Title (eng)
Rowling's Harry Potter and Stroud's Bartimaeus
the creation of fantastic worlds
Parallel title (deu)
Rowlings Harry Potter und Strouds Bartimäus: Die Erschaffung phantastischer Welten
Parallel title (eng)
Rowling’s Harry Potter and Stroud’s Bartimaeus : The creation of fantastic worlds
Author
Marlene Heider
Advisor
Margarete Rubik
Assessor
Margarete Rubik
Abstract (deu)
Das Ziel dieser Arbeit war festzustellen, was die Faszination der Textwelten der Harry Potter Serie von J.K. Rowling und der Bartimäus-Trilogie von Jonathan Stroud ausmacht. Beide Reihen sind erfolgreiche Beispiele der phantastischen Literatur, genannt oft auch Fantasy, wobei die Werke von Rowling vor allem in unseren Breiten wesentlich bekannter sind. Diese beiden Serien wurden in dieser Arbeit auf unterschiedliche Punkte hin untersucht. Der erste Aspekt war Kinder- und Jugendliteratur: es wurde festgestellt, dass Harry Potter mehr Merkmale der Kinderliteratur hat, während Bartimäus eher der Jugendliteratur entspricht. Die Gründe dafür sind der Stil, die Ausdrucksweise, die Erzähler und das Hintergrundwissen das notwendig ist, um die Texte zu verstehen.
Der zweite Aspekt bezieht sich auf die phantastische Literatur; die Fragen hier waren, inwiefern die Serien typische Komponenten dieses Genres beinhalten. Die Auswertung ergab, dass sowohl Harry Potter als auch Bartimäus charakteristische Merkmale aufweisen. Mythen und Legenden spielen eine bedeutende Rolle: es wird ein historischer Hintergrund der Textwelt erschaffen, in der altbekannte Elemente, z.B. aus der griechischen Sagenwelt, mit neuen Erfindungen verbunden werden. Die Helden der beiden Serien sind elternlose Kinder mit besonderen Fähigkeiten, die sich im Laufe der Serie weiterentwickeln. Diese guten Helden müssen dann das personifizierte Böse bekämpfen. Es ist typisch für die phantastische Literatur, dass die Helden aufgrund verschiedener schicksalhafter Fügungen nach einem langen und schwierigen Weg im Endeffekt ihre Welt selbstlos retten. Der Triumph des Guten über das Böse ist eines der beliebtesten Themen der phantastischen Literatur.
Die Faszination dieser Textwelten liegt partiell auch darin, dass sie in zwei Hälften geteilt sind, wovon eine der Welt der Leser sehr ähnlich ist und die andere sich dadurch auszeichnet, dass Magie dort alltäglich ist. Beide Serien sind dadurch ausgezeichnet, dass sie einen Text voller Abwechslung, Humor und Spannung präsentieren. Die Autoren schaffen eine neue Welt, in der interessante und fremdartige Geschöpfe leben und in der unmögliche Dinge durch Magie möglich werden. Es werden uralte Ängste der Menschen angesprochen, wie z.B. die vor dem Tod.
Abstract (eng)
The general topics of this paper are the fantastic worlds of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling and the Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. I assume that the Harry Potter series is familiar to everyone reading this paper, as the texts have been exceptionally successful and popular for over a decade now. The Bartimaeus trilogy, although also a bestseller, is not so well-known, even less so outside the English-speaking world. The trilogy is marketed to a similar audience as Harry Potter, meaning primarily to children and youths. A summary of the trilogy will be given at the beginning of the corresponding chapter.
Both sequences are set in worlds where magic exists, though it can only be used by certain groups. There is a split in the fantastic world between the world of the magicians, an implausible one by rational standards, and that of people without magic, which is similar to the world of the readers. The reason why Harry Potter and Bartimaeus were selected for comparison in this paper was this division of the worlds. It was one of my aims to research how the actual world of the readers and the fantastic world of the text interact.
There are more elements that the two series have in common, apart from their evident audiences and the structure of the fantastic world. Both worlds are created in a basically similar manner: through a combination of already existing myths and new, unique elements. Harry Potter and Bartimaeus feature heroes that are children or teenagers, and who become the saviors of their world from evil and devastation. There are also a number of contrasts between the two sequences of books. Apart from the discrepancy in popularity just mentioned, the biggest diversity is found in the narration of the novels, as the style and structure are particularly different. Also, the role of magic and what the magicians stand for is significantly dissimilar in both fantastic worlds.
The differences and similarities just mentioned will be among the details to be discussed below. They will be analyzed in order to determine what makes these examples of fantastic literature so interesting to the broad masses. In the course of this discussion, it will also be explored what exactly about these texts appeals to different age groups. It is apparent that the series are categorized as children’s and youth literature, but it is also clear that many adults read these books.
In this context, it will have to be asked what exactly defines literature for children and youths. The questions here are who decides which texts belong to this genre, what is seen as characteristic of it, and what problems arise connected to the expectations usually made of children’s and youth literature. Some distinguishing elements of the genre will be explored, such as the narration of the texts, the style and register, the conflict about ideology and identification, and the use of humor and action. In the course of the paper it will be interesting to see how Harry Potter and Bartimaeus compare as regards these features.
Another genre that is relevant for the discussion of these two series is that of fantastic literature, frequently also referred to as fantasy literature. Here, the clear distinguishing of some terms will be important, as the discussion of the fantastic aspects is complex and still much debated by scholars. Then, I will introduce key concepts and features of this genre, and it will be analyzed in how far both sequences contain characteristic elements of fantastic literature and how these add to the fascination of the texts.
Connected to the questions of this genre, it will subsequently be investigated how the fantastic worlds of Harry Potter and Bartimaeus were created, with special focus on the importance of myths, legends, and history. As briefly mentioned above, it will be particularly central for this paper to explore how the fantastic worlds are created and how this fantastic world interacts with our actual world. There will therefore be a large section of analysis researching the connections between the Wizarding world, the Muggle world, and the reader’s world, to take an example from Harry Potter.
After the chapters examining the theoretical backgrounds of children’s and youth literature, of fantastic literature, and some relevant text world theory, the Harry Potter series and the Bartimaeus trilogy will thus be analyzed with frequent reference to the theoretical issues established in the preceding chapters. In the last part of this paper, the two sequences will be compared and the drawing of a conclusion about their fascination will be attempted.
Keywords (eng)
RowlingHarry PotterStroudBartimaeustext world theoryfantasyfantasticchildren's literatureyouth literaturethe battle of good and evilrequisitesmythslegendsnarratorhistory in fantastic literature
Keywords (deu)
RowlingHarry PotterStroudBartimäustext world theoryFantasyPhantastikKinder- und JugendliteraturKampf gut gegen BöseRequisitenMythenLegendenErzählerGeschichte in phantastischer Literatur
Subject (deu)
Type (deu)
Persistent identifier
https://phaidra.univie.ac.at/o:1257753
rdau:P60550 (deu)
123 S.
Number of pages
127
Association (deu)
Title (eng)
Rowling's Harry Potter and Stroud's Bartimaeus
the creation of fantastic worlds
Parallel title (deu)
Rowlings Harry Potter und Strouds Bartimäus: Die Erschaffung phantastischer Welten
Parallel title (eng)
Rowling’s Harry Potter and Stroud’s Bartimaeus : The creation of fantastic worlds
Author
Marlene Heider
Abstract (deu)
Das Ziel dieser Arbeit war festzustellen, was die Faszination der Textwelten der Harry Potter Serie von J.K. Rowling und der Bartimäus-Trilogie von Jonathan Stroud ausmacht. Beide Reihen sind erfolgreiche Beispiele der phantastischen Literatur, genannt oft auch Fantasy, wobei die Werke von Rowling vor allem in unseren Breiten wesentlich bekannter sind. Diese beiden Serien wurden in dieser Arbeit auf unterschiedliche Punkte hin untersucht. Der erste Aspekt war Kinder- und Jugendliteratur: es wurde festgestellt, dass Harry Potter mehr Merkmale der Kinderliteratur hat, während Bartimäus eher der Jugendliteratur entspricht. Die Gründe dafür sind der Stil, die Ausdrucksweise, die Erzähler und das Hintergrundwissen das notwendig ist, um die Texte zu verstehen.
Der zweite Aspekt bezieht sich auf die phantastische Literatur; die Fragen hier waren, inwiefern die Serien typische Komponenten dieses Genres beinhalten. Die Auswertung ergab, dass sowohl Harry Potter als auch Bartimäus charakteristische Merkmale aufweisen. Mythen und Legenden spielen eine bedeutende Rolle: es wird ein historischer Hintergrund der Textwelt erschaffen, in der altbekannte Elemente, z.B. aus der griechischen Sagenwelt, mit neuen Erfindungen verbunden werden. Die Helden der beiden Serien sind elternlose Kinder mit besonderen Fähigkeiten, die sich im Laufe der Serie weiterentwickeln. Diese guten Helden müssen dann das personifizierte Böse bekämpfen. Es ist typisch für die phantastische Literatur, dass die Helden aufgrund verschiedener schicksalhafter Fügungen nach einem langen und schwierigen Weg im Endeffekt ihre Welt selbstlos retten. Der Triumph des Guten über das Böse ist eines der beliebtesten Themen der phantastischen Literatur.
Die Faszination dieser Textwelten liegt partiell auch darin, dass sie in zwei Hälften geteilt sind, wovon eine der Welt der Leser sehr ähnlich ist und die andere sich dadurch auszeichnet, dass Magie dort alltäglich ist. Beide Serien sind dadurch ausgezeichnet, dass sie einen Text voller Abwechslung, Humor und Spannung präsentieren. Die Autoren schaffen eine neue Welt, in der interessante und fremdartige Geschöpfe leben und in der unmögliche Dinge durch Magie möglich werden. Es werden uralte Ängste der Menschen angesprochen, wie z.B. die vor dem Tod.
Abstract (eng)
The general topics of this paper are the fantastic worlds of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling and the Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. I assume that the Harry Potter series is familiar to everyone reading this paper, as the texts have been exceptionally successful and popular for over a decade now. The Bartimaeus trilogy, although also a bestseller, is not so well-known, even less so outside the English-speaking world. The trilogy is marketed to a similar audience as Harry Potter, meaning primarily to children and youths. A summary of the trilogy will be given at the beginning of the corresponding chapter.
Both sequences are set in worlds where magic exists, though it can only be used by certain groups. There is a split in the fantastic world between the world of the magicians, an implausible one by rational standards, and that of people without magic, which is similar to the world of the readers. The reason why Harry Potter and Bartimaeus were selected for comparison in this paper was this division of the worlds. It was one of my aims to research how the actual world of the readers and the fantastic world of the text interact.
There are more elements that the two series have in common, apart from their evident audiences and the structure of the fantastic world. Both worlds are created in a basically similar manner: through a combination of already existing myths and new, unique elements. Harry Potter and Bartimaeus feature heroes that are children or teenagers, and who become the saviors of their world from evil and devastation. There are also a number of contrasts between the two sequences of books. Apart from the discrepancy in popularity just mentioned, the biggest diversity is found in the narration of the novels, as the style and structure are particularly different. Also, the role of magic and what the magicians stand for is significantly dissimilar in both fantastic worlds.
The differences and similarities just mentioned will be among the details to be discussed below. They will be analyzed in order to determine what makes these examples of fantastic literature so interesting to the broad masses. In the course of this discussion, it will also be explored what exactly about these texts appeals to different age groups. It is apparent that the series are categorized as children’s and youth literature, but it is also clear that many adults read these books.
In this context, it will have to be asked what exactly defines literature for children and youths. The questions here are who decides which texts belong to this genre, what is seen as characteristic of it, and what problems arise connected to the expectations usually made of children’s and youth literature. Some distinguishing elements of the genre will be explored, such as the narration of the texts, the style and register, the conflict about ideology and identification, and the use of humor and action. In the course of the paper it will be interesting to see how Harry Potter and Bartimaeus compare as regards these features.
Another genre that is relevant for the discussion of these two series is that of fantastic literature, frequently also referred to as fantasy literature. Here, the clear distinguishing of some terms will be important, as the discussion of the fantastic aspects is complex and still much debated by scholars. Then, I will introduce key concepts and features of this genre, and it will be analyzed in how far both sequences contain characteristic elements of fantastic literature and how these add to the fascination of the texts.
Connected to the questions of this genre, it will subsequently be investigated how the fantastic worlds of Harry Potter and Bartimaeus were created, with special focus on the importance of myths, legends, and history. As briefly mentioned above, it will be particularly central for this paper to explore how the fantastic worlds are created and how this fantastic world interacts with our actual world. There will therefore be a large section of analysis researching the connections between the Wizarding world, the Muggle world, and the reader’s world, to take an example from Harry Potter.
After the chapters examining the theoretical backgrounds of children’s and youth literature, of fantastic literature, and some relevant text world theory, the Harry Potter series and the Bartimaeus trilogy will thus be analyzed with frequent reference to the theoretical issues established in the preceding chapters. In the last part of this paper, the two sequences will be compared and the drawing of a conclusion about their fascination will be attempted.
Keywords (eng)
RowlingHarry PotterStroudBartimaeustext world theoryfantasyfantasticchildren's literatureyouth literaturethe battle of good and evilrequisitesmythslegendsnarratorhistory in fantastic literature
Keywords (deu)
RowlingHarry PotterStroudBartimäustext world theoryFantasyPhantastikKinder- und JugendliteraturKampf gut gegen BöseRequisitenMythenLegendenErzählerGeschichte in phantastischer Literatur
Subject (deu)
Type (deu)
Persistent identifier
https://phaidra.univie.ac.at/o:1257754
Number of pages
127
Association (deu)
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