To what extent do you think that the fact 'Harry Potter' is set in a boarding school environment adds to people's enjoyment of the series? I would argue that while it is not the main factor, it is prominant, as people enjoy the fact that the children of the series have perhaps greater freedom than those who live that home (for example, it is easy to sneak around the castle at night) and are constantly with their friends. Many would argue that the fact that Enid Blyton's books sold so well is that her characters always had great freedom and their parents rarely intefered with their activities outside of home. I think some think that it is part of British culture and find it interesting, as it is not part of their own.
Did the boarding school setting appeal to you? Did the fact that DH [spoiler]was not set in that environment lessen your enjoyment of the book? [/spoiler]

Um... what?

I enjoyed Deathly Hallows immensely. I don't think the whole "boarding school" aspect has all that much to do with it. A story isn't just about the environment, it's about the characters and their interaction, as well as the events that they take part in.

Remember, Forrest Gump was a hit movie all over the world, despite it being set within America during turbulent times. It was the way the characters dealt with all that, which made the movie well-loved.

The same goes here. I missed the whole "learning to do magic" stuff that we usually see, but it's not really necessary at this point. When so many other things are going on in the Wizarding World, it's important that Harry instead went on this separate journey.

And I don't think that's really a spoiler, by the way, since Harry made those intentions to do so at the end of Book 6.

I'm not trying to say that the boarding school setting is a compulsory factor for people enjoying HP, I was just curious to see how much of a factor it was for people enjoying the books. I noticed that one poster said that it was partially the reason for his/her dislike of DH because Hogarts added to the charm of the books. I too loved 'Deathly Hallows' and the change in setting did not bother me much. When I began the series as a child I loved the magic and the portrayal of the charcters and I also enjoyed the fact that the children had so much freedom, which was partially why I liked many of Blyton's books. But for me, the setting was not a major factor for my love of the series.

I think the boarding school aspect was particularly important at the beginning of the whole series--it's part of Harry's "call to adventure." Being taken out of the ordinary world and being introduced to an entirely new world is an important part of the hero's journey theme. Just think of Luke Skywalker suddenly finding himself in an entirely new world aboard a space ship being introduced to something called the Force, with an unclear battle raging all around him.

Getting his call to adventure, Harry is suddenly thrust into a new world, physically as well as intellectually and emotionally remote from anything he had ever known. A giant escorts him across dark water to a whole new world. Without that remoteness from 4 Privet Drive, it would have been a drastically different story line (and in my opinion, much weaker).

The whole thing about it being set in a boarding school is that it's easy to get rid of the adults and let the children have the adventure. If this was set in a non-boarding school things would be much harder. The kids would have to go home. They'd have to find ways to bypass their parents. They wouldn't always be together as they have to go to their own separate homes. The boarding school allows the kids to live together, so they never really have to separate except for sleeping purposes (girls don't room with boys) and the professors aren't watching them 24/7 like a parent might, so bypassing professors is easier than bypassing parents.

The change in Deathly Hallows doesn't upset me for it still allows the same things that the boarding school allows when the trio is underage. They still bypass adults as easy as possible. It's still their adventure and no one else's. They're together all the time and don't have to worry about going to a separate home. It still provides the same aspects of a boarding school setting for the underage.

I think it adds a lot to the story, most people in America and probably most other countries as well never see the inside of such an institution which is generally reserved for either the very rich or else the very badly behaved .

The only way I think it was a little weaker not being at Hogwarts is that when the trio was at Hogwarts and Rowling would say that several weeks passed we knew they were busy with classes, having fun, playing exploding snap, etc.

Away from Hogwarts, when she says several weeks pass, we're left with a confusing image of them sitting around a campfire, grumbling at each other.

The boarding school setting really interfered with my enjoyment of the first three books. I perceived them as the sort of school story C.S.Lewis couldn't stand and thought was detrimental to children. It was only after reading GoF that I realized there was so much more going on.

(If you're wondering why I kept reading when I felt that way, it's because I wanted to discuss them with my son, who really liked them. Can't reasonably discuss a book you haven't read.)

In what way are boarding school stories potentially detrimental to children?

In any case, if you want children to go on adventures you need to get tham away from adults. Boarding school, summer camp, parents at work for long hours and no childcare (the way it was in my days), the traditional and no longer existent Israeli kibbutz, or the classical solution of getting kids orphaned or the survivors of some disaster all serve this purpose.

For those who have commented that boarding school is for the "extremely rich" or "bad," I must say I am neither but went to a boarding school here in the States. I loved it as did most of my classmates (not all, but I imagine not ever kid likes public school either) and didn't find it at all "detrimental" whatever C.S. Lewis or any other folks might think. Part of the experience was indeed not being at home, away from parents, although we certainly had plenty of restrictions and supervision. I think for me and the Harry Potter series, a lot of it was the setting, as well as it being in Britain (am a rabid Anglophile) topped with the wonder of magic. I did miss Hogwarts during Deathly Hallows, and on my first read it was, in fact, jarring. But am almost done with my second read and realize that although its a jolt, kids do have to grow up and move into the real world -- which is what the final book is about. I missed my school for years (and will always have fond memories) -- but like Harry, Ron and Hermione, I got on with it.

I said "generally" for the extremely rich or badly behaved, not exclusively!

I think that there a lot more boarding schools in Britain than other places, but I don't know anyone who goes to one. Most people go to day schools and they don't have houses or anything like that. I think a lot of people find the ida of a boarding school somewhat exotic as it is somewhere isolated from the family. I have never really wanted to go to boarding school but when I was younger and read Enid Blyton, I thought the idea of being with friends constantly and having midnight feasts quite fun, though obviously it could go the other way and the child could be lonely the whole time.

Not specifically boarding school stories, but the sort of realistic (or semi-realistic, in this case) school story, whether set at boarding school or day school, in which the poor-but-handsome hero wins every prize and triumphs over every adversary. Tom Brown as written by Horatio Alger, in other words.

And please note: I didn't say they were detrimental, C.S.Lewis did. I really don't have an opinion on them one way or the other, except that I thought they were that contrived sort of tale at first. I freely admit that I was wrong.

I'm not sure I missed "boarding school", but I did miss the Hogwarts environment in Deathly Hallows. JKR had created a wonderful environment in Hogwarts - the changing ceiling, the Fat Lady portrait, the ghosts, Peeves, Hagrid's cottage, the Forbidden Forest, Quidditch, the classes, etc. etc., and all through the first 6 books this environment was woven through the story like embroidery in a garment. It was enjoyable to read, even in the darkest moments of the books. I'm very sad that JKR chose not to set the final story at Hogwarts. I suppose she returned there at the end just to have Hogwarts as the setting for the "final showdown", but I did miss its comforting atmosphere throughout the story.

See, I thought the reason sooo many people didn't like DH was because it was missing the "boarding school" appeal that we are used to! I mean, it was harry's first real "home" and a place of warmth, comfort, and best of all, magic! So with it's absence in DH, I think many people were turned off! I mean, it was in DH, but at the very end, and for only a BRIEF amount of time! It's not like they spent the whole time there. I personally loved DH, but there was that little missing element of Harry Ron and Hermione running around and breaking rules at Hogwarts.

I went to a boarding school, and let me just say, you are SO not allowed to wander the halls at night!!! That and you will most likely be caught if you do... but then, I never had an invisibility cloak.... I think the boarding school setting made it exciting and different.... I mean that it was something that most kids don't experience (including me when I started reading the series... little did i know what was coming), plus Hogwarts gives such a warm homey feeling. I did miss Hogwarts in DH.
I don't think the boarding school setting was essential, obviously, DH was pretty damn awesome, but I think it gave the early book especially a little spice. Plus I think that without the boarding school setting, Harry, Ron and Hermione are suddenly launched into adulthood. In the early books, while clearly very mature for their ages, they were kids at school: going to class, breaking rules, dealing with kid stuff; in DH, they're out on their own, saving the world, being grown-ups.
I'm having a great deal of trouble articulating myself today apparently.

The boarding school setting definitely added to my enjoyment of the Harry Potter series, especially when I was younger. There seemed to be so much more freedom than living at home with parents, and so much more chance for adventure (yes, I know, real boarding schools probably have plenty of supervision).

The fact that DH was not set in the Hogwarts environment did slightly lessen my enjoyment, but it was necessary for the theme and setting of the book. DH is a very dark book, with Harry facing death head-on, and Hogwarts was always a place of comfort and amusement, with plenty of teachers there to prevent anything too horrible from happening. In order for Harry to be on his own, and for DH to have the darker tone that it needed, Harry had to leave Hogwarts.

Side-question: Do a lot of people in Britain still attending boarding schools these days? just curious

Yes they do, but it is not all that common - no one I knows goes to one. Most children go to a day school and they don't have houses or anything like that at least, they don't to my knowledge.) Most schools have uniform though and the exams mirror Hogwarts (though now A-Levels, N.E.W.T.s, are split into two years so you take the first in the Sixth Year) and you can leave after Fifth Year and go into employment.

The boarding school element was one of the things that sold me on the series. I never thought about reading the books until my friends dragged me to the first movie. I was sold after they were talking about Head Prefects - as i was one

I agree that it adds a special element and allows for the characters to meet at night, which couldn't happen if they went to a public or day school.

Well I wouldn't say a lot of people attend boarding school, but there are a fair few - I was one of them!

I loved the books as a whole anyway so the boarding school setting wasn't that significant, it was just an ends to a means plotwise - but I think that it might also be down to the fact that I actually went to boarding school. That meant it wasn't an 'alien' concept to me as it was to some people and so I could recognize different aspects of Hogwarts in my own school - the house systems, dormitories, being with people 24/7, rivalries etc - easier than others could.

As for DH, I wasn't disappointed that we didn't have Hogwarts, I just think that it lacked the same structure as the other books because of it ... I mean in every other book the events were fitted into the school calender with them all leading up to a final confrontation/battle/showdown at the end of the summer term ... and if there were gaps between events JKR could fill those gaps with regular day to day school events - which she couldn't do in DH. So when nothing happened for a whiel she didn't have her failsafe way of passing time to fall back on which meant that parts of the book did seem to drag on a bit for me

I love boarding schools, and I love school uniforms so yep I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
Not only is it a bit classy, but it keeps the parents from interfering with their important adventures.
I definetly missed Hogwarts in DH.

Although I would love to see an alternate version, where they attend and ordinary school and complain about the lunch and don't respect the teachers.

I think that Hogwarts being a boarding school contributes to the appeal of the Harry Potter series. As you said, they have greater freedom and are constantly in the company of their friends. In boarding schools, I think you develop greater bonds between your friends than you would in a regular school where you go home everyday, and for me that adds to the story. It appeals more to me because I do attend a boarding school, though not as a boarder. And you do form closer bonds with these people because you are with them all-day everyday.

(Hope this makes sense)

I think that what I like about the boarding school aspect is not just the atmosphere of the school itself, but the whole structure it gives to the adventures. It's true that it stops the parents interfering with the children's adventures, but just as importantly (particularly for adult readers!), it also stops the parents' anxiety, guilt and terror from getting in the way of the readers' own excitement.


I think this is absolutely right. As JKR once said, it's crucial to get the parents out of the way as quickly as possible in order to let the adventures happen. You can see how much more difficult it would be if they were at home with the Weasleys, Grangers and Dursleys. The story is a lot more straightforward in terms of location (they're all living in the same place) and time (they have the whole 24 hours to have adventures together). But also, our delight in the adventure isn't hampered by unease about how awful it must be for the parents and how much they must be worrying about their children. In that sense, the reader - as well as the characters - is "off the hook".

Also, it's very valuable to have all the children are dealing directly with the same adults. There isn't the complication of a dozen different sets of parents and all of their differing relationships with each other. There is a standard set of teachers who are "in loco parentis" - acting as the "parents" so to speak - and that simplifies the matter enormously.


Exactly. But I also think that the clear, reliable structure of the setting in the first six books is what has allowed the characters' relationships to develop to the point where they can easily spend 24 hours a day together outside the school setting as well.

I think if Hogwarts was just the opposite of a boarding school, the book could potentially take a 360. The boarding school setting allows for all the characters to interact 24/7. Not only do they see each other every day in class, but they have to live together and learn how to co-exist, even at a young age. This totally changes their interaction and emotions with one another.

Imagine the book if Hogwarts was not a boarding school. I think the trio's relationship could potentially be different, because they aren't with each other 24/7. Harry's relationships with others would be different as well, i.e. Draco, Neville, Dean, Seamus, Ginny, etc. I think the books would also be a lot harder to follow if they weren't at Hogwarts all the time. JK would have to bring you back and forth all the time. There would be story about him at home, then him at school, back to the Dursely's, back to school, again and again and again. I think it could be quite exhausting as a reader to take all that in.


I think also, my experience with this situation in real life makes me see why the boarding school setting is great. In Middle and High school for example, I had best friends and we got along great. During Middle school I went on vacation with my family and one of my best friends, and we got into a few fights because we were constantly with each other. The same thing happened in High school, same exact situation. A vacation with my family, brought along a friend, and turmoil ensued. Living with someone in closed quarters can create conflict and tension, but through that can create a greater bond. Which is what I see now that I am in college. (Sorry if I am going off on a tangent)


The 7th book didn't bother me at all though. I really questioned for a while whether or not they would return to Hogwarts. I don't think DH would have been nearly as epic if they did go back. They grew up tremendously in DH because they had no one but themselves. It was really necessary for them to go off on that adventure to destroy the horcruxes, they would have never been able to do that from Hogwarts.