Breaking Dawn
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Twilight v. Harry Potter?
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Kat
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rated it 2 stars
Aug 06, 2008 12:28PM
The media is having a field day comparing this series to Harry Potter. What do others think of this comparison?
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comical! ludicrous! preposterous! outrageous! absurd! laughable! idiotic! irrational! illogical! imbecilic! asinine! ridiculous!
...I just laughed for five minutes.I think you've summed it up perfectly.
This is by the far the thing that aggravates me the most. JK Rowling is untouchable genius. From the first chapter she had the whole story laid out and even knows the background stories for minor characters giving them tremendous depth. So much depth that the second time through the series is a completely different experience (Dumbledore's instead of Harry's). Her imagination alone, and the care she takes to solidify it, is amazing. I appreciate the messages she consciously made knowing her position as role model such as the boundaries of young romance and her feminine heroine: smart and stable instead of shallow. It is rare to find a author who possesses both imagination and eloquence. I praise JK Rowling a hundred times over for bringing kids back to reading.
OK Stephenie Meyer has brought many women back to reading and for that I give her tremendous credit. I think she is extremely creative and a good story teller. But she is not a good writer, by her own admission. The dialogue alone makes me cringe. I'm not just saying that because I have a hard time swallowing cheese. The holes in her plot and her inability to carry through with her own canon is disappointing. Her characters are wishy washy and shallow without much variance sending the message that girls need to be saved and boys need to be overbearing. Her story never seemed to have a definitive end, more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants style. In some ways, I think she just got lucky.
Both stories prey on your innate desire to be something better and that is why they have done well. But that is where the comparison should end. Harry Potter is a masterpiece. Twilight is a flawed piece of fiction popular because of the ideal of one character. I don't think the two should ever be compared. But either way, I'd be lucky to be such a wide-read author.
of corse harry potter will always be in are hearts but twilight has stolen are hearts witht the amazingly untouchable edward and brittle bella nothing could compare with how myer wrote in to such detail about how each were feeling in the moments alone together and every girl in the world wants to feel the same way about that one special person me my self think that if someone asked to me to read twilight or harrypottre i would choose twilight saga hands down.P.S sorry for my spelling im not that great at it lol
Faith is SO RIGHT.HP kicks Twilight's ass in a number of ways:
-recognizable plot
-characters with more than one dimension
-awesome exploration of the universe
-a point/moral/theme that isn't negated by new canon
-appeals to a MUCH wider audience
-got seven-year-old kids to be all YAY READING
Even in terms of numbers it's kind of a ridiculous comparison - there was this huge freakout over BD selling 1.3 million copies on the first day, but Deathly Hallows sold eleven million.
Rachel-I had no idea about those numbers. Here's a quote I'm lifting directly from my copy of "Entertainment Weekly":"When Eclipse, the third installment in the Twilight saga, came out last summer, it shook hands with Harry Potter before sweetly knocking him from his perch at No. 1."
Any idea what that means?
I'm not sure, but perhaps it means that Harry Potter was the #1 bestselling children's book for any given week up until Eclipse came out? And Eclipse sold more at least for the week EW was talking about?
Well...seeing as HP books have sold circles around this series, I have to say the rivalry is a bit one sided. O_o
Kinda like, which movies sold the most tickets during opening week.
OK, sorry but Stephanie Meyer had one good book out of her series. J.K. Rowling, had 7 great and wonderful books out of her entire serier.And everything interlocked. It think it would have been better to know what the HELL Edward was talking about though with the Voluteri. The excitement, suspense and characters were wonderful.
Twilight IS the new Harry Potter (and I enjoy Harry Potter.)
Bella - WHY is Twilight the new harry potter? What makes it comparable? Is it just that it's a YA book with a lot of fans?
First I would like to address this comment made by Samantha:"of corse harry potter will always be in are hearts but twilight has stolen are hearts witht the amazingly untouchable edward and brittle bella nothing could compare with how myer wrote in to such detail about how each were feeling in the moments alone together and every girl in the world wants to feel the same way about that one special person me my self think that if someone asked to me to read twilight or harrypottre i would choose twilight saga hands down.
P.S sorry for my spelling im not that great at it lol"
Yes, I agree with your comment about your spelling wholeheartedly. It is in fact "our" instead of "are" and I would suggest that you learn the finer points of grammar, such as the use of the period perhaps. I would also like to state that I agree with you, Bella is brittle. And so are the rest of Ms. Meyer's characters. She fails to give any of her characters any depth and only skates by on her ability to... well... "arouse" teenaged girls who, most of the time, cannot find real relationships for themselves. If that is all that you seek Samantha... some... "excitement" in your life then by all means, read Twilight. But please, don't suggest that Stephanie Meyer could ever produce a work of literature that could, in any way, be compared to the works of a real writer such as J. K. Rowling.
Next, I would like to address this comment made by... quite laughable... Bella ... :"Twilight IS the new Harry Potter (and I enjoy Harry Potter.)"
and:
"Lorie- Your WEIRD!!"
Well, first off, I would like to point out that your statement: "Lorie- Your WEIRD!!" was very childish and foolhardy. No such comments should be posted on a respectable website such as this and certainly not by someone who is so confused as to think that they are a fictional character. But, since the comment was made, I do have to agree with you. Lorie is weird. She thought that there was one good book in the twilight series when, obviously, there are no good or even respectable books in that series. You can refer to my last comment if you wish to know why but really, there is no need. Anyone who has simply read the first page of Twilight knows that they are in for a deplorable read. So to say that Harry Potter, a well written book, and Twilight are one in the same is simply hysterical. So you understand why I am truly worried about your sanity, Bella.
i totally agree with lori , each Harry novel can stand on its own and as a series its amazing. the was cant be said for the twilight series , the first one was great but they rest cant stand on there own and are pretty much being propt up by the first book. JK Rowling keeps you glued to the pages , she can write great banter AND great action scenes , Stephenie Meyer does make me giggle and blush but each book as book after book of anti climaxes.
some of the characters in Harry annoy me but at least they are rounded and most have there on agendas and reasons behind helping or Hindering Harry. In Twilight everyone seems to be there to love and complement Bella for no reason. All the Cullens are so willing to drop everything and risk there lives again and again for her and edward but with no explanation as to why.
there is also o sacrifice in twilight. Bella gets every thing she wants and things she didnt know she wanted , while harry had to die to protect the people he loved.
I loved twilight (up until recently) its fluffy wish fulfillment which is good at times , but Harry Potter has grit and tears aswell. the only thing i thing that have in common is that the next generation characters have stupid names.
Nimah, I agree with everything you said, but I do want to point out that not ALL the next-gen characters in Harry Potter have stupid names. Leaving out Albus Severus, Scorpius, etc. What about Ron's kids? I think it's Rose and Hugh, or maybe Hugo? Odd names, yes, but not nearly as bad as "Albus Severus!"
Helkat14 - ok rose and hugo or what ever are fin but i dont think snape would like the idea of harry naming a kid after him. good guy or bad guy he didnt like harry .
Harry Potter is a series that is older, a larger following and has a larger audience. both books are fantastic don't get me wrong... but not neccisarily comparible.Vampires
witches?
the only thing these storys have in common are
Robert Pattinson.
Marissa - haha yeah, that kid is banking on this YA literary hype isn't he.
I just wanted to say that I didn't find Harry Potter so absolutely amazing as it's made out to be. I thought it had an enjoyable story, great universe, decent (if annoying) characters, ok writing. A good way to dispel boredom. But hardly a classic that's changed my entire worldview, like Atlas Shrugged or Brave New World. I guess all I'm saying is that the one reason it can never be a classic (at least in my mind) is that it doesn't have a strong enough message to make a difference in my life. It can only ever be a forgettable, if entertaining yarn.
The only reason people are comparing Twilight and Hrry Potter is because they have both become a popular series. And they are both fiction. I mean how can you even begin to compare them? Because on is about vampires and warewolves while the other is about wizards and witches. I don;t understand how anyone can compare the two.
Sorry, I totally did not complete my sentences. LOL.
What I meant was, Twilight was wonderful, but the series will never be able to compete with Harry Potter. Meyer's books actually doesn't go anywhere with her characters and the plots, it just sits there and then she uses a simple phrase to try to make us UNDERSTAND.
there is one difference between jk and stephenie. JK was not afraid to go there and kill some main people ya know? i feel like stephenie was afraid to take a chance. im excited for midnight sun though and even though BD was a disappointment im just glad she ended up with edward in the end.
For me, there is no comparison. Harry Potter IS the best. Hands down. JKR is a genious. Stephanie Meyer is an amazing writer, but obviously, she dissapoints and she can't keep up with her story lines.Unlike JKR who sticks to her story and isn't afraid to make us sad and let us lose characters.
I do think that there shouldn't be a comparison between the two because the reasons for liking one or the other depends on what type of person or age you are. For me I loved Harry Potter but I read that at an age where those were the kinds of things I loved, magic, secrecy, mystery and more. But when I started reading the Twilight series I was older and had a completely different state of mind. I wasnt looking for something to critique because, well quite frankly I leave that for the PROFESSIONALS. What samantha said about twilight stealing our hearts, i only agree because thats true for me. However for some people (or most) that's not true.
I haven't weighed in on this topic yet, but obviously, the Harry Potter series is MUCH better. For me, reading Twilight was always a guilty pleasure. It was something I only confessed to another human after I made sure they were as addicted as I was. I was always vaguely ashamed. The Harry Potter series tells such an engaging story and although it's fantasy, it is NOT a perfect fairy tale. It is relateable: the characters experience joy, pain and loss, and most of all, growth. The Twilight series doesn't even begin to compare.
Well, I think the media is definately comparing Apples to Oranges...they are totally different fantasy stories...with totally different plots, different authors...they are both great series. Although, Harry Potter definatley reaches to a further audience including male readers, whereas the Twilight Series reaches more toward girls and women...therefore constricting the audience for Twilight. It's all in a person's opinion and whether they like the heroic fantasy...or the romance fantasy.
Very good point Paige - I honestly wonder at times why they even bother to compare the two. Is it just that they're both YA books with a big fan base?
I think it's the obsession exhibited by the fans. Sort of a cult following thing......Also, I think it's still viable to compare the two even though the CONTENT is not similar. As in, how good are they at what they are? JKR is to her genre what Stephen King is to his. Stephenie Meyer isn't in the same ballpark with either.
Personally I don't think it's fair to compare the two series. Yes, they are both best selling Ya fiction, but they are completely different. HP was revolutionary, supposedly, and just an incredible idea written well. It's a fantastic story reaching out to people of all ages, and encouraging reading. Twilight is different. It wasn't even meant to be published when started, acccording to SM. she was only writing it because she felt like doing so, felt like she had to record a dream she had, and then fell in love with the characters. she wasn't trying to write a national bestseller, or even a well read novel. It turned out that many, many people, particularly older girls and younger women were intrigued by the ideas in her story, and got addicted. THey aren't comparable, at all. It isn't fair to either one of them. I agree with Marissa. I also am wiht Paige in that it's apples and oranges. HTey are completely different types of book, with few similarities.
I agree with all the recent posts that it's stupid to compare the two. I really love both series, (Harry Potter does come out on top, but that's just my personal preferance) but they're completely unrelated, in format, in audience, in plot (or lack thereof). It's the response to each that is giving people the grounds to compare, and that just doesn't work for comparing two pieces of writing. And to Christine: while you may disagree with what others have posted, it's inappropriate for you to be insulting to them about whatever mistakes they may have had in their typing, or for the opinions they express. It's a discussion board, not a place for others to make people feel bad about what they have to say.
I think Twilight beats Herry Potter by far! I mean in Harry Potter every book has the same story he starts offf at his aunts and uncles house, he goes to Hogwarts everything is fine, then something happens and Voldamort comes back more powerful, Harry beats him and every one loves him. I love Harry Potter, but in Twilight you never really know what to expect.
I totally agree you said it perfect. Stephenie Meyer is good because she came up with good characters and a new image of of old folklore. However her style is to make you fall in love with Edward and wish you were Bella The end, But J.K. Rowling not only came up with a new way of showing us old folklore but created a world, with people and laws that made since and it had real problems like wars and death, it's believable in its own right because nothing was left to question 'how could this be?' because she made it seem possible for wizards to live among us undetected. S.M. made problems and then gave half answers to solve them or just ignored them all together.Twilight is a good love story but Harry Potter is a classic.
I've never read Harry Potter and probably never will. The huge, worldwide fan base somewhat sickens me, Twilight's fan base is pretty sickening too, the crazies that people get up to...although it is sometimes amusing, like when people make up Twilight songs, Mitch Hansen...ridiculous. XD Or when everyone in school is telling you you're in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff or one of the other houses, calling you Cho Chang because you're an asian girl or calling you Parvati because you're an Indian girl...no actually that's just plain annoying.
Panda - I agree that the fangirl stuff you mentioned is annoying. But that doesn't have anything to do with the quality of the books. I was totally prepared to like Breaking Dawn, even after I saw girls in prom dresses with very real looking scratch marks on their necks and backs, waiting to get it.Kamberli - You just described a lot of books, including Twilight. The main character starts off at home, leaves and goes to wherever the main action of the story is, everything is fine for awhile, then "something happens," an enemy shows up, they fight, and the good guys win.
This doesn't ALWAYS happen, but it is kinda the template for a fantasy story. And it's exactly what happens to Bella, not only in Breaking Dawn, but in my opinion in the other books as well:
Bella starts off at home with Charlie. She leaves and goes to live with Edward. Everything is fine for awhile. Then something happens, it pisses off the Volturi, and they "fight." The good guys win.
Harry Potter. Hands Down. There is no comparison.
well the books arent really anything alike...Twilight is a really good book thats a love story and i love it...and Harry Potter is a really good book thats interesting and makes you want to read more...The only thing thats the same is that there are some mystical creatures that the "humans" dont know about...But what the media means by comparing this series to Harry Potter is the popularity of the books because soo many people bought both of the series
HARRY POTTER HANDS DOWN!! i would have liked to praise the HP series in a very loooong paragraph that will drag on and on and on...so i think i will just agree with every praise the harry potter lovers had said and i would really love it if J.K received a HUGE award for her amazing knack of writing and her perfect plot, as well her characters' depths...unlike twilight, whose characters r shallow and where the plot is not breathtaking and complicated, harry potter is # 1 in my heart and i have never loved any book as much as i love and cherish the HP series.... i think i would go crazy if i saw J.K ROWLING...she deserves more than THANK YOUS and gratitude...i love u J.K.!!! i think stephenie's imagination is pretty good but she is simply NO match for J.K, who is truly a very accomplished writer and we r lucky that she thought of writing us these fantastic series!! though i love twilight i just can't compare it with the HP series....i would admit that each book following the first debut novel ,twilight, was a disappointment except for the host...but each book in the HP series was more breath taking that te previous and they r soo good!! u can't help but imagine that the characters r real!! i have always wondered if there were indeed wizards and we were foolish muggles!! :P....when i finished HP series, i plunged into a depression, and couldn't help but compare each book to it and find myself severely disappointed!! i couldn't read any books for weeks after i finished the 7nth book cuz i just knew anything i would read would be no match to HP!! but when i finished breaking dawn...i felt oddly..dissatisfied....it was just..well....too peaceful for an ending, u know....it doesn't make it sound real, and u wouldn't be totally enthralled as u were when u read he final book in the hp series and discovered how many characters had died...unlike SM, J.K.R is prepared to sacrifice her characters to make us so horrified and eager to finish the book!! u go j.k!! (after all this praise, i'm still not satisfied , and would like to add more, but i had already wrote so many compliments on various websites or told them to people that i feel empty!!)
+ i thought some parts in twilight completely absurd and not logical at all!!!
and,,,,while i waited for the 7nth book in the HP series, i've almost gone crazy and counted down the days till it comes out and i would write my harry potter favorite characters on my books in school or on the table if i didn't have a paper and encircle them with hearts...i would reread each book hundreds of times until i memorized some of it..i cried alot and grew soo attached to the characters and discussed the book at every oppurtunityi could get! when it came out i quickly went to the library and started reading it b4 i even paid for it!! but when breaking dawn was coming soon, i didn't count the days for its arrival and when it did come i wasn't really excited like i was with HP and didn't start getting excited until after most of my friends read it and i have waited about a month and a half!!!
oh guys!! thx alot!! everyone who complimented HP made me smile and feel happy!!!!
Wow, you really love Harry Potter! That was one of the most excited paragraphs I've ever read before. Sounded kind of like me when I get over excited about something a rather. Personally, I haven't read Harry Potter, and don't really plan to, so I can't really compare the two. I think it's kind of silly to compare, because I'm sure they are both completely different books with few similarities (the only similarity I can think of is that they both sort of fall under urban fantasy). Obviously Harry Potter's popularity and fan base is far larger than Twilight's, so I don't know what exactly is being compared between the two...it's not like Twilight will ever get more popular than Harry Potter, talk about over-exaggerating...
Twilight doesn't hold a candle to the well-developed stories of Harry Potter, but it does have an addictive "thrill" quality, slightly marred by the constant, repetitive angst. There is a maturing in the Meyer's abilities as a writer throughout the saga, whereas Rowling shows a consistent, down-to-earth superiority throughout.
Harry Potter is a work of genius! It is lessons in life presented with lovable, sometimes scary, characters, fabulous circumstances, settings you can envision in your mind. Twilight is a mind-numbing tale that makes you wish you had those 2 hours of your life back. There is absolutely no comparison....two ends of a spectrum...genius and idiocy.
Jessica - one of the best descriptions of Twilight I've heard yet!
Jessica - I agree. A fantastic description, although I couldn't get into Twilight at all. Thought it was drivel and... Well, that's another soap box that I won't get on. But Harry Potter all the way. Hooray for JKR's genius!
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