Although it may not be obvious to many people who enjoy the works of J.K. Rowling, the “Harry Potter” series is actually a series based on many Christian themes and ideology. Beyond the blantant chaacter similarities, J.K. Rowling also uses scripture straight from biblical texts and in her dipiction of death mirror Chrisitan beliefs and the author herself has admitted to basing thing throughout her story on her faith and Christianity. Quoted in an article in The Telegraph, "To me, the religious parallels have always been obvious," Rowling said. "But I never wanted to talk too openly about it because I thought it might show people who just wanted the story where we were going.” There is much debate on the matter, but there are clear comparisons …show more content…
In book 7, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry and Hermione visit the Graves of Harry’s deceased parents in Godric’s Hollow. While they are looking at the grave stones, there is an inscription on the tombstone that is a bible passage. The scripture on the tombstone is 1st Corinthians 15:26 which states “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” This explicit use of Biblical scripture along with other scripture references throughout the story also subtly show how the Christian ideas come through J.K. Rowling’s writing. We see a huge similarity in Christian ideals in the series in the way that J.K. Rowling depicts death. as mentionsed above, the way Harry Potter is killed in the seventh book of the series almost identically matches the death of Jesus Christ in the bible. He sacrifices himself for the good of man kind, while Jesus does the same thing for man kind in the bible. They both are risen from the dead to continue their mission for the welfare of life on Earth. These similarities between the ideology of Christian believers and the Harry Potter series are along side J.K. Rowling herself stating that her Harry Potter works have Christian undertones that the story is based …show more content…
Their works have many of the same qualities although drastically different story lines. Pity is a concept that is used throughout both story lines and are a heavy influence on the characters and their endings respectively. In Harry Potter, the characters who experience or use pity often find themselves being saved through the same pity they gave. For example, in book 7, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry and his friends, Ron and Hermione, are captured and sent to the Malfoy Manor where Harry and Ron are sent to stay in the dungeon while Hermione is tortured in the room above. While they are down in the dungeon, a servant of the dark wizards, known as Wormtail, is sent down to check on the prisoners he ends up attacking Harry with his fake hand given to him by none other than Lord Voldemort. When Harry reminds him of the pity he extended in the third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Wormtail’s hand releases for a moment. The pity that Harry showed to Wormtail by sparing his life at the end of the third book ended up saving his life in that moment. Unfortunately for Wormtail, in that moment his life was not spared for a second time. On the other hand, in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, pity has the power to take different shapes and feelings in the sense of a powerful emotion. For example, Gandalf makes the decision for himself that he would be unable to take control of
To some this story might seem like a tragedy, but to Christians this is a beautiful story. Although young Harry dies at the end, he is accepted into the kingdom of God, which is far superior to anything on Earth. A non-religious family raises him and the first taste of Christianity he gets makes him want to pursue God. In Flannery O’Conner’s short story, The River, the allure of Gods grace and the repelling of sinful ways are shown heavily through Harry.
How Pharr off is Mary Pharr on the significance of the novel about Harry Potter? I believe very far off. I think the argument Pharr makes is not connected to the educational benefits of Harry Potter. Rather she argues the morality presented throughout Harry Potter by saying this is what all readers crave. “In Medias Res” by Mary Pharr is a response to critics’ critical analysis of the Harry Potter (HP) series’ ability to educate readers. After thinking and reading Mary Pharr’s text about the ‘educational value’ has concluded with few, if any educational benefits through Harry Potter. Though these lessons exist they are typically taught by parents not school, not quantitative skills or tools that are typically taught in schools,
In Rowling’s series, muggle born witches and wizards are readily assimilated into the Wizarding world with no barriers, only facing hardship once they arrive in the form of the discrimination discussed previously in this essay. This open-door style of immigration encouraged in Rowling’s series is lacking in most nations, which maintain preservationist laws that make immigration difficult for many individuals. However, Rowling makes some of the most talented characters in her series muggle born witches and wizards such as Hermione Granger and Lily Evans Potter. These characters serve to represent the exceptional immigrants which the home nation, in this case the wizarding world, can benefit from accepting.
Richard Dawkins believes faith and religion are dangerous because they are viral and lead people to believe irrational ideas that can be perverted to discriminate against others. He is correct because religion is based on faith which is blind to reason, religion is too open to interpretation and thus too easy to pervert, and it is viral and easy to spread in its nature. Blind faith is extremely dangerous because it can lead almost anyone to believe something unwaveringly, whether it is good or bad. When coupled with the openness of religion to interpretation, faith in discriminating and harmful beliefs can lead to hard-to-negotiable conflicts. Add the ability of these belief systems to spread and a danger to society
Dr. Seuss once wrote that “today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you”, but what makes a person unique? A person’s character is what makes them who they are. It is the foundation of personality, words, and actions, and it grows with every trial in an individual’s life. Personal struggle develops character because it brings to light what a person will and will not do, allows them to find or develop talents, it creates an opportunity to alter their mindset, and the experience gained will stay with the individual forever.
...y for the lunatic fringes of my own religion” (“'Harry Potter' Author J.K. Rowling Opens Up About Books' Christian Imagery”).
Have you ever wanted to free yourself from the terrors and troublesome times of modern society and escape to a magical place? Clive Staples Lewis, or C.S. Lewis as he is better known, created such a place, in his extremely popular children’s series The Chronicles of Narnia. In these books, Lewis has an underlying message about Christianity. He represents four key aspects of Christianity in this series: Christ and God, evil in the world, and faith.
The work of C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling is of grave vital on the grounds that their work portrays actuality as well as adds to it. Yes, their work is not just a portrayal of actuality; it is somewhat a quality expansion. Their meeting expectations are depictions of the reasoning examples and social standards pervasive commonly. They are a delineation of the diverse features of regular man's existence. Their works serves as a something worth mulling over and a tonic for creative energy and innovativeness. Lying open a single person to great artistic lives up to expectations, is proportional to giving him/her the finest of instructive chances.
After Bevel Summers says the river will take you to heaven or the holy land, Harry takes it literally and drowns after attempting to baptize himself. Although he committed suicide and died, his faith brought him to God as he really believed that heaven is where he was looking for, to accept Jesus Christ as his savior. I personally never experienced Baptism, but my when I read about people who are suffering from their religion and belief, devastating conclusions to their life, brought to do the good but ending in bad result is what I hate to hear. Warriors who fight to save people from ISIS or places where people are judged, stoned and sentenced to death for their belief in Christian faith is those who are saved by God and brought up to heaven just like Harry
J.K. Rowling represents the idea of pure versus lesser races through the different types of blood statuses. There is a clear representation of racial hierarchy in the Harry Potter series. Many pure bloods in the wizarding word consider themselves better than wizards who are half blood or muggle born. Muggleborns are subject to discrimination, violence, and racial slurs in the wizarding world. Even half bloods who have two wizarding parents are seen as lesser if one of these parents is a muggleborn.
...s, and everyone around him. He norices the little things around him and all the changes in the preacers eyes that lets Harry know what to expect and how to react, althogh he doesnt actually understand what is going on. The preacher wasnt very cler with Harry so Harry died, but by Harry dieing is it actaully better for him to be leaving that lifestyle of child abuse, and neglagt from the people who shpiuld be loving and caring for him. Was he better off dieing than returning to that home? Are children who live in similair homes now a days and runaway from it better off? That is a question that many people ask each other everyday.
Ever since J.K. Rowling first introduced Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in 1997, children and adults have read and loved the series. It has gained such popularity that all of the books have been made into major motion pictures, and a Harry Potter attraction has been opened in Universal Studios, Florida. Though the readers love Rowling’s intricate and exciting story lines, many controversies have arisen from these stories, not only in the United States, but also in various countries around the world. Perhaps the biggest controversy is the religious implications perceived by some critics. Although these critics believe that the series promotes paganism and encourages evil actions, these theories should not be taken so seriously.
The authors of the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter each use the hero quest pattern as a scheduled backdrop of action. The two protagonists, Frodo Baggins and Harry Potter have very similar beginnings. They are introduced as normal boys who find out that they are going to undertake something very great. The two protagonists however, are not alone in their quests. They both have very similar mentors in Gandalf and Dumbledore respectively. Even greater guidance comes from their friends, who are there every step of the way. Each novel uses a reoccurring symbol to show the presence of evil. The two journeys are so epic due in part to the dark and powerful villains that each hero has to battle.
...but they also believe that it is influenced by current day books such as Harry Potter more than Greek myth. Even though the movie and book may be influenced by these pop culture books that is to say that those books are not influenced by Greek myth. There are influences of mythology all through the world and most things in the world are influenced by mythology in some way.
Creator of the most famous and best loved character in contemporary fiction, J.K Rowling is also the author of her own escape from a depressing existence on the verge of destitution. On the one hand, there is J.K Rowling who wrote the ‘Harry Potter’ novels, ‘The Casual Vacancy’ and ‘The Cuckoo’s Calling’; the literary phenomenon of the nineties and present day. On the other, there is Joanne Rowling (the ‘J.K’ was her agent’s marketing notch), a dreamy, rather shy, but passionate woman whose brilliance in translating her dreams into prose changed her life. In January 1994, she was broke and jobless, struggling to bring up a young child in a small rented flat in Edinburgh. Just six years later, with her first book transformed into a major Hollywood film, she was reportedly worth £65 million (Smith 2001).