J.K. Rowling: Her Culture's Influence

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J. K. Rowling: Her Culture’s Influence The often quoted First Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru once said, “The art of a people is a true mirror to their minds.” (Think Exist 1) This is certainly true for one of the great artists of this century, Joanne "Jo" Murray, née Rowling who was born on July 13, 1965 in Yate, Gloucestershire, England. She is the British writer of the internationally famous series of children's fantasy stories about the adventures of the boy wizard Harry Potter. The Potter books have won multiple awards and sold nearly four hundred million copies. Rowling’s choice of fantasy and witchcraft as themes instead of Christianity for the Harry Potter series was a direct result of changes in British culture during her childhood, the influence of the philosophies of Humanism and New Age and her admiration of the works of C. S. Lewis, who was a leading British fantasy author of his day. Therefore, her stories are a mirror of her culture and her experiences. Changes in British Culture during the late twentieth century had a dramatic affect on its people and their art. All of Europe was deeply affected by Nazi racism, ethnic cleansing and murderous destruction. J. K. Rowling’s British culture was greatly changed by the devastation of its country as a result of World War II. The following generations after the war were small populations due to the high rate of emigration and death from the battles and bombs. There were far less people to influence the culture and those who remained behind were cynical towards the world and religion. They felt separated from the old traditions and began to rebel in thought and action. According to the British Humanist Association, beginning in the later part of the twentieth century in spite of continued laws against blasphemy, artists and philosophers started to challenge religious influence and
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