The English Major Strikes Again

[omorka]

The abused, neglected orphan of parents of noble lineage with the heart of gold so pure that he can stand up to exposure to pure evil and still be wholly, fundamentally good despite it all: Harry Potter is not only a fairy-tale hero straight out of the Grimm brothers, he is also the literary descendant of Oliver Twist. As supporting evidence: J. K. Rowling uses naming conventions clearly modeled after Dickens's.

Also: Harry Potter is a bildungsroman to the core. Is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid a picaresque, or does that style require them to win in the end?