JK Rowling (The Rags to Riches Story thats a load of crap

[The Orchid]

OMG That is too funny! But don't you have to stick your wand up a trolls nose to get rid of it!

Ewwwwwwww, I don't want troll bogies on my wand!

 

[DizBelle]

I'm not sure what her publicity is like in the US but is there the belief that J.K. Rowling is uneducated?

She has a BA in French and Classics and, at least in the UK, there has been no attempt to hide this. It's even referenced on her publishers bio page (google for scholastic.)

AFAIK she had a pretty comfortable middle class childhood, it's well known she was an unemployed single mother but I wonder if the "rags to riches" thing is more to the fore in the US because being on "welfare" has very different social connotations?

Here in the US, people have a problem with supporting (via tax dollars) other people when they refuse to do it themselves. She could have found a job and supported herself and her family rather than having other people (with jobs) support them.

Regardless of who she is or what she ended up doing, taking advantage of other people and public services "because you can" isn't really a good enough reason to. "Becasue you cannot find a job" is a reason to use these services. "Because I choose not to even look for a job so I can do somethng else I'd rather do" is not.

 

[Mermaid02]

Here in the US, people have a problem with supporting (via tax dollars) other people when they refuse to do it themselves. She could have found a job and supported herself and her family rather than having other people (with jobs) support them.

Regardless of who she is or what she ended up doing, taking advantage of other people and public services "because you can" isn't really a good enough reason to. "Becasue you cannot find a job" is a reason to use these services. "Because I choose not to even look for a job so I can do somethng else I'd rather do" is not.

I'm sure she's made lots of charitable donations and more than made up for whatever she "took" while on welfare.

 

[luvsJack]

http://www.essortment.com/all/jkrowlingbiogr_reak.htm

On this site it says she was a teacher in Portugal and was married there. When she divorced, she moved to Scotland and it was there that she finished the first book. After she sold it for $4000, she supported her daughter by teaching.

So, was she on welfare during the time in Scotland when she was finishing the first book? Maybe she couldn't find a job teaching during that time? Because the article also said that she loved teaching and loved that it gave her time to write. So, part of the first book was already written when she moved to Scotland.

Whichever, it really doesn't matter. She's a great author and I hope she writes more. I don't fault her a bit for going on welfare. It did what it was designed to do. Gave her the chance to better her life and that of her daughter. No different than someone going on government assistance to return to school or finish a degree. Welfare is there for a reason and sometimes its not just about the "choice not to work", its a choice to make your future better and that is what she did.

 

[Missy1961]

http://www.essortment.com/all/jkrowlingbiogr_reak.htm

On this site it says she was a teacher in Portugal and was married there. When she divorced, she moved to Scotland and it was there that she finished the first book. After she sold it for $4000, she supported her daughter by teaching.

So, was she on welfare during the time in Scotland when she was finishing the first book? Maybe she couldn't find a job teaching during that time? Because the article also said that she loved teaching and loved that it gave her time to write. So, part of the first book was already written when she moved to Scotland.

Whichever, it really doesn't matter. She's a great author and I hope she writes more. I don't fault her a bit for going on welfare. It did what it was designed to do. Gave her the chance to better her life and that of her daughter. No different than someone going on government assistance to return to school or finish a degree. Welfare is there for a reason and sometimes its not just about the "choice not to work", its a choice to make your future better and that is what she did.

Excellent points, especially the part I bolded.

 

[HM]

I don't know this for sure, but I'm betting part of the quitting teaching was also due to depression. Her mother was very near the end of her life when JK started writing her book (died six months after she started). She was depressed and nearly suicidal at points. It's awfully hard to do a job when you are in that state of mind.

 

[JenM]

How about this except from Time Magazine for a JK Rowling story?

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1005057,00.html

On the same summer day that 6-year-old Catie Hoch beat her own personal best jumping rope--100 in a row--the doctors discovered that the pain in her side was coming from a tumor on her kidney. "In that split second," her mother Gina Peca remembers, "your whole life changes. You're going along safety-proofing your house and trying to feed your kids the right food, thinking you have control over their safety, and you don't."

There was even less control over the course of the next two years as the cancer spread, through seven rounds of chemo, three operations on Catie's lungs and one on her liver. It was during that time that Gina began to read aloud the first three books about a schoolboy wizard named Harry Potter, who knew something about fighting fierce, deadly enemies. Maybe that's why, when they took the train from their home in upstate New York to New York City for treatment, Catie wore a red cape, red lightning-shaped scar on her forehead, a wand and big black glasses. She was ready for anything.

In January 2000, when it seemed as if her treatment options had run out, Catie was back home, her chances of living to read Book 4 looking very slim. That is when an e-mail arrived from someone in Britain who had heard about the 8-year-old girl in New York who loved Harry so much. "I am working very hard on Book 4 at the moment," the author confided, and she talked about the chapter she was writing, how the werewolf professor Lupin was one of her favorite characters, and about some new creatures who would be making their debut. "This is all TOP SECRET," she warned, so Catie could tell her family but nobody else, "or you'll be getting an owl from the Ministry of Magic for giving our secrets away to Muggles." It was signed, "With Lots of Love, J.K. Rowling (Jo to anybody in Gryffindor)."

Over the next days and weeks, Catie wrote to her new friend about her birthday party; her friends; her new dog, Potter Gryffindor Hoch (the first name after Harry's surname and the middle one after the dormitory house in which he lives at school). She seemed to be getting stronger, brighter, in her excitement about her new pen pal. Jo wrote back at length, typing from her home in Scotland as the windows rattled in the January gales. "It's a bit spooky," she wrote one night. "I sleep at the top of the house (like Ron) and when it's stormy like tonight I keep waking up wondering what creaked ... you see, I'm not as brave as Harry--if you told me there was a gigantic snake wandering around at night where I was living, I'd hide under the bedclothes and let someone else sort it out." Jo was candid about other things that frightened her. "I don't mind talking to big groups of people your age at all, because you ask interesting questions, but talking to adults scares me."

Gina watched the friendship unfold, watched a stuffed owl and a toy ginger cat arrive in the mail as gifts. "I couldn't believe it when the first e-mail arrived, but what I really couldn't believe was that they kept it up," she says. "This wasn't a once or twice 'I heard a little girl was sick, and I sent a get-well note.' To me it was a relationship. I don't know what Jo was thinking, but she was taking time out of a very, very busy schedule to write precious e-mails to Catie."

When the moment comes that parents must trust their children's hearts to another, they pray that whoever fills that space--a teacher, a coach, a character in a book--will be worthy of the power and will use it well. A month after Catie Hoch's ninth birthday, doctors found that the cancer had spread to her brain and that she had only a few weeks left.

That was when the phone rang.

Over the next few days, Rowling read aloud to Catie from Book 4, which was finally finished but would not be released until summer. "She was lying on the couch," Gina says, remembering how her daughter was transported, "just listening and listening." The family resisted putting the call on the speaker phone. "That was Catie's time with Jo," Gina says. "We didn't want to intrude on their privacy." The last few times Rowling called, Catie was too sick to come to the phone. She drifted into a coma and died on May 18, 2000.

Rowling wrote to her parents three days later. "I consider myself privileged to have had contact with Catie," she wrote. "I can only aspire to being the sort of parent both of you have been to Catie during her illness. I am crying so hard as I type. She left footprints on my heart all right." Catie's parents established the Catie Hoch Foundation to help young cancer patients. In November a check for $100,000 appeared, from Catie's favorite English friend.

And if the UK citizens had to pay for her book advance - where can I thank them for it????

 

[JR6ooo4]

You know I had a whole long response typed out, and i realized something. You're not worth it. But I'd hold onto your horse if i were you. it might buck you.

Hmm, or from House Ssssslytheryn!

I think the OP ate a Bertie Bott's vomit flavored jelly bean...

I think the Bertie Bott's bean may have been... troll flavored

While we're at it...perhaps the OP is a Dementor. sucking the joy from us all?

Ok everyone, wands at the ready....

1....2....3!!!!

Expecto Patronum!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG That is too funny! But don't you have to stick your wand up a trolls nose to get rid of it!

I thought personal attacks were not allowed on the DIS?
or is the rule:
"it is Ok to attack, as long as the OP was an attack on a person the DIS folks love" ?

Mikeeee

 

[Hollywoodhaha]

Doesn't matter, Harry Potter is amazing
Plus, she has donated so much.

 

[GothTink]

The Rags to Riches Story:

Every single article and every single Harry Potter book jacket seems to work in JK Rowling's humble beginnings as a single mother on government assistance. She then pulled herself up by her bootstraps and wrote one of the most successful series of books in the history of words.

Why it's a Load of Crap:

It's one thing to be born into poverty and claw your way out of it. However, it's a whole different game when your two-year stint on welfare is part of your business plan. Welcome to the Rowling School of Writing.



Rowling's welfare assistance wasn't out of total desperation, it was out of choice. She was an educated teacher who left her job when she had a child. After that, she chose not to work and, instead, collected welfare to get the time to write her book.

While we are not denying for one moment that trying to care for a child, write a book and work full time would be very difficult, we will say that it's not impossible. People do it. Instead, she basically got her book advance courtesy of UK citizens. She also got a generous arts grant (unprecedented for an unknown author) to complete her work when the welfare check wasn't cutting it.

So this was a person who did spend a very brief time in rags, but she went to the store and hand-picked the rags she chose to wear.

Hmmm...I saw an interview once, where JKR said she was never on assistance, that the stories about her were greatly exxagerated. Might want to check your sources. And why all this venom now? Because the movie just came out?

 

[Planogirl]

I like the new rule.

What is the point of this thread? Did J K Rowling make the OP mad or something?

 

[ericamanda01]

I thought personal attacks were not allowed on the DIS?
or is the rule:
"it is Ok to attack, as long as the OP was an attack on a person the DIS folks love" ?

Mikeeee

I can't speak for the others, but I (along with some of the others quoted) were joking by using references in parts of the Harry Potter books. They were not direct attacks on the OP, they were jokes. Perhaps you should read the books instead of reading into what others are saying.

 

[Deb in IA]

I don't know this for sure, but I'm betting part of the quitting teaching was also due to depression. Her mother was very near the end of her life when JK started writing her book (died six months after she started). She was depressed and nearly suicidal at points. It's awfully hard to do a job when you are in that state of mind.

That is true. There is a TV special on ABC tonight at 8 (7 central) when she talks about this time. She had just gotten out of what she calls a "diasterous marriage", had a baby to support, and her mother was dying. I, for one, am GLAD that she took welfare during those few years, because it resulted in a wonderful gift to the world - an enduring tale, memorable characters, and got children (and adults) excited about reading around the world.

As others have pointed out, she has certaintly repaid the initial "investment" from the UK government many times over in taxes. In addition she has generously supported many charities, including the Children's High Level Group, which she established in 2005 to improve the well-being, health and welfare of vulnerable children. Sales from her 'sequel' Beadle the Bard alone generated over $8 million in its first WEEK of release. She also supports many, many other charities, including the Multiple Sclerosis Society (the disease that took her mother's life), Children with AIDS, Heifer international, One Parent Families, and the above-mentioned Catie Hoch Foundation.

And here is the reference: http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/171-jk-rowling

I don't think anyone has ever disputed that she was an educated person. Her training in the classics is evident in her writing, and she clearly borrows themes and ideas from many famous sources.

The OP must be a Squib . . .

 

[ginna74]

maybe there isn't one troll... but a but a bunch or soooooooooo following as she waves her wand to make them be nice!!!!... now shouldn't read into what I am saying but think of the book!!!

no but really I really wish I could have gone to the movie and I will as soon as hubby comes home from his month long thing and we get his pay a day after

 

[Missy1961]

That is true. There is a TV special on ABC tonight at 8 (7 central) when she talks about this time. She had just gotten out of what she calls a "diasterous marriage", had a baby to support, and her mother was dying. I, for one, am GLAD that she took welfare during those few years, because it resulted in a wonderful gift to the world - an enduring tale, memorable characters, and got children (and adults) excited about reading around the world.

As others have pointed out, she has certaintly repaid the initial "investment" from the UK government many times over in taxes. In addition she has generously supported many charities, including the Children's High Level Group, which she established in 2005 to improve the well-being, health and welfare of vulnerable children. Sales from her 'sequel' Beadle the Bard alone generated over $8 million in its first WEEK of release. She also supports many, many other charities, including the Multiple Sclerosis Society (the disease that took her mother's life), Children with AIDS, Heifer international, One Parent Families, and the above-mentioned Catie Hoch Foundation.

And here is the reference: http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/171-jk-rowling

I don't think anyone has ever disputed that she was an educated person. Her training in the classics is evident in her writing, and she clearly borrows themes and ideas from many famous sources.

The OP must be a Squib . . .

I think so.

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

I thought personal attacks were not allowed on the DIS?
or is the rule:
"it is Ok to attack, as long as the OP was an attack on a person the DIS folks love" ?

Mikeeee

Soooo??

why are you attacking uS?



hehehehehhehehe

RUM?, YA MUGGLE YA!

or would you prefer butterbeer?

 

[Darsa]

Well, I had to go back and do something I thought I'd never do... but I hated the thought that I was being rotten without any justification

I looked at the OP's previous posts... and I am NOT sorry.

edit: Saw this while perusing the news, thought it was interesting:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/07/16/potter.activists.irpt/

 

[Lanshark]

Definitely a Dementor

 

[bumbershoot]

Sure do wish I had clever book-related things to say!!!

She has a BA in French and Classics and, at least in the UK, there has been no attempt to hide this. It's even referenced on her publishers bio page (google for scholastic.)

I was not aware of this and I don't think my cyber friends were, either. I will say that this whole drawn-out conversation took place a few years and a few books ago, and they might not feel the same now.

Here in the US, people have a problem with supporting (via tax dollars) other people when they refuse to do it themselves. She could have found a job and supported herself and her family rather than having other people (with jobs) support them.

Regardless of who she is or what she ended up doing, taking advantage of other people and public services "because you can" isn't really a good enough reason to. "Becasue you cannot find a job" is a reason to use these services. "Because I choose not to even look for a job so I can do somethng else I'd rather do" is not.

Eh, you might have a problem with it, but I don't. Especially if it's used as part of a plan. If she did that. Look into the social systems in some european countries...Sweden for example. It's not looked on in quite the same way there, and I always feel it's important to know that.

Welfare is there for a reason and sometimes its not just about the "choice not to work", its a choice to make your future better and that is what she did.

Obviously, agreed.

 

[The Orchid]

I thought personal attacks were not allowed on the DIS?
or is the rule:
"it is Ok to attack, as long as the OP was an attack on a person the DIS folks love" ?

Mikeeee

The patronus charm is a defense spell....NOT an attack.