The first book that we will read in our course on the Bildungsroman is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I have often wondered, however, if the books were really about the title character. Certainly, he populates the pages of the seven novels that chronicle his passage through junior high to the end of prep school, Hogwarts, as it were, but Harry always seems to be the pretext to something larger. We follow Harry as he journeys to various places, watch as he participates in searches, squirmishes, and quests, listen to him as he tries to explain his world to himself, cry with him as he laments the tragic deaths of friends and family. Harry is learning about the world, and as he learns, we learn. Harry is an apt pupil, and we should pay attention to how he changes from pre-teen nose-picker to young adult, fighting his ego all the way. Perhaps the Potter books aren't about Harry at all?
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