week 8: peer review: acudyana 10/04/06 10:10pm
acudyana 's entry (10/04) concerns the possibility of J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter series becoming classics in literature. Dyana believes that the series is destined to achieve this status due to it’s ability to capture a world-wide audience regardless of age and also the author’s creativity and characterisation. Dyana's thoughts really stimulated my own thinking- I’ve often wondered what constitutes a piece of literature becoming a ‘classic’, I don’t think this state is necessarily achieved by a text’s accessibility to it’s audience, all one has to do is take Shakespeare as an example. We all know that in the twenty first century, finding Mr. Shakey’s works an easy read would be quite a unique occurrence. In my opinion it is the universal themes and concepts which feature across Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets that have resulted in their much deserved rendering as ‘classic’ texts. One of the most significant aspects of a text that would assure its longevity would be its relevancy- The Potter series possesses universal themes that are timeless, for example, good vs. evil. In our world’s history and it’s current state of turmoil- our human tendencies are to categorise our allies and foes, or those we perceive as good and evil, ‘honourable’ (FALSTAFF!) or disreputable. This notion of theme is no doubt a crucial factor that might determine Potter’s fate. In the foreseeable future, it doesn’t appear as though these themes will ever become redundant. So- I guess the main ingredients, in my opinion, of a ‘classic’, would be books that captures aspect of the human condition in ways that make us keep coming back for more. Reading Harry potter was able to make Dyana rethink her attitude to fantasy novels and praise the books for their spirit of adventure, their ‘magic’. But the real test would be to see whether or not she actually does pick the books up again twenty years on from now and still finds them equally appealing and engaging.
mood:
intrigued