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"Harry and I were raised by Muggles," Hermione reminded him. "We were taught different superstitions." (DH 414)1
J. K. Rowling's world of Harry Potter-a shadow world of wizards, witches, fantastic creatures, and monsters of all sorts, a world superimposed on and coexisting beside English society of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries-has been read in a number of ways, including as social satire, political parable, and moral allegory. The novels collectively form a Bildungsroman for many so-called millennials; almost an entire generation of children has been raised watching Harry grow up alongside them. Rowling has made magic wands, dragons, and castles intimately relevant again for a generation saturated with cell phones, instant messaging, and YouTube. Structurally, the works draw significantly from mystery novels, as Harry and his friends must piece together clues that culminate in a series of revelations at the climax of each book, often involving learning the identity of the true villain of that particular installment. The combination of this structure with the schoolroom setting and its accompanying focus on books, curricular requirements, exams, and academic progression supports the often-made critical claim that the Harry Potter series is largely about learning and knowing. Knowledge in this light cannot be separated from authority figures, both legitimate and illegitimate, and from societal consensus as a whole. But in the cracks between the known and the unknown lies a blurry region of contested truths. Rowling exploits this liminal region through her inclusion of the paranormal-especially divination and cryptozoology-to raise issues of knowledge building in the individual and society. The presence of conflicting authorities and conflicting truth claims are initially puzzling to a bright, curious protagonist such as Harry, but Rowling provides implicit guidance for evaluating such claims.
Lisa Hopkins has argued that knowledge acquisition is one of the principal themes of the series. Though inherited talent does seem to play a part, it is the protagonists' perseverance in negotiating challenges to actively acquire new knowledge that fuels the narrative progression. Sarah Maier views the disciplinary and institutional structure of Hogwarts as essential to Harry's educational development-without it, the innate magical abilities of an adolescent wizard would potentially be subject to misuse through caprice, ignorance, and the passions of youth. Charles Elster agrees that "The Harry...