Monday, May 09, 2005
Several years ago I set out to discover for myself the truth about the Harry Potter series and just recently having read through all five books and seen all three movies, I think I'm ready to give my informed opinion.
First of all, I would not classify these books so much as kid's books, more like young adult fiction, and perhaps most people's problems with the series would melt away if they were classified as such. There are some elements, after all, that require more discernment than kids under ten generally show--and I'm not talking about the magic which is pretty harmless stuff by comparison to other books I've read from the same genre. What readers need to be able to do is recognize that not everything is black and white and good and evil sometimes look suspiciously like each other. They need to understand this though through the lens that good and evil does exist and that you need to be attuned to the good in order to recognize either. Children under 10 don't have this characteristic as much as older children tend to.
Other than this, however, I am convinced not only that much of the hype surrounding the Harry Potter series is wrongheaded but that a lot of good things can come out of the books, things we would want to teach our young people. In the first book, the Dark Lord tries to convince young Harry that "there is no good and evil--there is only power and those too weak to grasp it." But Harry rejects the offer of grasping power for himself. Sacrifice and loyalty to one's friends is also a huge theme of the books--Harry's godfather yells at the wizard who betrayed Harry's parents: "You should have died, rather than betray your friends! Like we would have done for you!" When Harry's impulsiveness leads five of his closest friends into confrontation with the risen Dark Lord in Book 5, his friends simply take their place beside him and prepare to die, without a word of blame being spoken. But all does not always turn out well--Harry's impetuous charge lures his beloved stepfather into danger and he is killed by the Dark Lord's henchmen. I think this is a rather worthy reminder for young people that when evil exists, it causes pain, but that one has to be willing to lay down one's life for one's friends (gee, that sounds familiar from somewhere). Intringuingly, though, the books also shine a light on the problems of being too unbendingly loyal. In Book 4, a scene is relived where a young man accused of serving the Dark Lord is committed to prison by his own father despite his own protestations that he is innocent. Throughout the book Harry and the others harbor a sort of disrespect for the father for not believing his only son. Yet in the end it turns out the father was right--his son was a servant of the Dark Lord. The scene I thought was intended to attack the Salem witch trials could in a way justify them.
Everyone has to make the decision for themselves. Some people will think I'm wrong on this review and if they do, that's their right and decision. But I would encourage people to actually find out what's in the Harry Potter series before blanketly dismissing them all to hell. After all, very few of the people who read them actually continue to spread the story that they are occultic and satanic.
First of all, I would not classify these books so much as kid's books, more like young adult fiction, and perhaps most people's problems with the series would melt away if they were classified as such. There are some elements, after all, that require more discernment than kids under ten generally show--and I'm not talking about the magic which is pretty harmless stuff by comparison to other books I've read from the same genre. What readers need to be able to do is recognize that not everything is black and white and good and evil sometimes look suspiciously like each other. They need to understand this though through the lens that good and evil does exist and that you need to be attuned to the good in order to recognize either. Children under 10 don't have this characteristic as much as older children tend to.
Other than this, however, I am convinced not only that much of the hype surrounding the Harry Potter series is wrongheaded but that a lot of good things can come out of the books, things we would want to teach our young people. In the first book, the Dark Lord tries to convince young Harry that "there is no good and evil--there is only power and those too weak to grasp it." But Harry rejects the offer of grasping power for himself. Sacrifice and loyalty to one's friends is also a huge theme of the books--Harry's godfather yells at the wizard who betrayed Harry's parents: "You should have died, rather than betray your friends! Like we would have done for you!" When Harry's impulsiveness leads five of his closest friends into confrontation with the risen Dark Lord in Book 5, his friends simply take their place beside him and prepare to die, without a word of blame being spoken. But all does not always turn out well--Harry's impetuous charge lures his beloved stepfather into danger and he is killed by the Dark Lord's henchmen. I think this is a rather worthy reminder for young people that when evil exists, it causes pain, but that one has to be willing to lay down one's life for one's friends (gee, that sounds familiar from somewhere). Intringuingly, though, the books also shine a light on the problems of being too unbendingly loyal. In Book 4, a scene is relived where a young man accused of serving the Dark Lord is committed to prison by his own father despite his own protestations that he is innocent. Throughout the book Harry and the others harbor a sort of disrespect for the father for not believing his only son. Yet in the end it turns out the father was right--his son was a servant of the Dark Lord. The scene I thought was intended to attack the Salem witch trials could in a way justify them.
Everyone has to make the decision for themselves. Some people will think I'm wrong on this review and if they do, that's their right and decision. But I would encourage people to actually find out what's in the Harry Potter series before blanketly dismissing them all to hell. After all, very few of the people who read them actually continue to spread the story that they are occultic and satanic.
// posted by The Pendragon @ 7:52 AM 
