Being literate is a privilege which is often taken for granted. The ability to read the morning
newspaper or the subtitles of oneâs favourite soap opera is often viewed as trivial, or
incidental, and yet South Africaâs population is far from 100% literate. The youthâs
preoccupation with technology (cell phones and computers, for example) has marginalised
healthier pastimes like reading. Fortunately, this trend appears to have begun to shift: our
youth may be rediscovering previous generationsâ love of reading thanks to best-selling
authors like J.K. Rowling, Terry Pratchett, and Phillip Pullman. Consequently, the rationale
for this study is to determine to what extent (if any) a specific authorâs contribution to
literature is motivating young people to read again, and whether her texts can be deemed a
viable aid to the moral education of the youth. Thus, J.K. Rowlingâs Harry Potter oeuvre is
the main material under study, and is explored in terms of both its potential as an aid to moral
development (and the consequent lessons that can be taken from it), as well as its possible
contribution to the re-establishment of a reading culture among the youth of the twentieth and
twenty-first centuries.
The question then arises as to whether a culture of reading has, in fact, been established
among the above-mentioned group, and whether the suggested texts have played a part in
doing so. Moreover, one has to consider what moral lessons, if any, are propagated by
Rowling. On the one hand, this dissertation explores the responses of young people who
have and have not been exposed to the series in terms of their interest in and affinity for
reading, and to what extent Rowlingâs series has influenced them, if at all. As the focus of
this study is solely on Rowlingâs Harry Potter series, it is naturally not quantifiable beyond
these limitations. However, the results may still serve as a springboard for future studies. On the other hand, the focus of the study extends to areas of a more personal nature
that deal with principles such as young peopleâs responses to themes like good versus evil,
and their understanding of social and moral commentary. The opinion of certain critics, such
as Maretha Maartens who fervently denounced the texts for religious reasons, is also
considered in an attempt to verify whether young readers are exposed to moral risks by the
magical aspect of Rowlingâs work, or whether, in sharing Harryâs experiences, they form a
more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between good and evil and the
complexities of life and human relations.
From an academic point of view there is no doubt that literacy is a vital and invaluable asset
that everyone should be privileged to possess. In conducting this research, I hope to
contribute to the already existing body of data pertaining to the study of literacy and the
affinity of young people for reading. Furthermore, I intend to confer a greater sense of
credibility, from a literary perspective, on Rowlingâs oeuvre, which also addresses a number
of relevant moral concerns. I believe that the lessons learned from the texts, as well as the
companionship they lend to young people, who often feel alone and unappreciated, are not
always acknowledged. Additionally, I believe that Harry Potter is the ideal material to
prescribe to both first- and second-language speakers of English, especially at primary school
level. Apart from the moral and thematic aspects that young people of this age group will be
privileged to encounter, they will also be exposed to a body of work that contains an
impressive range of words for vocabulary improvement, and a standard of English that will
establish a reliable basis for any future studies in the language.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ufs/oai:etd.uovs.ac.za:etd-11102011-155138 |
| Date | 10 November 2011 |
| Creators | de Klerk, Danie |
| Contributors | Prof MM Raftery |
| Publisher | University of the Free State |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en-uk |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.uovs.ac.za//theses/available/etd-11102011-155138/restricted/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University Free State or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
Page generated in 0.0026 seconds