Os livros da série Harry Potter tiveram seu primeiro volume publicado em 1997 e o último em 2007. Desde o princípio, a série passou a exercer um forte apelo sobre leitores de todas as idades e de todos os lugares. O objetivo desta dissertação é investigar esse fenômeno, a fim de identificar os motivos pelos quais a resposta às obras provou ser tão intensa. O corpus de investigação compreende os sete livros que formam a saga: Harry Potter e a Pedra Filosofal, Harry Potter e a Câmara Secreta, Harry Potter e o Prisioneiro de Azkaban, Harry Potter e o Cálice de Fogo, Harry Potter e a Ordem da Fênix, Harry Potter e o Enigma do Príncipe, e Harry Potter e as Relíquias da Morte. Os focos da análise se concentram em três aspectos: a jornada do herói; as diferentes formas de apresentação da ideia de morte; e o tratamento das dicotomias. Como suporte teórico, recorro a estudos sobre mitologia e imaginário, conforme tratados por Joseph Campbell; às considerações morais e estéticas de Umberto Eco sobre conexões entre os reinos vizinhos da Vida e da Literatura; e à abordagem filosófica de Zygmunt Bauman sobre nossos tempos líquidos contemporâneos. O trabalho está estruturado em duas partes. A primeira apresenta algumas hipóteses sobre a pronta aceitação da obra por parte do público leitor e expõe a base teórica sobre a qual se apoiam os arrazoados do trabalho, estabelecendo as conexões necessárias com os pontos investigados. A segunda parte contém minha leitura da série Harry Potter, centrada nos três itens propostos para análise. Ao final da dissertação, espero que minha análise possa contribuir para a discussão sobre o papel que a série Harry Potter desempenha no contexto contemporâneo e também sobre quais paradigmas atuais ela ratifica, questiona ou refuta. / The Harry Potter Books had their first instalment published in 1997 and the last in 2007. From the beginning, the series exerted a very strong appeal upon readers of all ages, and from all places. The aim of the present thesis is to investigate this phenomenon so as to identify some reasons why the response to the works has proved so intense. The corpus of investigation comprises the seven books that form the saga: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The focus of the analysis closes upon three aspects, the journey of the hero, the different approaches to death, and the treatment of dichotomies. As for critical and theoretical support I rely on studies about mythology and the imaginary, especially as presented by Joseph Campbell, on Umberto Eco‟s moral and aesthetic considerations about the connections between the neighbouring realms of Life and Literature, and on Zygmunt Bauman's philosophical approach to our liquid contemporary times. The work is divided into two parts. The first presents the necessary contextualization, poses some hypotheses about the prompt acceptance on the part of the reading public, and exposes the theoretic background on which this thesis is grounded, and establishes the necessary connections with the points investigated. The second part contains my reading of the Harry Potter Books, closing on the three items to be analysed. At the end of this argumentative thesis I hope my analysis may contribute to the discussion about the role the Harry Potter Books play in their contemporary context, and about which of the current paradigms they ratify, question or deny.

This study travels into the magical world of Harry Potter as both story and book series to explore its reception in Iran. The purpose of this study is to discover how the magical world of Harry Potter has broken down cultural boundaries and reinforced others, and has attracted many children and adults as readers in Iran, where it is read mostly through translated versions and where certain aspects of the story are censored or adapted for an Iranian audience. I will discuss how the Harry Potter series is read and received differently in Iran and North America by comparing critical responses, for example, to religion, magic, and technology in the series. By using the text-oriented branch of reader-response theory, which is supported by theorists such as Wolfgang Iser and Georges Poulet, I will explain how readers of the Harry Potter series leave their own world and engage in the world of the novel. Also, by applying the reader-centered school of reception theory, as argued by scholars such as Stanley Fish, I will discuss the role of the reader's personal life experiences and cultural background in the reading process. In order to better explore the influence of cultural communities on both readers and writers, this study will explain intercultural theories and the importance of cultural similarities and differences in both producing and interpreting a text. This study will also consider the cross-cultural factors that may affect the writing and reading processes. These factors include religious, social, literary, and historical issues which vary for readers from different countries. To discuss the intercultural reception of the series in Iran, I will analyze the Persian translations of the series as well as the important role of cultural norms and the issue of censorship in the process of translation in Iran. I am very interested in the intercultural aspects of the reception of the book series as someone who grew up in Iran and first read Harry Potter in translation there, before moving to Canada where I undertook graduate studies in comparative literature and continued to follow the series and its critical reception in English. The reception of the novel in Canada is similar to that of most Western countries and there are not enough cultural specificities to warrant a study of Canadian reception alone, except for its French translations as part of the reception in Quebec. However, as I will study further, the translations for French Canada are done in France, so I will compare translation strategies of French and Iranian translators. Contrary to Quebec, where there are currently no Quebecois translations of the Harry Potter series and where readers read translations by a French translator from Europe, in Iran readers have several translations of each volume to choose from. As a result of the issue of censorship in Iran, Persian translators of Harry Potter have to find the best possible method in order to transfer the Western series into Persian for an Islamic culture. This thesis discusses the specific challenges of translating from English to Persian, but I will also refer to celebrated theorists such as Jeremy Munday, Lawrence Venuti, Antoine Berman, and Friedrich Schleiermacher, who discuss different methods of translation, which enable French and Persian translators of the series to transfer both cultural and literal contexts in the most faithful way possible. I will compare the reception of the Harry Potter novels in the context of North American societies and Islamic Iranian society by discussing which aspects of the series are more closely studied by Western and Iranian critics and how these choices reflect different cultural norms, values, beliefs, and taboos concerning childhood and children's literature, especially in terms of gender relations and religion. As I will explain, the series has been condemned by extremist Christians in the West for prompting the dark arts and the occult. These negative critics claim that the series presents magic as fun and harmless, thus promoting sorcery and convincing children that they can use magic in order to reach their goals. Since magic is more a part of Iranian everyday culture, the series is not criticised for presenting magic in Iran, but it is marginally accused of being a Zionist plot aimed at destroying the morality of children. On the other hand, positive critics in both the West and Iran argue that the series promotes modern values and teaches morality by presenting the notions of love, sacrifice, friendship, family, and self discovery."--Résumé abrégé par UMI.

Thesis (MPhil (Afrikaans and Dutch))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series is the latest popular addition to translated Afrikaans children’s literature. Although these books have a double readership, the Afrikaans translations are primarily aimed at young Afrikaans children who either can’t speak English, or whose English is too poor to understand the original text on their own. Translating for children makes specific demands on the translator. One such demand involves the choices the translator is forced to make during the translation process by taking into account the child reader’s limited cultural experience and world knowledge. This implies that the translator cannot translate automatically by merely transferring synonyms from one language to another, but should take on the role of a cultural mediator who bridges the gaps between the source and the target cultures and takes responsibility for successful intercultural communication. This study investigates the culturally mediating role of the Afrikaans translators, Janie Oosthuysen and Kobus Geldenhuys, in a comparative study of the target texts, Harry Potter en die beker vol vuur and Harry Potter en die halfbloed prins. The proposed translation method is a functionalist approach with loyalty. According to this apporach, the translator should have a thorough background knowledge of both the source and target cultures and the functions these texts perform in their respective cultures, as well as the range of available translation strategies for a specific translation situation. Care should also be taken not to mislead the target reader. A descriptive methodology is followed, pointing out the absence of consistent translation norms and a well-planned translation strategy in both target texts, thus increasing the cultural divide between the source and the target cultures which could confuse the young Afrikaans reader.

No description available.

This paper considers the influences of fate and free will in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Current scholarship on the topic generally agrees that Rowling champions free will by allowing her characters learning opportunities through their choices. By using Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy on fate and free will and by more closely examining the Harry Potter texts, this paper demonstrates fate’s stronger presence in Rowling’s fictional world. Certain strong-willed characters rise above their peers’ fated states by embracing their personal fates and exercising their wills to create themselves within fated destinies. The paper also explores the possibility of an authority directing fate.

Syftet med denna studie är att med fokus på miljöbeskrivningar undersöka den fantastiska berättelsens samspel med verkligheten utanför romanen. Den fantastiska berättelse som står i centrum för texttolkning och närläsning är Harry Potter och De vises sten skriven av J. K. Rowling (2001). Studien visar att Rowling bland annat använder sig av den realistiska verkligheten som inspiration där en realistisk verklighet ofta förändras genom fantastiska inslag. Vid ett flertal tillfällen i romanen är samspelet så intimt att många ting och detaljer i miljöskildringar likväl skulle kunna ha skildrats i en realistisk verklighet utanför romanen.

<p>Syftet med denna studie är att med fokus på miljöbeskrivningar undersöka den fantastiska berättelsens samspel med verkligheten utanför romanen. Den fantastiska berättelse som står i centrum för texttolkning och närläsning är Harry Potter och De vises sten skriven av J. K. Rowling (2001).</p><p>Studien visar att Rowling bland annat använder sig av den realistiska verkligheten som inspiration där en realistisk verklighet ofta förändras genom fantastiska inslag. Vid ett flertal tillfällen i romanen är samspelet så intimt att många ting och detaljer i miljöskildringar likväl skulle kunna ha skildrats i en realistisk verklighet utanför romanen.</p>

Originally presented as the author's thesis--Universität München, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

The focus of this thesis is how fanfiction, an underground subculture of web literature written about popular books, films, television shows, and comics, treats the original works it derives from. In this study I will examine the ways in which fans reshape the original stories of the works they write about, and the ways in which they do not, and speculate the reasons they have chosen to do so. This project examines fanfiction surrounding three young adult novels: Twilight, The Hunger Games, and Harry Potter. I examine each of these works and their respective fanfiction in order to highlight important themes in each work and problems inherent in each story to account for the changes fanfiction writers make in their literature. I have chosen one overarching theme in the fanfiction in each fandom and will explore why fanfiction authors have overwhelmingly chosen to change the source material to suit that theme.

Thesis (Ph.D. )--Edith Cowan University, 2006. / Submitted to the Faculty of Regional Professional Studies. Includes bibliographical references.