In fact, this article, titled "Do You Really Understand Harry Potter?", was written by Charles over several dozen days and published in the Times.
The opening was written in an extremely simple style.
After reading *The Philosopher's Stone * and * The Chamber of Secrets *, it's easy to see the stories as a children's adventure fairy tale: the brave Harry fights against evil, justice triumphs over conspiracy, and the magical world is novel and dazzling.
"But if we strip away the magical veneer and examine these two works from a different, more profound perspective, we will be surprised to find that they contain a great deal of metaphor."
In the middle of the article, Charles uses an almost anatomical style to bring up the seemingly insignificant Sorting House scene from " The Philosopher's Stone ".
" Harry heard that voice whisper in his ear as he stood before the Sorting Hat, telling him that Slytherin could help him on a great path."
" The Sorting Hat even tells him at the very end, ' Slytherin will help you achieve greatness, without a doubt.'"
But he chose Gryffindor.
"This choice may seem like a mere whim of a young man, but upon closer examination, it is precisely the most important turning point in the entire book."
"Because when Harry made this choice, his only knowledge of Slytherin came from Hagrid's words: 'No wizard who later turned bad didn't come from Slytherin.'"
He didn't really know what Slytherin meant; all he knew was that he didn't want to be the 'bad' option.
"This may seem like just a design by the author to get Harry Potter into Gryffindor, but it actually reveals the world's prejudice against Slytherin."
"We can learn from the lyrics of the Sorting Hat that Slytherin are cunning and treacherous, and from his whispers to Harry, we can tell that they are all ambitious."
"But in a worldly sense, successful people are generally ambitious, which has become a kind of original sin in the Wizarding World."
Charles then wrote in the article, "This seems to be a metaphor for the prejudices of our real world."
"When we label a group of people, when we define an entire group with a few words, we are already creating the next injustice."
He turned his pen and flipped to " The Chamber of Secrets ".
"Coincidentally, ' The Chamber of Secrets ' explicitly describes the metaphorical existence of the ' Parseltongue '."
" The Parseltongue is precisely a concrete manifestation of prejudice."
"However, when Harry demonstrated his abilities, he was ostracized by everyone except his friends."
"The whole school is talking about him being the Heir of Slytherin. No one is checking or questioning it. Everyone just hears a single keyword and automatically makes all the deductions."
"Isn't this exactly what happens in our real world every day?"
Charles quoted a line from Dumbledore in the middle of the article.
Dumbledore smiled and comforted Harry, who was troubled, saying, "It is our own choice to be our true selves, and that is more important than the abilities we possess."
He wrote, "This statement remains true today."
When we see a child from a poor family, when we hear an accented English sentence, when we meet someone from a different place, do we instantly label them?
"If so, then what's the difference between us and those people pointing and whispering about Harry in the hallways?"
At the end of the article, Charles wrote in a restrained yet powerful tone:
" Harry Potter is not without depth; rather, it hides all its metaphors within those seemingly magnificent and wondrous magical phenomena."
"This is precisely what a universally appealing work can achieve; children love it, and adults can learn a lot from it."
"It's not just a children's book, it's a classic work suitable for all ages."
Once this article was reprinted, it immediately caused a stir in every corner of the Muggle world.
In a London café, a middle-aged man in a suit spread a newspaper on the table and said to his colleague across from him, "Look at this passage, it's brilliantly written."
Which section?
"This passage suggests that Harry's choice of Gryffindor is actually a metaphor for societal prejudice."
"When I read it the first time, I didn't think about it that way at all; I just thought he wanted to get into Gryffindor."
"So, what do you think about it now?"
"Thinking about it now... it seems that's true. He didn't actually know what Slytherin was; he just thought it was a 'bad' option, so he chose the other side."
"That's true. After my daughter finished reading that book, she told me that she didn't like Slytherin either, because 'bad people all go there.'"
"Look, even children think that way. It has to be said, prejudice really does have a huge impact."
On the subway, a young girl folded up a newspaper and stuffed it into her bag, then looked up at her friend next to her and said:
"Don't you think the person who wrote that article is overthinking things? It's just a children's book."
"Do you really think that's children's literature?" her friend asked rhetorically.
After watching the second movie, did you ever wonder why everyone ostracized Harry? Just because he speaks Parseltongue?
"That's because... because Parseltongue is the hallmark of Slytherin."
" Slytherin is part of Hogwarts. If Slytherin is really full of bad people, why should this house continue to exist?"
"You mean the author is saying we shouldn't judge a person by their abilities?"
I think that's the meaning.
"So... does this book count as children's literature?"
"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But I think it's at least more than just children's literature."
This conversation continued for several days in various corners of the Muggle world.
Some say this article is too profound, interpreting a children's book in too much complexity.
Some people say that this is the attitude a reader should have; reading should not be superficial.
Regardless, that article did prompt many people to revisit those two books.
However, ironically, shortly after this article was published, more and more people posted similar jokes in newspaper "letters to the editor" or on radio programs, primarily the BBC:
What is Martin Amis's assessment of "Did You Really Understand Harry Potter?"
"Does Martin Amis still say that Harry Potter lacks depth?"
"Haha, Martin Amis must be regretting it now!"
After more than ten days of media bombardment, Martin finally couldn't hold back and issued a statement.