The Circus Has Come To Town

    "Mr. and Mrs. Dursly, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."


    This well known opening sentence is from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and was what spurred quite a bit of discussion this week in class.  There were various comments about "the other" in the novel, and to which Harry actually belonged.  One thought that seemed to continue to prod me was this: Why be normal?
    Of course, there must be normalcy in order to have otherness and a sense of not belonging in a character.  There would be no story if there wasn't a conflict, and, from the very first sentence the readers are put on pins and needles.  In a world where we are constantly being told to act more normal we have a sentence that almost sneers at the idea.  One cannot help but read this statement with their nose in the air and a superior tone, mocking the status quo from the very start.
    This sets the tale in motion and has all of the readers asking the question, why be normal?  If that haughty attitude is what it requires, then, is it something we really wish to achieve?  Or should we strive to be different than the carbon copies we see prancing down the street?
    The Dursly's, as we come to know them, are vain and spiteful creatures that we want no part of, they are the other, the muggles, that witches and wizards strive to distance themselves from, and it is no wonder that the readers so gladly leave normal behind.  Do we really want to be exactly like these loathsome people or do we want to go and explore new things and be part of a varied society?
   When we reach Hogwarts we find that normalcy is hardly anything like the Dursly's with their sameness, but we find different houses and different interests, we see people learning to discover themselves rather than become just like everyone else.
   It is an adventure that is set about by that opening line, one that calls us to question why we would ever want to be like that.  Through the book, and through the series, we get further away from the "normal" that the Dursly's strive to be and become instead, not just wizards and witches, but individuals who know our strengths, weaknesses, flaws, and we embrace the beauty of not being normal at all.