Should not J.K.Rowling be given the Nobel Prize?

Question

The Nobel Prize for literature has certainly been awarded for writings of lower quality, but my thinking is that by turning on millions of people around the globe to the pleasures of reading, she has done more for the world of literature than any other individual in the history of the prize, perhaps in the history of Mankind.

No air-brained juvenile answers please.

Answer 1

I'm not sure JK should get a Nobel but I do think she should be honored for what she has done to get kids (of all ages) to turn off the computer, put down the video games and spend some quiet time reading a good book.

My oldest wasn't much of a reader but when the first Harry Potter came out she borrowed it from a friend. Didn't see her for 5 days except to come to the table for meals. I would ask her how the book was going and we would have these marvelous discussion about books I had read when we were kids.

Answer 2

The criteria for being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature are: "the most outstanding work of an idealistic tendency" - a judgment of whether an author's oeuvre is exceptionally good and tending toward idealism. It would be hard to establish that the quality of Ms. Rowling's writing reaches the level of many previous awardees, and I believe it does not. As for the question of idealism, some would think the creator of Voldemort not so: I won't make an argument either way.

Answer 3

Perhaps in the History of Mankind? I don't think so.

There's certainly a lot of flaws in this argument. Did she turn them on to reading, or, in the traditional manner of lemmings, did people follow the crowd? No offense to her, but her books became a socially accepted brand, fully marketed and controlled by the publishers after the third book. (Part of the reason for the leaks of book 7 was that, with no other book to follow, there was no way for the bookstores to be punished for distribution/sales). In other words, to NOT like the Harry Potter series was to indicate something wrong with oneself.

Many celebrities now own a Prius in an effort to show their environmental leanings, however, they still pull up to gigantic mansions that use a lot of energy to heat and cool and maintain. While a step in the right direction, J.K. Rowling has done no more for the world of literature than the Prius has done for the environment.

Check this out:
Potter Magic Has Limited Effect On Youngsters' Reading Habits
July 11, 2007, Wednesday
By MOTOKO RICH (NYT); The Arts/Cultural Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section A, Page 1, Column , 1555 words
DISPLAYING ABSTRACT - Federal statistics show that percentage of youngsters who read for pleasure continues to drop significantly as children get older, at almost exactly same rate as before arrival of Harry Potter book series, which was believed to have inspired generation of children who read for fun; educators agree that series alone cannot turn children into readers in world dominated by instant messaging, music downloads and social networking sites; some reading experts says urging kids to read fiction in general may be misplaced goal.


So, no, she shouldn't be given the Nobel Prize. While her work is steady and her characters creative, it's also highly derivitive and workmanlike. She also hasn't done anything for the "cause" of reading. That job, ultimately and sadly, falls on parents.

Answer 4

It's great that you enjoy her books as much as you do...but, when you say things like, " she has done more for the world of literature than any other individual in the history of the prize, perhaps in the history of Mankind"...you make it very difficult to answer your question honestly...without attacking your entire premise and your obvious lack of experience w/ truly great literature...but I will try...

While I grant you that Ms. Rowling's books are cute, imaginative and entertaining...and have admittedly helped an untold number of young readers to discover the joy of becoming absorbed in a book...her collective writings are a far cry from the works of previous winners, like: Hemingway...Becket...Sartre...Steinbeck...Heese...Camus... Faulkner...Sinclair Lewis...Thomas Mann... Kipling... Shaw... O'Neil...etc.

Seriously...have you read ANYTHING by these authors? And exactly which winners of this coveted award were of a "lower quality"?? Please cite something specific instead of just showering more largely UNDESERVED acclaim on JK...at the expense of others!

You cannot compare the classic works of masterful writers who truly illuminate both strength and simultaneous frailty of the human condition...to a series of stories about an aspiring young wizard...no matter how much YOU (and others) may like them. While her books are good...there really is no comparison.

Read more ...and you'll see.

Answer 5

Sorry, no, I really don't think so. The writings are entertaining, and yes, it's good that she turned on, a lot of people to reading, but I can't say that it is in a category worthy of the Nobel Prize.

Answer 6

I don't think she should. I just can't see her in the same vein as William Faulkner, Pearl S. Buck, Ernest Hemingway, T.S. Eliot, George Bernard Shaw, John Steinbeck or Toni Morrison. She needs to prove herself past the Harry Potter books. These other writers have proven themselves. If she can write other books that are just as good as these; then I can see her up there with the rest, but for now, NO! I think she should have won a Newberry Medal, for children's literature, by now.

Answer 7

Oh, my, no. Bob Dylan should get the Nobel Peace Prize without a doubt,

Answer 8

If there's a prize for education of some kind, she's deserving of it.

Answer 9

No.

JRR Tolkein would have won it a long time ago.