WORLDS SUBVERTED: A GENERIC ANALYSIS OF THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE , THE SUBTLE KNIFE , AND HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY GÖKÇE TOKDEM 0R IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ART IN THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LITERATURE JULY 2008 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts. Prof. Dr. Wolf Konig Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts. Prof. Dr. Nursel 0çöz Supervisor Examining Committee Members Assist. Prof. Dr. Margaret Sönmez (METU, FLE) Prof. Dr. Nursel 0çöz (METU, FLE) Dr. Mine Özyurt K l ç (Bilkent Univ., ELIT) I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last Name : Gökçe Tokdemir Signature : iii ABSTRACT WORLDS SUBVERTED: A GENERIC ANALYSIS OF THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE , THE SUBTLE KNIFE , AND HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE Tokdemir, Gökçe M.A. Department of English Literature Supervisor : Prof. Dr. Nursel 0çöz July 2008, 187 pages This dissertation aims to study three very important works in English children’s fiction: C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe , Philip Pullman’s The Subtle Knife , the second book of his trilogy His Dark Materials, and J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. The novels will be analyzed in terms of their approaches toward the conventions of fairy tale, fantasy and romance; to this end, the novels are to be evaluated in relation to their concept of chronotope , and the quest of good versus evil. While the secondary world or multiple worlds presented are going to be analyzed in terms of their perception of time and space along with the presentation of the supernatural elements, the characters will be evaluated in terms of the common classification good versus evil . The main argument of this study concentrates on the gradual estrangement from the crystal clear distinctions of the fairy tale genre to a more shadowy, pessimistic, and ambivalent vision of the fantastic in the children’s literature. Keywords: Children’s Fiction, Fairy Tale, The Fantastic, Romance, Good and Evil. iv ÖZ ÇARPITILAN DÜNYALAR: ASLAN, CADI VE DOLAP , KESK 0N BIÇAK VE HARRY POTTER VE FELSEFE TA 1I ROMANLARININ EDEB 0 TÜR AÇISINDAN 0NCELENMES 0 Tokdemir, Gökçe Yüksek Lisans, 0ngiliz Edebiyat Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi : Prof. Dr. Nursel 0çöz Temmuz 2008, 187 sayfa Bu tez 0ngiliz çocuk edebiyat n n üç önemli eseri olan C. S. Lewis’in Aslan, Cad ve Dolap, Philip Pullman’ n Karanl k Cevher üçlemesinin ikinci kitab olan Keskin B çak ve J. K. Rowling’in Harry Potter ve Felsefe Ta 2 romanlar n incelemeyi amaçlamaktad r. Romanlar masal, fantastik ve romans anlat m biçimi geleneklerine yakla 2 mlar çerçevesinde incelenmektedir; bu amaçla eserler yer ve zaman anlay 2lar ve iyi karakterlerin kötüye kar 2 giri 2tikleri mücadele aç lar ndan de /erlendirilmektedir. Yarat lan ikincil ya da çoklu dünyalar zaman, yer ve ola /anüstü varl klar n sunumu yönünden irdelenirken, karakterler yayg n iyi ve kötü tayf nda de /erlendirilmektedir. Bu de /erlendirmeler 2 / nda bu çal 2ma, çocuk edebiyat n n masal gelene /inin keskin siyah beyaz ayr m ndan zamanla uzakla 2arak fantasti /in gri, karamsar ve belirsiz imgelerine yöneldi /ini vurgulamaktad r. Anahtar Kelimeler: Çocuk Edebiyat , Masal, Fantastik, Romans, 0yi ve Kötü. v To My Dear Husband and Family vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Professor Dr. Nursel 0çöz for all the encouragement, understanding, advice and insight she gave me throughout the entire process. Thanks to her support, working on this study was a real pleasure for me. I would like to take the opportunity to thank the members of the examining committee, Assistant Professor Margaret Sönmez and Dr. Mine Özyurt K l ç, for their suggestions and comments. My gratitude also goes to Assistant Professor Dr. J. Valerie Kennedy for always being there for me when I needed her advice. She has always been a true source of inspiration. I am also deeply indebted my dear friends Parama C. Deb and Lisa Ponzetti who introduced fascinating Philip Pullman to me; without them, I would not have been able to find a better novel to analyze. I also want to thank my family and my colleagues at for all their support. Special thanks to Burak for his encouragement as well as never-ending patience and faith in me. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM..........................................................................................iii ABSTRACT ............................................................................................. iv ÖZ.............................................................................................................. v DEDICATION ......................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.......................................................................vii TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................viii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION........................................................................... 1 1.1 Aim of the Study .................................................................. 1 1.2 Background to the Writers ................................................... 2 2. THEORETHICAL BACKGROUND ........................................... 10 2.1 The Fairy Tale .................................................................... 10 2.1.1 Characteristics of the Fairy Tale........................ 12 2.2 Fantasy................................................................................ 19 2.2.1 Characteristics of Fantasy.................................. 21 2.2.2 Fantasy in England............................................ 30 2.3 Romance............................................................................. 32 2.3.1 Characteristics of Romance............................... 32 3. PRESENTATION OF THE ALTERNATIVE WORLDS.......... 37 3.1 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe .............................. 39 3.1.1 Chronotope ........................................................ 39 3.1.2 Images of Narnia and the Supernatural ............. 47 viii 3.2 The Subtle Knife ................................................................. 56 3.2.1 Chronotope ........................................................ 56 3.2.2 Images of Lyra’s World and the Supernatural... 60 3.2.3 Images of Will’s World and Defamiliarization . 72 3.2.4 Images of Cittagazze and the Supernatural ...... 75 3.3 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone ......................... 80 3.3.1 Chronotope ........................................................ 80 3.3.2 Images of Harry’s Alternative World and the Supernatural....................................................... 83 4. FROM INTERDICTION TO REWARD: BATTLE OF GOOD AND EVIL .................................................................................. 91 4.1 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe .............................. 93 4.1.1 Good……………………………………………93 4.1.1.1 Aslan ................................................. 93 4.1.1.2 The Pevensie Children...................... 96 4.1.2 Helpers of Good............................................... 106 4.1.2.1 The Professor .................................. 106 4.1.2.2 Mr. Tumnus..................................... 107 4.1.2.3 The Beavers..................................... 107 4.1.2.4 Father Christmas ............................. 108 4.1.3 Evil................................................................... 109 4.2 The Subtle Knife ............................................................... 112 4.2.1 Good ................................................................ 113 4.2.1.1 Lyra (Belacqua) Silvertongue ........... 113 ix 4.2.1.2 Will Parry .......................................... 124 4.2.2 Helpers of Good............................................... 131 4.2.2.1 The Gyptians .................................... 131 4.2.2.2 Lee Scoresby ..................................... 132 4.2.2.3 Serafina Pekkala................................ 134 4.2.2.4 Iorek Byrnison................................... 137 4.2.3 Evil................................................................... 138 4.2.3.1 Lord Asriel ........................................ 138 4.2.3.2 Mrs. Coulter....................................... 142 4.2.3.3 Sir Charles Latrom / Lord Carlo Boreal..............................144 4.3 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone ...................... 147 4.3.1 Good ................................................................ 147 4.3.2 Helpers of Good............................................... 157 4.3.2.1 Hagrid................................................ 157 4.3.2.2 Ron and Hermione............................. 160 4.3.2.3 Albus Dumbledore ............................ 166 4.3.2.4 Minerva McGonagall ........................ 168 4.3.2.5 Severus Snape.................................... 169 4.3.3 Evil..................................................................