The most influential book in my life was most definitely Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,
and the series following it. It took quite a bit of encouragement to get me to
read it, however. I had loved reading ever since I could turn the pages of a
book, but for some reason, I was not drawn to the colorful and exciting world
of Harry Potter. My parents tried for ages to get me to read the books, but I
turned my nose up at them every time. In all his efforts to get me to read the
books, my dad had himself become interested in seeing what all the praise
surrounding the book was about, and decided to purchase the book for himself.
Of course I, being an avid reader, couldn’t resist a brand new book that I hadn’t
read yet, and the rest was history.
The series was inviting and intriguing, and I couldn’t help
getting drawn in. I identified with most of the characters and could see my own
personality traits in all of them. J.K. Rowling managed to create characters
that almost anyone could relate to in some way, even though most of their
trials and tribulations in life had to do with the goings-on of the wizarding
world. Despite the fact that the “main character” and hero of the series was
the seemingly fearless Harry Potter, Rowling included many other hugely
important characters that were all heroes in their own ways. She gave characters
wit, loyalty, stubbornness, and much more, showing me that you didn’t have to
be incredibly brave or smart to be a hero – you could simply be clever or know
a lot about chess, and you would be able to help save the day. Another thing
that I really enjoyed about J.K. Rowling’s characters in the Harry Potter
series were the strong female characters. As a female, it seemed like a lot of
the most important characters that I read about were males. However, the Harry Potter
series Hogwarts was full of strong heroines such as Ginny Weasley, Professor McGonagall,
Luna Lovegood, Mrs. Weasley, and of course Hermione Granger! As a young girl I
was thrilled to read about the numerous female characters who helped to save
the day in the world of Harry Potter.
I also loved Rowling’s writing style. When I was younger,
most of the books that I read used the first person perspective. Rowling’s
series was one of the fewer books that I read that used the third person, and I
was very impressed that she was able to convey the emotions and thoughts of so
many characters while not writing from the first person. In addition, I loved
how she used words quite devoid of simple, basic words to tell her story, and
her descriptions of places and characters were always so flawless and complete
that to me, the places and characters were almost tangible.
If I tried to say that the Harry Potter didn’t completely
take over most of my elementary school life, I’d be lying. Harry Potter shaped
the way that I played with friends and what I did in my spare time. I had
multiple Harry Potter-themed birthday parties. I made Harry Potter-inspired
crafts, including my own wand. I made my own spell books and practiced spells
with my sister. I made up my own stories for the characters in my head. Harry Potter
inspired many conversations with my dad, and that was probably the most
important (and coolest!) part of reading the series. My dad and I ended up
reading the series together and it was nice to be able to talk to my dad about
the books and have something in common with him.
The Harry Potter series taught me a lot when I was growing
up. I learned about the value of friendship and staying true to one’s family. I
learned about what it meant to make a sacrifice for the greater good and how
doing something to help other people could make you feel better/make you
benefit more than if you had just done something to help yourself in the first
place. Harry Potter taught me many valuable lessons and for that I am grateful.
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