PSAT Writing and Language Practice Test 42
Questions 1-11 refer to the following information.
The Boy Who Lived
The craze surrounding the Harry Potter series in the late 1990s and early 2000s was, in many ways, unprecedented. 1 Developed into eight films and setting sales records that were nothing less than monumental. All of this established J. K. Rowling, a British author, as someone whose world of wizarding became a cornerstone of young adult fiction. Its achievements include the best-selling book series in history and the fastest-selling book ever; as of 2015, 2 its film adaptations had grossed over $7 billion. So much was made of the young wizard Harry Potter and his friends, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, as they endeavor to locate and destroy horcruxes 3 for the purposes and reasons of the defeat the evil Lord Voldemort that the series gained a large adult audience and even had entire college-level courses devoted to it.
Certainly, fantasy is the genre that comes to mind when thinking of Harry Potter. 4 Yet, adventure, romance, and coming-of-age all equally describe the series. In the first book, the young Harry, raised by his muggle (non-magical) aunt 5 and uncle learns his true identity, enrolls in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and manages to keep Lord Voldemort from procuring immortality. During his next three years of grade school, Harry defeats Voldemort's murderous basilisk, rescues his godfather who is wrongly accused of betraying Harry's parents, and witnesses Voldemort's return to power during a wizarding tournament. In the fifth and sixth books, an order of wizards 6 reemerge to defeat Voldemort and his followers, but suffers the deaths of Sirius Black (Harry's godfather) and Albus Dumbledore (headmaster of Hogwarts). And, in the 7 closing and last book of the series, Harry secures the Deathly Hallows and, with the help of his friends, finally defeats the Dark Lord. The intricate plot to the final Harry Potter installment demanded not one, but two movies to portray it. Interest in the stories increased with the final installment, as the corresponding pair of movies grossed 8 nearly 300 million dollars combined in the United States on their opening weekends.
(1) Though the series has been lauded for nearly two decades, controversy over its themes of witchcraft and politics 9 have nearly equaled its acclaim. (2) Subject of school-wide bans and book burnings, Harry Potter has failed to be categorized with harmless fairy tales or even the works of C. S. Lewis like many supporters believe it should be. (3) Furthermore, illegal pre-releasing of content has resulted in legal controversy over copyrights. (4) Despite opposition and dissension, J. K. Rowling made history with her fantastical imaginings of "the boy who lived." (5) And for those muggles who aren't satisfied with visiting Harry via computer screen, Universal Studios Orlando hosts The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. (6) 10 One thing is certain, there isn't a millennial out there who cannot recognize the lightning bolt scar etched into Harry's forehead. 11
