Granger gets into Harry Potter's World

By Shannon Curley
Collegian Staff
February 28, 2007

John Granger first learned about Harry Potter when the oldest of his seven children asked if she could read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone nearly seven years ago. Since then, he has become a veritable Harry Potter expert. He has written three books on the series.

He now gives speeches and lectures around the country outlining his “Five Keys for the Serious Reader” which can be found in his latest book of the same title.

In his presentation, Granger gives his predictions for the final installment in the popular J.K. Rowling series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows.

Granger, a Latin teacher at Valley Forge Military Academy, came to La Salle Thursday, Feb. 22 with his daughter Sarah to speak to a group of students and faculty in the Neumann Lounge. He was asked back by La Salle professor Dr. Vincent Kling, who taught a course last semester that dealt with the Harry Potter phenomenon.

Last semester John came to campus to speak, and when I asked the students if they thought we should have him back the answer was ‘Yes,’” Kling said.

The five keys to a better understanding of Harry Potter are for the serious reader, or, Granger said, “one who reads a book more than once.”

The first key is Narrative Misdirection, in which throughout the book the readers are presented with what we think is a full picture, but in fact is really only a small piece of what we should know.

For instance, all of the books are written in third- person omniscient voice, meaning the reader only knows what Harry knows, but out of everyone in the castle, this “prince of the jocks at Gryffindor” is probably not the best source of information.

Granger says this key can also be attributed to all of the “head-slapping moments” in the series, such as when Mad-Eye Moody turned out to be Barty Crouch in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. According to Granger, Rowling uses this technique so heavily because she was influenced by her favorite author, Jane Austen.

The second key is called Hero’s Journey and Repeated Elements. Granger says that all of the books follow the same basic outline, beginning at Harry’s aunt and uncle’s house and ending at the train station on the way back. In between, there are seven to 10 specific steps that the characters always go through.

From this the serious reader can conclude that “Harry’s going back to Hogwarts” Granger said. Although in the last book he says that he is leaving for good, Granger points out that “he’s a 16-year-old boy. He doesn’t know what he wants.”

One of the topics Granger went into the most detail about was his third key, Literary Alchemy. Rowling uses traditional alchemical symbols in her books, and understanding them can allow the serious reader to better understand the sometimes subtle meaning behind her work. For instance, Hermione Granger’s initials, HG, are also the symbol for mercury, a feminine chemical. When mercury is mixed with quicksilver, the symbol for which is RW or Ron Weasley, it is called the “quarreling couple.”

The fourth key Granger discussed was the Postmodern Themes and Meanings. It is important to read the Harry Potter series with understanding that we are contemporaries of its author and understand things through the same historical viewpoint. There are groups in Harry Potter that symbolize the marginalized groups in our society.

For instance, the House Elves are considered second- class citizens. Yet according to Granger, by using the fourth key we can assume that the House Elves will play a significant part in the final installment, and rise up as a magical powerhouse because our modern society favors inclusiveness and looks down on segregation of groups.

The final key for the serious Harry Potter reader is Traditional Symbolism. There are conservative groups out there who oppose the Harry Potter series because they feel that it is contrary to the Catholic Church.

However, Granger says that a careful reading of the books reveals a lot of traditional Christian imagery. He wrote a book in which he defended the series called Looking for God in Harry Potter.

Before leaving, Granger outlined several of his predictions for the seventh book, which he based on his five keys.

One major prediction he made was that Harry’s scar contains part of Voldemort’s soul and that throughout the last book, Harry has at times been under Voldemort’s control.

He also said that he thinks Harry might wind up sacrificing himself for his aunt, and uncle, who mistreated him for so many years but, in fact, kept him protected from Voldemort his entire childhood.

“Harry Potter contains a transcendent message to which our hearts respond,” Granger said, explaining why people either love or hate the books.

curleys1@lasalle.edu