An Analysis On Self-identity Pursuit In Harry Potter Series From The Perspective Of Pierre Bourdieu’s Theory Of "Field-habitus"

There are no other children novels which are as overwhelmingly popular andfuriously controversial as Harry Potter series. Their success is no accident. Thispaper will examine the Magic world constructed in Harry Potter’s world. With theexploration of the relationship of the Magic world and the real world, we’ll find thatthe Magic world is not only a safe world to expose the reality of adulthood tochildren, but also is another version of our world. Thus the Magic world ismeaningful to the real world, instead of a mere construction in the fantasy. Becausethe Magic world is closely related to the real society, this paper is trying to analyzethe Magic world with Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of field-habitus. During the analyzingprocess, more similarities between the Magic world and real world are found.By accepting the construction of Magic world in Harry Potter’s stories, theyounger readers unconsciously understand and accept the field construction. Themain characters in the series are in the adolescence, which is a key stage ofself-identity development. And the fields constructed with parents, with friends,with the schoolmates and teachers, and with other social members impose greatinfluence on the self-identity, varying in different degree. Individual has to balancethe opposite strength in the field and find the identity. Though the influence of thefield is significant, the individual does not receive the influence passively. Instead,the subjectivity exerts its function and helps the individual making different choiceeven under the impact of the field. But before the choice, there are always innerstruggle, one self has to battle the inner “otherness” to remain the unity. The paperalso uses the examples from Harry Potter to state the inner struggle in thedevelopment of one’s self-identity.