J. K. Rowling’s Continual Inspiration

Joanne Murray, known to most of the world as J. K. Rowling, is one of the biggest phenomenons in children’s literature. She got the K from her grandmother’s name Kathleen. She decided on the use of her initials J. K. as a cover so children did not know that it was a woman writing the book. She thought that if she used her real feminine name it would not have the younger boys wanting to read her writing because it was not written by a male. To them sometimes that totally excludes it from their choices of books. That may have had a positive outcome because her books are the most well-known children’s books today and it doesn’t lean one gender over the other. She uses her writing skills to connect with readers of all ages and genders on concepts that go far beyond the typical children’s novel. She knows how to say things that are relatable to the average human life even though she is writing about a fictional place and with fictional people. She is the beloved author of the seven-book series of Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling influenced people’s life and character through the publications of her Harry Potter series.

Joanne was born in Chipping Sodbury which is located in England on the date of July 31st in 1965 to her father Peter and her mother Anne. Joanne started writing at a young age, she wrote her first story about a rabbit that was named Rabbit, her creativity came later in life. Joanne has one younger sister and her name is Dianne. Her mother later died at forty-five of multiple sclerosis. She later got married to a man named Jorge and had a daughter named Jessica. They got divorced and she had little to no money. She began teaching, however got so distracted daydreaming stories in her head, instead of doing her job. She then worked for a human rights organization that went by the name of Amnesty International. Later, she went on to work at the Manchester Chamber of Commerce. She then got remarried to Neil Murray and had more kids with him. Joanne got the idea for her book in an interesting way, “it was on the train from London to Manchester when she first developed the idea for Harry Potter” (J. K. Rowling). She then began writing the book in a coffee shop with her daughter right there next to her. She knew that the “possibility of supporting herself solely by writing children’s books was slim” (Desi), but was able to do it anyways.

J. K. Rowling wrote the first book of her series, Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone which introduces the main character, Harry Potter, and the main setting which is a place called Hogwarts. Hogwarts is a school where all the students stay and live while also going to school. There he meets his new lifelong best friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. He also gets into his house, Gryffindor, which is a major part of the stories. Throughout this book Harry struggles with finding who he is and where he came from. He lived with his aunt and uncle while having very little love and compassion shown towards him. They did not care what he did as long as it was not in their way. From the start of the books all the way through the end Harry goes through major heartbreak, the death of family, friends, and mentors, and choices between what is right and wrong or good versus evil. Harry starts out in the series as a lost boy with no family but then he later goes and ends the book as a strong man who has more family and friends then imaginable. He defeated Voldemort, who was the one who killed his parents and attempted to kill him. Harry dealt with internal conflict just like every single normal human dealing with it, “Harry reflects the culture’s need for a hero who in spite of vulnerability and weakness does great things” (Prewitt).

J. K. Rowling uses her writing to inspire the everyday person. With her using “a skinny, near sighted, and abused orphan it reflects the cultural shift” that is happening within society showing that it is okay not to be perfect (Prewitt). Joanne has her 7 steps of success that are truly influential. Her first rule to stand by is “believe in yourself” if you don’t believe you can do something, you won’t. Her second is “you will be criticized anyway” so do what you are going to do without second-guessing. Next, her third would be “dreams do come true” you can make them a reality. Then, comes four being “perseverance is the key to success” the more effort you put in the greater the outcome. Fifth is “failure teaches you many things”(Desi) because “failure can bring you clarity that success often clouds” (Bethune). Carrying on with six is “take action on your ideas” do not let someone steal your shine, go through with your own plans. Lastly seven is, “life is not a checklist of achievements” if something does not go as planned and you have to move on to the next thing that is okay (Desi). She has shown that living by these keys proves success translating a lot of it into her writing. Harry never gives up and he never lets someone’s words beat him up, he learns from them.

After taking all the pieces, it is shown that although Harry Potter is a fictional series there are so many things that reflect the life of anyone who is willing to read it. Seeing that “Harry often faces humiliation and learns to survive with an amalgam of craft and courage” helps the reader understand that if Harry can go through so much and still be the person he is through out the series, anyone could be the best person they are capable of through their own trials and tribulations (Kanfer). This is based upon the fact that a hero to you no matter the fantasy they live in will have a huge impact on the way you take in the information. Joanne Murray Rowling has been inspiring people for years and will continuing inspiring and influencing the young lives of many for years and years to come.