reach out to her teenage audience. I am sure many can relate to Harry's delight and angst during his first romantic encounter with Cho and felt like the same foolish idiot when the puppy love fizzled out. Surreptitiously, she's letting her readers know that they are not the only sick love puppies out there and like Harry, they might eventually meet a soulmate in their own Ginny Weasley.
In Hermoine and Ron, she shows that love can be bittersweet. That the heroine may not necessarily do the politically correct thing of falling for the hero of the story and that sometimes, the sidekick can be a hero too. This is all very encouraging for all the boys who never made it to the football team and used to being bypassed by the girls. But this is also reality, that geeks do win sometimes in the end too.
Most importantly, it is reality that teenagers fall in love at some stage in their teenage lives. Taking romance away from Harry Potter and his friends will make them unreal and unapproachable. A book is essentially useless if it fails to provoke thoughts or convey a message. In the Harry Potter series, JK Rowling turns Harry into a reluctant magical hero and uses his life experiences to instill the right values in her mostly young readers.
The romance she has portrayed in her books has been pure, unselfish and devoted. This is the value of love we want the next generation to grow up with as opposed to having a generation of silly giggly girls who think that Prince Charming will swoop into their lives one unexpected day, fall in love with them at first sight and live happily ever after.
Learn more about this author, Georgina.S.
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No
In the tradition of superheroes, romantic relationships are almost always abounding. Still, these relationships often have to take the backseat to the superheroes destiny, which often calls for placing their own desires on hold to benefit the greater good.
When first we meet Harry Potter, he is just entering his teenage years, and learning about his true identity. During this time, he must understand and accept his hero-like role in the wizarding community, the death of his parents, and enter a new fantastical world of magic and wizardry he never knew existed, all while the evil partisans of Voldemort violently seek him in an attempt to finish him off.
Throughout the seven book series, Harry undertakes some of the most violent characters, and the safety of his closest friendsRon and Hermioneare frequently compromised due to their relationship with him. Through his endowment of magic, Harry also struggles to save the rest of the wizarding community, without their knowledge.
Although it becomes evident mid-series of his feelings for Cho Chung and later even Ginny, a full-fledged romantic relationship never truly comes to fruition.
Similarly, Ron and Hermione obviously have pent up feelings for one another, and though this tension is alluded to, little comes of it. Being the sidekicks to one of the most powerful young wizards in the community can complicate one's life considerably.
Nearly every film and story today utilizes some romantic crutch in an attempt to make it more interesting to a sexed-up society. But, the fact of the matter is that more romantically involved characters simply were not necessary. It could only have complicated things more, and made the character's lives more complicated than they already were.
The Harry Potter series may have gained faithful readership from all ages, but young adult readers were predominately targeted. A seeming escape from their own lives to become a close friend and admirer to the hero of the wizarding community, and potentially their own personal hero, it is nice to have a story our children and teenagers can read without the need of any romantic storyline. JK Rowling created a world we could all join without the need of romantic impediment.
Though crushes and dating were evident within the story, I don't ever recall reading the book and regretting that there wasn't a greater romantic link amongst any particular characters. A lack of romantic involvement simply never hurt the story, but the incorporation of it may have offended or disappointed several readers had it not, perhaps, turned out the way they preferred.
Learn more about this author, Jen M. Hernandez.
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