Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Point of View

Those conservative Christians and parents who deny their children of Harry Potter books because they believe it will morally corrupt them and put ideas in their minds about witchcraft and Satan worship, are paranoid in my opinion. These are the kinds of people who take the Bible to literally, and believe that everything that seems stereotypically against God's will and his beliefs should be strictly forbidden. However, I have gotten truly great morals out of Harry Potter books. Although some people think it is spiritually damaging, it really opens your mind to explore spiritual and moral subjects. Behind all the magic and fantasy of Harry Potter, its sole purpose is very evident, in that it stresses meaningful morals and life lessons. I believe reading Harry Potter has inspired so many children to read, and open their minds to books. If Harry Potter books have influenced children, it has done so in a positive light. However, when I say children I don't mean those children who get tucked into bed and is read a bed time story. These books are meant for kids like us; in fact they cannot really be categorized in a certain age group, and they are timeless books. I'm sure everyone who has read Harry Potter feels that they can always come back to the books and feel as intrigued by them as they were when they read them initially.

Harry Potter demonstrates a struggle between good versus evil, and always has good triumph over evil. This theme is represented throughout every juicy part of each Harry Potter book. It is particularly evident when Professor Dumbledore explains to Harry what really occured that night Voldemort killed his parents. The reason Harry did not die is because his mother protected him with her love. After Voldemort killed Harry's father and mother, his parents had just, perhaps unintentionally, defeated Voldemort that night with the act of love. This overrides the most powerful wizard (besides Dumbledore) in the entire wizarding world because Voldemort cannot grasp the concept of love, and therefore he cannot have power over it. That night Voldemort dissapeared, some of Voldemort's powers were transferred to him, and Harry notices some similarities between him and Voldemort. But the one thing he always can set himself a part from him and defeat him is the strenght of friendship and love that Voldemort will never know. This sole purpose of the books represents the true spirituality of this book. It deals with serious moral reflection. The magic and fantasy really is what gives it decoration. The story is told very well; J.K. Rowling's books are simply irrestible to put down. It's a true achievement to hold childrens' attention, of all different ages, for 300+ pages in each book.

I believe there is really no evidence that J.K. Rowling uses her books to seduce others into witchcraft. It is not the type of "magic" and "witchcraft" that could be used as modern-day witchcraft. Rowling invites children where witchcraft is "neutral" and authoriy determined solely by one's cleverness. And this is a huge difference in religion and Rowling's books that christians should not ignore.

3 comments:

Emily S. said...

Good job developing your topic! I completely agree with you: these books are fabulous for all that they offer children and readers of all ages, and the magic is sort of just "netural." Just a few comments: You repeatedly mention what J.K. Rowling's "sole purpose" was, but do you have evidence to support your position? And when you write your actual essay, you must make sure that you fully explain the importance of each character that you reference, in case the reader has not read the Harry Potter books.

Jaime said...

Okay yeah thanks for the advice, I probably wouldn't have thought about explaining the characters because I just know these books so well.

Anonymous said...

I think what you need is some charts and graphs! For example, instead of saying "It's a true achievement to hold childrens' attention, of all different ages, for 300+ pages in each book", perhaps you can say "statistics have shown..." This topic is mostly based on opinion, so if you can find evidence that MOST people support what you say, then it becomes as good as the truth.