Measurements of Success

In his piece, Hawthorne and the "Scribbling Women," Michael Winship discusses how Hawthorne has been read over time. He talks about Hawthorne's frustration, in his own time, that he was unable to sell nearly as many copies of his own writing, as many authors who, according to him, wrote terrible and contrive works of literature. While many people would likely feel for Hawthorne, as a writer of what we now deem to be one of the ultimate "American classics," we really have to examine what he's going up against. Winship details this throughout his piece how Hawthorne's work sold over time compared to other works. While this is certainly comprehensible, there might very well be a gap between what we think to be the difference, and what actually was the case.

Keeping this in mind, I propose a more modern case. As a child of the 1990's, I like many of my peers, grew up on the Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling. Unlike my peers however, I do not obsess about these literary works to this day- I prefer to keep my childhood favorites to my childhood. While Rowling certainly inspired many of us to read with her loveable characters, easy-to-follow plot, and word choice that allowed us to not have to consult a dictionary, I would contend that Harry Potter is not exactly the exactly literary genius or even the most original of ideas. At this point, I am most likely provoking some indignant response from die-hard "Potterites" who feel quite the contrary. I am not seeking to convince anyone of my opinions on Rowling, but rather, to explain how Hawthorne might well have felt about "Scribbling Women."

So what constitutes a work that could stand to prove that Rowling is as much contemporary garbage as Hawthorne felt that The Lamplighter was? While a number of thought-provoking, intelligent pieces come to mind, I would like to compare it to a novel by Yann Martel, entitled The Life of Pi. This book focuses on many rich themes about religion, the "human condition", the value of stories, the reality of fiction, and many others. For those of you interested in a truly thought-provoking work, I strongly suggest you pick it up. While The Life of Pi is certainly somewhat well known, and has received a number of literary prizes, its success in terms of books sales, movie tickets, costumes, action figures, etc. are absoultely dwarfed by the works of J.K. Rowling. Potter fans might be quick to add that this is certainly indicative of Rowling's brilliant writing and amazing story. I would contend that Rowling's success is largely due to her ability to aim a story at a very receptive audience. She has also certainly been aided by an undeniable grassroots movement effect surrounding her writing. But hey, it works, doesn't it? I mean, she has become incredibly rich off of these stories! I will admit to being a proud owner of the books myself, and I truly did enjoy them as a child. They really got me into reading. But for me, that is where the heart of the matter lies.

The Harry Potter novels got me into reading. They served as a gateway. Most of the Potter fans my age still claim that these novels were the most incredible thing that they have ever read, and honestly, it is most likely because it is one of the only novels that they ever really read for enjoyment, perhaps because of some bandwagon effect. I used them as a stepping stone into bigger, better, and deeper literature. This is precisely where I feel Hawthorne is frustrated. He wrote the Scarlet Letter, which is one of the most philosophically interesting and thought provoking works of his time, and he did not get nearly the attention for it that he deserved because everyone else was still hung up on the "Harry Potter" of his era. The frustration he felt is palpable.

Some might think that my point of this is simply to get at this idea that Rowling is a terrible author. This is far from the point. For many children Rowling really helped begin a journey of literary enjoyment, and her stories are cherished by innumerable kids and adults. So no, don't stop loving Harry Potter. My challenge, however, is to move beyond, and to try out other ideas. Don't stop with a story you like. It wounds me deeply to see the "Favorite Books" section of the profile of many of my Facebook friends. The section reads "Harry Potter" and that's it. Its hard to believe that even someone who "has better things to do than spend their free time reading" (which amuses me then, that they picked up Harry Potter in the first place) could not find any other piece that they find as moving. My challenge to everyone is to move beyond the books of your childhood, into the "Scarlet Letters" of our day. To give appreciation not only to those authors whom we love and who are famous worldwide, but also to explore the author who is not well known, but worthwhile nevertheless.