FOR

 Brittany Lloyd Without doubt, the Harry Potter series has earned its immortality as a classic book of literature quite successfully in the past few years. When the book was first published, JK Rowling certainly could not have speculated the monumental impact her story would have on the youth, as well as the adults, of the twenty-first century. However, this unsuspecting humility was perhaps the most notable reason for Harry Potter’s continued success. Rowling began her first novel on a train ride, with little more than a pen and a single piece of paper. Still, her uncanny ability to transform the modern world of cell phones, laptops, high definition televisions and instantaneous mobility into a fairytale (albeit, with a twist) has earned her a place among the most well respected authors of all time. Harry Potter is not only a simple child’s book or bedtime yarn. The world of Hogwarts and The Leaky Cauldron and Gringotts and Diagon Alley comes alive on the pages, no matter the age of the reader. And is it not the prestige of a remarkable writer to bring her book to life? Classic literature is remembered for its individuality and distinctive plotline. With each Potter novel, Rowling proves more and more her ability to breathe believability into the impossible. The setting and characters of her series are a product of her extraordinary imagination and history combined, rivaling that of any before them, thus proving the literary esteem of Harry Potter for decades to come.

 __**Ryan Flynn**__ : Throughout a series of seven installments , J.K Rowling's //Harry Potter// novels have consistently served as a potent advocate for the imagination of children. No other literary tale has so willingly embraced the genre of fantasy; whether it is the mystical, prestigious setting of Hogwarts, or the variety of eccentric and memorable characters, the //Harry Potter// franchise gleefully encourages its audience to engage in a universe of tantalizing creativity. In the process, it allows the younger generation to escape the difficult and mundane world of homework and teachers, and simply play as kids; in its most simplest benefit, the //Harry Potter// books provide a world for which the readers can run off to in times of stress and exhaustion. More significant, however, is the writing's ability to enrich and widen the minds of infants, to encourage them to accept and comprehend cultures other than their own. Children can practice memorization skills with the abundance of languages, spells and creatures that exist in the land of //Harry Potter//, and whether they realize it or not, this will ultimately prepare them for the thick content of world language and social studies class in school.

Through J.K Rowlings production of the seven parts of Harry Potter, the richness is the writing is shown by the intricacy of the characters. For example, Lord Voldemort is portrayed as a ruthless soul thats lives to end the life of Harry Potter which begins in the first novel. He is able to kill Harry's loving parents but fails to kill Harry. Because of his failed attempt, Voldemort lost all of his power. This weakness is portrayed by J.K Rowling by her describing him as if he was a baby which shows the metaphorical substance of her writing. "Hairless and scary looking, a dark, raw, reddish black." is used to describe the powerless and terrified Voldemort. Throughout the first six novels, Voldermort's numerous attempts to kill Harry Potter are reveals and the most surprising discovery was saved for the last novel, "//Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows//" when the reader discovers that when Voldemort attacked him as a child. a part of Harry was left on Voldemort and vice versa. With this discovery, Harry realizes that each other could not survive while the other one lives. This intricacy of the discovery is hinted within the novels with Harry being able to see Voldemort, him being able to understand snakes, and his ability to communicate and understand Voldemort so deep to the point where Voldemort invades Harry's mind at times. Voldemort's character is so strong because of the intelligence and intricacy of J.K Rowling's writing showing //that Harry Potter// deserves scholarly merit.
 * __Casey Koch:__**

__Ashley Tsung__
Harry Potter is definitely worthy of being a literary classic because of the the values that the book instills in its readers. For example, when Harry and Ron meet for the first time they are both handicapped. Harry is rich and famous but he has no family, no one that loves him and he has no idea what the wizarding world is about. Ron comes from a long line of wizards. He has family and people that love him but he is poor and does not really have a position in the world. He is always dressed in hand me downs and his mother always forgets what he likes. When Harry and Ron meet on the train, they complement each other. Harry shares his candy with Ron, who has no money and doesn't like what he has. In return, Ron explains the wizard trading cards to Harry who is ignorant to their significance. In that short period of time on the train, Harry gives Ron prestige and Ron gives Harry a sense of belonging. J.K. Rowling does this all very subtly and the underlying meaning is that because of each other, Harry and Ron are now more prepared for the harshness of the world. Rowling wants her readers to be prepared for the world as well and she does it in a fun way that children (her primary audience) will enjoy.

You do not sell millions of books world wide, grossing more then the Queen of England makes for a book composed of sugary gossip and feigned sincerity, you make that kind of money and achieve that kind of success because there is content and merit to what you are saying. //Harry Potter// is a serious piece of literature. It is a story which plays upon the use of classic archetypes and the struggles of good verse evil, mortality verse divinity and the humanity inside us all. Yes the real world is not composed of such clear black and white battles between good magic and monstrous sorcery, but then neither are Rowling's books. Harry is not all good he hates certain people, lusts for certain ideas, and is arrogant at times. And this is Rowling's most important message, and the biggest argument for the literary merit of her books. Harry is a complex character. Certainly not as flawed as Holden Calfield (//Catcher in the Rye//) or as holistically good as Jim Hawkins (//Treasure Island//), he's more real. Harry and his friends don't just appeal to audiences because of their goodness or funny quarks, but because they are interesting and convincingly real. Rowling creates solid piece literature that will live on for years after her simply with her ability to create people that have room for both growth and greatness.
 * Natalie Giguere**

In writing the seven Harry Potter novels, J.K. Rowling made sure that whoever reads her books must be able to relate to at least one of its infamous characters one way or another. Children and adolescents who enjoy reading Harry Potter are immediately reminded of their everyday life at school and at home, while adults who read the series are reminded of days when they were children in school; they probably end up reminiscing about their lives as teenagers, reflecting on the good and bad situations and how most, if not all, of the high school drama that occurred exceeded any other aspect of their lives in importance. Rowling carefully places her characters in different cliques and gives them each their own unique personalities that seem to remind us of people who we know, associate ourselves with, or even live with. She creates a tall, awkward, redhead, "the know-it-all girl, the hand-up-in-class girl,", the bully who always seems to remind you how inferior you are, the teacher who always gives you the hardest time and clearly has favorites in the classroom, the class clowns, and, of course, the kid who is just trying to fit in with the rest of his peers. Readers are immediately able to relate to Harry and his peers' problems, whether they deal with the difficulty of asking girls to a school dance or putting up with the bullies' taunts and jabs, walking around like they are superior to everyone. The Harry Potter series is without a doubt set apart from other novels due to J.K. Rowling's ability to create scenarios in which her audience can be able to relate to them, ultimately causing readers to enjoy her novels even more.
 * Renée Tornea**

__**Siobhan Kirk**__ //Harry Potter// has gained its immense popularity through its ability to transport readers to another world, not simply another life as most literature pieces do, an entirely different world-Hogwarts. The world J.K. Rowling has created is a carefully created masterpieces, its creation spanning over years and years of planning and imagination. Most famous literature today, while containing interesting plots along with memorable characters, is based in, as J.K. Rowling would put it, "muggle" world. Hogwarts, full of its Fizzing Whizbees treats, Nose-Biting Teacup pranks, and Waddiwasi spells, contains the most intricate details that deserves nothing less than scholarly attention, and literary merit. Not only was Rowling too faced with the difficulty of creating characters not yet met, and story lines not yet experienced, she went through years of determination to create an entire fantasy, yet undoubted believable world.

The fact that Harry Potter has gained immense popularity is irrefutable. Some brush this popularity off as a simple fad (does popularity equal literary merit?) but perhaps the mass of people flocking to the book actually proves the merit of the fantastical novels itself. In recent years, television screens and computers have led children away from books. A few years ago, many kids exclaimed that reading did not interest them; others had read so little that they struggled to form a position on the activity at all. However, the creativity of Harry Potter- the bewitched castle, exciting spells, enthralling characters- has rekindled a dying love for literature throughout the world. Even Harold Bloom, who denies the literary merit of the series, confesses, "at least [J.K. Rowling's] fans ... may not forget wholly the sensation of turning the pages of a book, any book." What Bloom fails to recognize is that not just any novel has the ability to transform a world of video-gaming, instant messaging children (and their parents) into avid readers. Both the realistic aspects of the novel, including relatable themes such as good vs. evil, life and death, and the influence of family, and the fantastical ones, such as the entire world of witchcraft and wizardry, blend perfectly to form an escape to readers in a world that almost seems possible. This characteristic of the Harry Potter series has drawn millions of people into the unfamiliar world of books, and, therefore, elevates the series to one of literary merit. **
 * Carly Christian

There is no denying the widespread popularity and level of recognition that the Harry Potter books have attained in contemporary society. However, this popularity is not responsible for the immense literary value that lies within the novels. Instead, it is the "toppling heap" of difficult moral subjects that Rowling addresses, as well as her incorporation of several classic themes, such as the struggle between good and evil and the balance between life and death, that help to distinguish these books as works of literary merit. Rowling's works are particularly valuable in their ability to appeal to the masses and convey these themes to a wide variety of readers from all walks of life. This kind of accessibility is created by Rowling's original crafting of the detailed and immersive wizarding world in which Harry and his friends live as well as her effective development of these characters within the novels. Although a common gripe amongst those who oppose the novels such as Harold Bloom, who claims the first book in the series, //Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone//, to have been poorly written, the relative simplicity of Rowling's diction and syntax, too, works to make the subject matter within her novels more relatable and easier to digest. When it comes down to it, a work of literary merit should be characterized by the capacity it has to teach a lesson as well as the potential it has to challenge the moral preconceptions in society. The fact of the matter is that "Rowling teaches excellent morals" and she is certainly not afraid to raise the important questions that need to be answered.
 * Kyle Moran**