Young Adult Fiction: May 2017

Monday, May 1, 2017

Mirror of Erised

One of the biggest life lessons and themes that Rowling lays out for her readers in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is given to Harry Potter during his Christmas break spent at Hogwarts. Harry and his invisibility cloak find themselves wandering the Restricted Section of the library looking for information on Nicolas Flamel. To evade getting caught, Harry stumbles upon an open room with nothing more in it than a magnificent mirror, the Mirror of Erised. Harry is immediately fascinated with this mirror and finds himself spending countless hours in front of it and wanting to come back night after night to gaze at what he sees in the mirror. His fascination stems from the disconnect that occurs from what he physically sees in the mirror compared with what others see. Dumbledore provides answers one night when Harry returns to gaze into the mirror, “it [the mirror] shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts… However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge nor truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible” (p. 213). Through the Mirror of Erised, Rowling suggests that dreaming and dwelling on one thing in particular can be very dangerous in this life. Throughout the Harry Potter series, Rowling continually promotes following dreams, however, this mirror provides clarity that holding onto some dreams has the ability in particular cases to be “unhelpful and unhealthy” (“The Mirror of Erised” p. 1).

Rowling uses the Mirror of Erised to showcase what living a life full of happiness looks like as well. As Dumbledore explains to Harry how the mirror works he states, “Let me explain. The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is” (p. 213). Through this discussion with Dumbledore, Rowling emphasizes the importance of contentment with the life that we lead. Rowling sets out to showcase to Harry and her readers that true contentment and lack of desperate unreasonable and unrealistic desires can lead to happiness.

Blog Guidelines

Throughout the semester, we will use the blog to expand upon the readings, to ask and answer questions, and to pursue new directions in class conversation. For those of you who may be shy, the blogspace is also an excellent place to express yourself.

I encourage you to be creative and innovative in your postings. However, as you post, please keep in mind the following guidelines:

· Postings are always due by either noon or 8 p.m. on the date indicated on the syllabus. There is a time stamp. Don’t be late (no credit for late postings).

· Postings should be 350-500 words and should incorporate material from the reading (such as small quotes or phrases, key words, or imagery). The post must clearly demonstrate that you have completed the assigned reading and thought about it. Think of the Blog Post as a mini-essay. Your responses to Blog Posts should engage with the details of that post. Explain why the post is valuable. Comment on how the post revised, strengthened, or changed your view of the novel. Feel free also to build on, or extend, the claim made by the post. Once again, quote the novel you are discussing. Each comment should be 200-250 words in length. If the post is due on Sunday, you must demonstrate that you have completed and thought about the reading for Monday; if the post is due on Tuesday, you must demonstrate that you have completed and thought about the reading for Wednesday

· Your tone may be less formal than the tone you might use in a paper, but you should remember that you are writing on a course-related blog. In other words, the blog is not your Facebook page or a personal blogspace. Please make sure that the content of your postings is related to the course, its readings, or our class discussions.

· Suggested Topics. There is no need to answer all of the questions that follow. I include them to help you think about what to write: (a) Is there a question you have about the reading? If so, ask and suggest an answer for it. (b) What did you learn from the reading? Why do you find this aspect of the reading illuminating or interesting? (c) How might you connect the reading for Monday and Wednesday? (d) You may respond to the reading and class discussion—is there anything you don’t understand? Do you have a different interpretation that we haven’t discussed in class? (e) You may also respond to one of the essay questions about the novel you’ll find posted at Oncourse.

· Respond respectfully to another person’s blog posting. If you choose to do so, please avoid personal attacks. Remember to be professional.

· Remember that the blog is a public space, accessible and available to anyone. One useful way to think about it: avoid posting anything that you wouldn’t want a future employer to read.

· Please review the course plagiarism policies, all of which apply to the blog, and remember to cite page numbers or outside sources when appropriate.

Blog postings will either receive a check mark or they will be graded. See the schedule above for details about grading blog posts.