Growing up with a mother who always pushes you to read rather than watch TV or play video games may have not been very fun at the time, but actually impacted my life in a much better way than it would have if she didn't. Now, I don't love reading as much as some do but this life of being "forced" to read has made me enjoy them more. The first books I truly enjoyed were the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling. first my mom read them to me at a young age because of the high level diction and the complex plots, but as time went on i began reading them more and more on my own.
One of the biggest reasons that the Harry Potter series has been so influential is because I began reading it (or having it read to me) at such a young age. Its actually the first real book I remember outside of magic tree house and that sort of books. Every night we would read until we could find a spot to stop (some nights took much longer than others) and then my mom would ask me my favorite part or what the pages were about. It took me forever to realize that she actually did this to increase my comprehensive skills, and make me remember the books a lot better, which in turn is another reason they were so influential.
Another large reason that the Harry Potter series has been so influential to so many people is because J.K. Rowling does an exceptional job creating characters, and giving each one such a different, vivid life. This allows anyone who reads the books to find at least one and usually more characters they can create a very strong bond with. For example, I really liked Ron's twin brothers, Fred and George Weasly. They weren't a perfect match to my personality, but there were similarities that I was able to relate with certain things. As a kid i loved getting into things and messing around, I never liked to just sit around, which is why school really did not interest me. This made me feel closer to Fred and George because they seemed to never just sit around, rather play pranks on people, skip class, and get in trouble.
The creation of the Hogwarts houses also allows everyone to feel some sort of a connection to the book. I always felt like I belonged to the house of Gryffindor. Whether this was because it got the best image through out the series or not, I thought that I had similar characteristics of Gryffindor members such as being a leader and being courageous. As a kid I would even take this outside of the book and try to reflect some of the actions taken in the books into the real world. It lead me to do daring things in front of my friends at recess or take risks to do fun things.
That's not it though. These seven books also taught me meaningful lessons on creating strong relationships with friends and family. The Harry Potter series is far from non-fiction, but many of the actions that ruined friendships or created feuds between characters are very relatable. They showed me the importance of staying true to friends and lessons on handling tough situations.
I've never been attached to any books like I have been to Harry Potter. It would take an absolutely fabulous book for me to turn down watching a new episode of shark week, or say no to a friend who wants to hang out, and while reading these books it happened multiple times. I would be a completely different person if it wasn't for J.K. Rowling's magnificent Harry Potter books. Combined with the bonds I was able to make with characters throughout the book, and the valuable lessons that these books taught me, I have became a better, and smarter person.
No comments:
Post a Comment