An Epic Blog Post for an Epic Novel
As the prompt notes, Harry Potter’s EPIC quest is one that is at once familiar and unfamiliar. An orphan, who’s parents were respected and wealthy, who discovers special abilities within himself and uses them for good…Is this not the story of Bruce Wayne, James Bond, and Clark Kent?
Let’s use Bruce Wayne, the Batman, to demonstrate this point. Bruce’s parents are respected, contributing members of Gotham’s civic center – Harry’s are well known in the wizarding world, and especially within Hogwarts’ alumni base. Next, a powerful criminal network murders Bruce’s parents, whilst a dark lord kills James and Lily. For a period of time both Bruce and Harry exist in remission, until they receive an invitation to learn about the strength they posses within. Bruce is recruited and trained by the League of Shadows, and Harry goes to Hogwarts. Eventually, both are pitted against they parties responsible for orphaning them, and use what they’ve been taught to protect themselves and their communities.
These parallels make plainly obvious that even just two books in, Harry Potter’s story is that of an epic. But what is an epic without a near-infallible hero? In the first book, Harry demonstrates early on that despite his horrid upbringing, he is determined to treat others as he would like to be treated. Perhaps the first example of this is when he shares his newly found wealth with Ron on the Hogwarts Express. In the second book, Harry further demonstrates his inherent goodness by being patient and forgiving with Colin, despite the fact that by this point, he has become an establishment Hogwarts figure who could just as easily blow off this awkward first year.
The reason Harry’s orphan story makes such a captivating epic is because it compels the reader to identify with the hero. Not all of us are orphans, but for the most part, we experience strife at some point early on, and it shapes our actions down the road. Many of us can think back to a tough aspect of our childhood, and how we hopefully overcame it and contributed to OUR community.
