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Harry potter and lord of the rings comparison
Harry Potter comparison
Harry Potter movie book comparison
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Annotated Bibliography
Abanes, Richard. "Harry Potter: Harmless Christian Novel or Doorway to the Occult?" Interview. The Christian Broadcasting Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2015. In this interview, Author Richard Abanes provides information to parents about Harry Potter and the concerns and dangers with modern day fantasy literature. Supplying a priest’s expert opinion, this interview discusses children’s susceptibleness to outside influences and the different types of fantasy literature. Its unyielding, yet respectable position, including references to other Christian fantasy series such as The Chronicles of Narnia, will be advantageous for my argument in that it provides an alternative viewpoint from my own. Being a counterargument, this source can be used to help shape an argument in rebuttal of the points made in this argument. Sources that argue that Harry Potter does indeed contain Christian aspects will be helpful in a rebuttal of this source.
Adler, Shawn. "'Harry Potter' Author J.K. Rowling Opens Up About Books' Christian Imagery." MTV News. MTV, 17 Oct. 2007. Web. 23 Sept. 2015. This article argues that Christian parallels can be found within Harry Potter, including two Bible
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"Harry Potter and the Literacy Phenomenon." The Leaky Cauldron. N.p., 2006. Web. 22 Sept. 2015. This article argues that the recent increase in literacy amongst children and teens is directly proportional to the success of Harry Potter. Providing and citing a multitude of facts, expert opinions and statistics, "Harry Potter and the Literacy Phenomenon," can be deemed as an impeccable source. The statistics appearing within the article will be highly beneficial in creating a well-rounded, factual argument. This source adds a new perspective to the overall argument; it relays the positive influence on children from an educational standpoint, rather than religious or moral. Adding this new perspective can help form a well-rounded, more factual aspect to my
Fond of using allusions and symbols, Lewis aimed to present his ideological ideas through a non-Christian point of view. In the second chapter of the novel, Mr. Tumnus, a Narnia resident, proclaims “But I’ve never seen a Son of Adam or a Daughter of Eve before” (Lewis 11). Adam and Eve, although religious figures, are not exclusive to Christianity. This gives Lewis an opportunity to briefly address and begin to integrate his beliefs from the onset of the novel. Later one of the children says to the professor “Well, sir, if things are real, they’re there all the time” (Lewis 49). Atheists often argue that God is not real because He is not “there all the time.” To counter, Christians believe He is there and is real, if one has faith and believes as evidenced in Joshua 1:9 “ . . . for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (NIV). Without a direct reference to God, Lewis is able to showcase his transformation to Christianity. While in Narnia, the children try to restore the power of good and overthrow the evil Queen’s reign. The power of good resides in Aslan, a lion. Residents describe this rule to the children by saying “Aslan . . . He’s the king. He’s the Lord . . . But the word has reached us that he has come back” (Lewis 78). In the Christian religion, Jesus is the king and the Lord. He is crucified and buried but eventually rises from the dead and resurrects and comes back to live on Earth. Both Aslan and Jesus lack struggle in their death. Although they may have has the power to overcome the gruesome event, they go peacefully. This is evidenced through “‘Bind him I say’ . . . he made no resistance at all” (Lewis 151). The lion is a symbolic portrayal of Jesus that allows Lewis to continue to address his strong Christian faith in an understated fashion. Christianity captivated Lewis at an older
Many have come to know and love the stories of Harry Potter, the boy who lived, but what most may not realize is that Harry Potter can have a bad influence on young children and adults. Though the Harry Potter series is a children’s book that is meant to enlighten the imagination of young viewers, it can be misguiding to those cannot comprehend the difference between imagination and real life. The beloved story of Harry Potter can have a negative influence on young children and adults for a variety of reasons.
...y for the lunatic fringes of my own religion” (“'Harry Potter' Author J.K. Rowling Opens Up About Books' Christian Imagery”).
Whitehead, A. N. (2006). God, C.S. Lewis, and J.K. Rowling: Christian Symbolism in Harry Potter.
My grandmother introduced me to reading before I’d even entered school. She babysat me while my parents were at work, and spent hours reading to me from picture books as my wide eyes drank in the colorful illustrations. As a result, I entered my first year of school with an early passion for reading. Throughout elementary and middle school, I was captivated by tales of fire-breathing dragons, mystical wizards, and spirited foreign gods. A book accompanied me nearly everywhere I went, smuggled into my backpack or tucked safely under my arm. I was often the child who sat alone at lunch, not because she didn’t have friends, but because she was more interested in a wizards’ duel than the petty dramas of middle school girls. I was the child who passed every history test because she was the only kid who didn’t mind reading the textbook in her spare time, and the child who the school librarian knew by name. Reading provided a
Since the first segment of the series was released in 1997, Harry Potter has been challenged by churches and parents due to the practicing of magic by children found within the books. The books have been removed from school shelves, discouraged by churches, and censored by parents. It is claimed that Harry Potter is devilish, satanic, and encourages children to practice the occult, damaging their religious views (LaFond). Therefore, many parents keep their children from reading the book series. Yet, Harry Potter has been such a positive influence on my so many lives. Evident through the movies, theme parks, stores, and much more, J.K. Rowling’s series has been an overwhelming success for many reasons (“Because it’s his…”). In order to encourage
George MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin contains everything a child could want in a fantasy story: a dastardly plot, fiendish villains, strong heroes of each gender, and a happy ending. If one were to look deeper, however, they'd also see that MacDonald's novel is peppered with allusions to the christian mythos. The most obvious and telling sign of an overall christian theme is the presence of Princess Irene's great-great-grandmother (also named Irene). This woman is clearly the god-like figure of the novel, overseeing the action both literally and figuratively. She sits high up in the palace, much as children are taught that God is high in the heavens looking down on us. Like God she is shrouded in mystery as both Irene and the reader learn l...
Before reading Harry Potter, I very rarely read for pleasure. I found reading boring, almost old fashioned. My frame of mind more readily paralleled Danny Divito in the movie Matlida, who says that “[t]here's nothing you can get from a book that you can't get from a television faster.” While my view of reading as a child could be summed up in that quote, everything changed when I was introduced to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I can remember to this day when my Dad began reading Harry Potter to me, and how I did not understand just how much this book would change me. Harry Potter and his world of wizardry became my own personal Shangri-La, my escape, my own world. Anytime I wanted, I could ascend to a world of fantasy and explore the depths of my own imagination in a way that I had never been capable of doing before. I became obsessed with the book, reading it before, during, and after sc...
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.
Harry and his friends encounter considerable ambiguity in their adventures and learn as they age that the dualities seem more like continua and that the easy answers they receive from wizarding society are in fact influenced by those in power (Chappell, p. 282, 2008).” The author holds that in traditional literature, the child protagonists had a clear picture of what is right and wrong. There were adult figures that were there to guide and their wisdom was infallible. The Harry Potter series changed the script by giving the children protagonists reasons to question, research, and come to their own decisions.
“Yesterday's the past, tomorrow's the future, but today is a gift. That's why it's called the
One of the most read series in all literature is Harry Potter. The seven-book succession has sold over 400 million copies and has been translated into over sixty languages. What is it that makes this series so wildly famous? What is it about the boy who lived that makes frenzied readers flock to their local bookstore at midnight on the day of the release to buy the latest installment? How is a story set in a world that doesn’t exist about wizards, witches, magic, and mystical creatures so popular? The series has been able to earn its spot on the New York Times Bestseller list and has granted author J.K. Rowling multiple awards because it is relatable. It is not the setting or the events in the plot of the story that we relate to. We relate to what Harry, his friends, mentors, teachers, caretakers, and even enemies feel. Harry is in a lot of ways exactly like us. He represents some of the good characteristics that all of us have as well as the bad. The series as a whole, is about one thing that is stressed over and over again in the novels, love. The Harry Potter series is one of the most read sequences of novels because the central theme is love and self-sacrifice, and readers are looking for a novel that shows them just that.
The Chronicles of Narnia are veritably the most popular writings of C.S. Lewis. They are known as children’s fantasy literature, and have found favor in older students and adults alike, even many Christian theologians enjoy these stories from Lewis; for there are many spiritual truths that one can gleam from them, if familiar with the Bible. However, having said this, it is noteworthy to say that Lewis did not scribe these Chronicles for allegorical didactics of the Christian faith, but wrote them in such a well-knit fashion that young readers might understand Christian doctrine through captivating fantasy and thus gain an appreciation for it. With this in mind, and in the interest of this assignment, the purpose of this paper is an attempt to analyze one of the many doctrines of the Christian faith from The Lion, The Witch, And, The Wardrobe (LWW), namely, temptation and how Lewis illustrates it through an individual character, Edmund.
Rowling’s writing sparks controversy with readers. Rowling has dealt with criticism about how her books teach children about witchcraft and evil powers (Kirk 103). To shield children from these teachings, schools and libraries across the world banned the books and occasionally, a book burning. “It conflicts with the values I’m trying to teach my children,” reports Ken McCormick, a father (qtd in Cannon and Cataldo). Evidently, the series’ plot teaches children revenge, and parents and teachers across the globe agree that banning the books will protect them from harmful lessons. However, her works have encouraged children read more. Today, fewer children and teens read for pleasure, causing a great drop in test scores, vocabulary, and imagination (Hallet). According to U.K.-based Federation of Children’s Book Groups, fifty nine percent of kids believe that Harry Potter enhanced their reading skills, and forty eight percent say that the books turned them in to bookworms (Hallet). In other words, Rowling’s books became children’s, in this day of age, video games. She published Harry Potter at a time where children, teens, and young adults were starting to consume their time with technology instead of reading. Without these books, generations across the spectrum would diminish in terms of reading skill. Rowling not only helps children improve their skills, she gives back to them through her
The Magic of Magic and Imagination in Fantasy Literature: A Study Based on JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series