# True or False- Harry Potter is the most famous literary character in the last 50 years? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 24, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238 "2010-04-24T20:53:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238/41 "2010-04-25T02:01:10Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > The best selling book in the series sold 44 million. 400 million includes books on Quidditch and such. The total number of people that have read a book in the Harry Potter series undoubtedly greater than 44 million, but greater than 80 million? > \ > > This raises the disturbing possibility that **Edward Cullen** may be the actual winner. The 44 million figure is flatly wrong. Wikipedia cites a newspaper article that says the \*final \*book (not the highest selling book) had sold 44 million copies as of November 2008. The Quidditch book, _Quidditch Through The Ages_, only accounts for 500,000 copies, as does a similar book called _Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them_. There are 10 books in the series (I can’t find sales figures for Tales of Beedle The Bard so I’m lumping it in). If you exclude \*Quidditch Through The Ages \*and _Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them_, there are eight. The series has sold 400 million and we know the two excluded books account for a million copies between them, so that leave 399 million. 399 million divided between eight books means there’s no way the _highest selling_ of the books could have only sold 44 million copies. I, too, am disturbed by the possibility that Edward Cullen might be the winner here. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238/42 "2010-04-25T02:16:58Z")
Who’s Edward Cullen? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238/43 "2010-04-25T02:29:36Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Who’s Edward Cullen? I had to Google the name but it is from that “Twilight” crap. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238/44 "2010-04-25T02:30:08Z")
I don’t think a novelisation of a movie makes them “literary characters”. That’s twisting the rules to fit, ignoring their spirit. Harry Potter is so clearly the runaway winner, as he is primarily a literary character and is a resonant part of pop culture amongst people who haven’t even read the books or seen the movies. All other suggestions require at least a viewing or reading of either. Harry Potter wins. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238/45 "2010-04-25T03:18:29Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Who’s Edward Cullen? I never heard of him either, but I got over 5 million hits on his name in Google, which beat the other post 1960 contenders except Harry Potter. Actually Harry Potter got more hits than Barack Obama (55 million versus 52). Apparently if you aren’t a teenage girl or the parent of a teenage girl, then Edward Cullen might as well be in an alternate Universe. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238/46 "2010-04-25T03:54:18Z")
If most famous means “How many total people have heard of him”, then the answer almost _has_ to be a children’s character. Adults know who Harry Potter is, but kids don’t have a clue who a lot of the characters mentioned in this thread are. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238/47 "2010-04-25T04:18:33Z")
> [@Cazzle](#): > > I, too, am disturbed by the possibility that Edward Cullen might be the winner here. I’m certain he isn’t. If the question were which fictional character is most beloved by his fans then it might be him, but if you asked people who hadn’t read/seen _Twilight_ who Edward Cullen was then I don’t think that many would know. My mother for instance has heard of the _Twilight_ series and is aware that it’s about a girl who’s in love with a vampire, but she wouldn’t know the vampire’s name or anything else about him. I’m pretty sure that neither my grandma nor my best friend’s 4 year old have any idea who Edward Cullen is, but both could tell you that Harry Potter is a boy who’s a wizard. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238/48 "2010-04-25T04:23:22Z")
Don Corleone is a really good one; as is Hannibal Lecter. Sure the movies endures, but a great character begs for a great movie. I’m not the kind to thread Nazi just because I’m the OP, but my personal opinion is the novelization of a film is a thin premise to base an answer on in this debate. Of course, I do respect “technically correct” answers (the best kind of correct.) I doubt Twilight will be a lasting franchise despite its success. It just feels like a pet rock sort of series. When the tweenage girls start dating real guys, this emo crap will burn out (I hope…) Potter seems like it will be read by many generations. Jason Bourne is a name I didn’t see mentioned. No one would confuse him for #1, but worthy of a nod. It really feels like we are missing a few more worthy candidates. Stephen King has a few iconic characters, but I doubt any of them rise to this level. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238/49 "2010-04-25T04:36:51Z")
Not that he’ll beat Harry either, but a nod should go to Waldo from “Where’s Waldo?” ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238/50 "2010-04-25T04:49:55Z")
I can’t think of a single person in my life (apart from very small children) who wouldn’t know who Harry Potter is. That’s not exactly hard evidence but it leads me to believe a lot of other people are in the same position. I don’t think even Star Wars characters would beat him - consider the fact that a lot of kids today wouldn’t know who Darth Vader is, but they sure as hell know Harry Potter. It helps of course that “Harry Potter” is the general term for his series of books and films - if Lord Of The Rings was called “Frodo” or if Star Wars was called “Luke Skywalker”, they might be contenders here (well not Frodo because of the age cutoff, but you see what I’m getting at). ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238/51 "2010-04-25T05:50:15Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > I never heard of him either, but I got over 5 million hits on his name in Google, which beat the other post 1960 contenders except Harry Potter. Actually Harry Potter got more hits than Barack Obama (55 million versus 52). Going by the Internet, I wouldn’t be surprised if Firefly is the most popular TV show ever. Except that it isn’t. Most people aren’t on the internet in any sort of social way. And even among those who are, most people don’t feel a great need to talk about everything they like. It pretty much just those involved in fandom who crank out pages and pages of stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238/52 "2010-04-25T11:43:20Z")
I think it’s hilarious that there are people in this thread who think there is any significant population of people who’ve heard of Harry Potter but who haven’t heard of Darth Vader. Darth Vader would dwarf every other suggested name if this thread was expanded out to include movie characters. But using the rules in the OP, Harry Potter likely takes it. But only because of all of the expanded universe stuff like the movies and the toys and the video games. Because while Harry Potter is still hugely popular among kid readers, the mania has moved on to Twilight and The Wimpy Kid and… yes… Percy Jackson. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238/53 "2010-04-25T12:14:27Z")
If it wasn’t for the time constraint I’m pretty sure the answer would be Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238/54 "2010-04-25T15:13:11Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I think it’s hilarious that there are people in this thread who think there is any significant population of people who’ve heard of Harry Potter but who haven’t heard of Darth Vader. My aforementioned friend’s 4 year old wouldn’t have any idea who Darth Vader is, but she knows Harry Potter. I suspect the same is true for most other young children today, unless their parents happen to be _Star Wars_ fans. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238/55 "2010-04-25T15:38:27Z")
Run Forrest run! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238/56 "2010-04-25T15:49:12Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I think it’s hilarious that there are people in this thread who think there is any significant population of people who’ve heard of Harry Potter but who haven’t heard of Darth Vader. Darth Vader would dwarf every other suggested name if this thread was expanded out to include movie characters. It depends on whether you want to discuss characters better known from the book rather than the movie. Because, while the Star Wars novelization slightly preceeds the movie (thereby qualifying it for the thread), Darth Vader is known almost entirely from the movie, whereas many people know Harry Potter first and foremost as a literary character. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238/57 "2010-04-25T22:05:22Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I think it’s hilarious that there are people in this thread who think there is any significant population of people who’ve heard of Harry Potter but who haven’t heard of Darth Vader. Darth Vader would dwarf every other suggested name if this thread was expanded out to include movie characters. Keep in mind that Darth Vader isn’t in Episodes 1 and 2 and only shows up at the end of Episode 3. The last episode that he was a major character in was in 1983. I get more hits on R2-D2 than Darth Vader. I thought they might be false positives, but I went through three screens without one that wasn’t a reference to the droid. Of course, a lot of other people made the point that a lot of girls aren’t into Star Wars. They may pull a blank on Darth Vader, just like we do on Edward Cullen. Actually Indiana Jones gets more hits than any Star Wars character. I guess having your name in the title does help. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238/58 "2010-04-25T22:58:38Z")
If we could stretch the time frame to fifty five years, I’d say The Cat in the Hat. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238/59 "2010-04-25T23:08:42Z")
Glasses with perfectly round lenses no longer make people think “John Lennon.” They think “Harry Potter.” I think I’ve made my case here. 😉 I read Harry Potter in '98. As a adult. My parent’s read the books. Most children I know have read the books. Most adults know the books through their children at the very least. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238/60 "2010-04-25T23:16:42Z")
The problem is that people don’t really read books these days, so the answer will inevitably a character that was introduced in a book but was later made into a movie character. If there’s no movie of it, then he or she just can’t be _that_ famous. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-harry-potter-is-the-most-famous-literary-character-in-the-last-50-years/537238.md?page=4)