Throughout human history the demographics of our societies has changed as we have developed. Today different societies are at different points along this demographic transition. For example developed nations like Japan and the UK, typically have a low birthrate and long life expectancy making children only a small proportion of the population, ( Read more... )

How to get it right - and how it gets wrong:

http://wemyss.livejournal.com/79776.html

SEVENTEEN
Yeah Right, Brimstone. Don't Be Talking About No Brimstone. I Know What I Smelt and It Wasn't No Brimstone and It Didn't Come Off No Stone Neither.
Harry interacts with a Dragon.

PS/SS - Norwegian Ridgeback

QUOTE
Ron and Hermione argued all the way to Herbology and in the end, Hermione agreed to run down to Hagrid’s with the other two ( Read more... )

NINE
Scar Face
The characteristics of Harry’s scar change considerably.

PS/SS - Burning

QUOTE
Harry, who was starting to feel warm and sleepy, looked up at the High Table again. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet. Professor McGonagall was talking to Profesor Dumbledore. Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban, was talking to a teacher with ( Read more... )

Seeing the Forest
Part ONE
Mirroring Books 1, 4, & 7

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
One thing to remember while reading Harry Potter is that it is a series-a set of books that together tell one story. “Can’t see the forest for the trees,” is something Rowling has said once and I couldn’t agree more because each book represents a completely unique tree ( Read more... )

Title A Possible Influence on Rowling?
Author mary-j-59
Category and length Essay, about 1850 words
credits and warnings Thanks to my sister, who inspired this! No warnings; completely g-rated
Summary As we think about the Harry Potter books, many of us have noted the influence of other authors - C.S. Lewis, Goudge, Jane Austen, Emily Bronte ( Read more... )

I wrote an essay called "Contradicting Elizabeth E. Heilman" in which I disagree with her 2003 essay Blue Wizards and Pink Witches: Representations of Gender Identity and Power. The link is here.

http://wemyss.livejournal.com/52577.html#cutid1

As many of us know, most fantasy books come in series. That is because in fantasy stories you have to present the readers with a new world, different from the one they live in, make the new world understood by them and also tell a story. All that is very hard to do in just one book.

Today, everything that comes in three is called a trilogy, ( Read more... )

I have corrected the following mistaken information on this post, namely ( Read more... )