Reading Response #3: “Harry Potter” by J. K. Rowling

Onomatopoeia

In Harry Potter, Rowling effectively uses onomatopoeia to disrupt the established scene: “BOOM. The whole shack shivered, and Harry sat bolt upright…Someone was outside, knocking to come in” (45). The word “BOOM” allows us to visualize the knocking at the door in the current scene and redirects our attention to a potentially new scene, set off by the sound.

Simile

A scent can be hard to describe but using a familiar sight and smell to the audience can create a just as accurate of a description. In the third chapter, Harry describes “the horrible smell in the kitchen” to be coming from a tub “full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in grey water” (33). By using this simile, the audience can visualize and smell the dirty rags, better communicating the scene Harry is experiencing.

Bdelygmia

In literature, an author can choose to write a humorous insult, instead of a hurtful insult, especially in children’s books like Harry Potter. To put it simply, Rowling could have written Dudley’s appearance in Harry’s eyes as an “ugly troll”; however, she chooses to describe Dudley as “a pig in a wig” (21). Because the image is quite funny, it lessens the offensive strength of the insult, creating a real, but bad insult.

Anthropomorphism

Animals may seem insignificant, especially a cat on the street. However, the author can draw particular attention to it using anthropomorphism. This technique allows the author to give human characteristics to animals, bringing them into the real life and making them seem more alive. For example, Rowling describes the cat giving “a stern look” and “reading the sign”, instead of the animal-like characteristic of “looking” (3, 6). For the purpose of Harry Potter, this technique helps foreshadows the cat’s importance in the book.

Imagery

Authors describe their settings with the senses, just as their characters and audience would in a new setting. In Harry Potter, the “broken-down house” is described as “smell[ing] strongly of seaweed, the wind whistl[ing]…and the fireplace as damp and empty” (44). This description utilizes the audience’s senses of smell, sound, sight, and touch to effectively describe the horrible setting.

Metaphor

Similar to a simile, a metaphor can also help compare things, just without the use of “like” and “as”. These literary devices can also add more emphasis and clarity to a scene. For example, when describing the color changes of Uncle Vernon’s face, they were compared to a “set of traffic lights” and “old porridge” (35). These very distinct colors help our visualization of an angry, disgusted, and scared expressions more intensely. In some ways, these colored metaphors are all we need to imagine Uncle Vernon’s emotions in this scene.

Diacope

Diacope can be used to bring extra emphasis on a particular thought. For example, in Harry Potter, it is obvious that the Dursleys absolutely hate Harry; however, Rowling puts even more emphasis when describing Mr. Dursley’s complaints: “He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects” (25). The constant repetition of “Harry” emphasizes his extreme hate for Harry.

Hyperbole

Hyperbole can make a story seem more dramatic than it really is. For example, when Pier and Dudley told the story of the boa constrictor, they exaggerated the actions of the it and what happened. In reality, the snake “snap playfully at his heels”, but in their version of the story, they told of how it “nearly bitten his leg off” and “squeeze him to death” (29). This version of the story allows for more dramatic and near-death experience. Now, it seemed to have become a cool story to tell than about the danger of it.