Features Of Magic Realism In Harry Potter Series

Harry Potter series, written by the contemporary British author J. K. Rowling, has been in the list of bestsellers since its publication. The magic realism features play very important roles in making the book, a serial novel which is mainly made up of children s adventure stories, such a great success. Magic realism, a literary genre coming into being in the 1950s, originated from Latin America and was later adopted by some European and American writers. By representing reality through descriptions of the supernatural, magic realist writers aim to expose social problems and elucidate their political and social ideals. Though the theoretical system of magic realism is still to be perfected, some frequently manifested features of magic realist works have been vindicated. This thesis analyzes Harry Potter series from the perspective of the three universally recognized features of magic realism --- the application of unique narrative strategies, the employment of mythological archetypes, and the exposition of social problems, so as to have a better understanding of the artistic charm and social significance of the novel. The thesis is composed of five parts. The Introduction part provides a brief introduction to Rowling and Harry Potter series, a literature review of the serial novel, the theoretical foundation of magic realism, and a summary of the thesis.Chapter One explores the magic realism features of Harry Potter series through the study of the application of unique narrative strategies which mainly include the ambiguous narratives of the supernatural and the ordinary, life and death; and the juxtaposition of multiple narrative times and space. The unique narrative strategies are intended to intensify the magical atmosphere of the novel and contribute to representing reality more vividly as well.Chapter Two analyzes the mythological archetypes in Harry Potter series in light of Carl Jung s archetypal theories and explores how the employment of the archetypes manifests the characteristics of magic realism. Two types of archetypes are closely analyzed: human archetypes and animal archetypes. Human archetypes involve the Hero archetype Harry Potter and the Satan archetype Voldemort. Animal archetypes include the righteous phoenix and the seductive serpent. Employment of the these mythological archetypes shortens readers distance from mythological images and delivers to them the symbolic meanings of the mythological archetypes through their collective unconsciousness so that Rowling s writing intention is expressed.Chapter Three reveals the social issues that are hinted at in Harry Potter series and points out that it is the most typical feature of magic realist works. Of the social issues that the work is concerned with, religious tolerance, culture diversity, racism, and gender discrimination are highlighted and hence closely discussed in this chapter. Rowling alludes to social reality with the aid of magic realistic means and voices her opinion of these social issues.The conclusion briefly reviews the main content of the thesis, sums up the magic realism features in Harry Potter series and points out the significance of this paper. The analysis of the magic realism features in Harry Potter series not only provides a new perspective to study the novel, but also helps enhance readers understanding of the masterpiece as well as arouse their concern with social issues.