The Harry Potter series, written by author J.K. Rowling, has been a subject of religious controversy since the first book was published in the year 1997. The seven part fantasy series focuses on the life of a young wizard by the name of Harry Potter and his two best friends whose names are Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley. Many religious groups argue that this series glamorizes Satanism or Witchcraft to the young adults who are reading them. All over the world some have been denied the pleasure of reading these best-selling novels. J. K. Rowling writes these novels not as a Christian trying to persuade people towards certain religious beliefs. These novels are of pure fiction and should not be condemned on alleged views of Satanism or Witchcraft.
They depict the quest for knowledge, wisdom and right action – the universal journey every human takes. The books condemn bullies, falsity, rudeness, [and] greed” (Foster). These themes were all demonstrated by Jesus’ actions and lessons, however, a novel with the same themes should not immediately be classified as religious nor should the parallelism allow Christians to criticize the novel. One of the most important points in the J.K. Rowling’s novel is love conquers power. Jesus always promoted love and one major example he demonstrated this quality is through his sacrifice to save humankind. Lily’s sacrifice to save Harry from Voldemort parallels Jesus’ sacrifice because of their love for a human or humanity. A quote from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone states “your mother died to save you…love as powerful as your mother 's for you leaves its own mark” (Rowling 299). The love parallel is evident through the love for another and the saving from evil. Julie Foster also mentioned the novels promote friendship. As stated earlier, Harry Potter has two best friends, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. This trio would do anything for each other. Through their bond they are able to fight against the Voldemort. The parallel that could be expressed here is how Jesus would have done anything for his friends. In the bible, Jesus states “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12-13). Hermione and Ron were always by Harry’s side. Through saving Hermione from the troll, through trying to save the sorcerer’s stone, through saving Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets, all tasks that could have severely injured or killed them, were all done together because they couldn’t have done it without the help
How did Harry Potter effect children in a positive way? What elements found within the series could be factors of this influence? Are there Christian elements to be found within Harry Potter? In order to answer these questions, I plan to research interviews with the author of Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, the views of the church, and those of Harry’s supporters. The two central sources that I plan to use are The Bible and Harry Potter itself. The Bible will mainly be used in order to portray the views of the church, while Harry Potter will provide the basis of the entire argument. Some other sources that I plan to utilize include books by John Granger such as “Looking for God in Harry Potter” and “The Hidden Key to Harry Potter,” which analyze Harry Potter, and interviews and articles from several different viewpoints. I also plan to research how literacy rates have changed since the release in the series, and teachers’ views on the influence of Harry Potter on their students’ reading. The only problem that I can foresee is the fact that the Bible states that witchcraft is of Satan, but with logic and research on the subject, I should be able to dispute this
But this was not the sole thing which added to his uneasiness. He did not find an appropriate dancing partner for the Christmas party. Harry wanted to have a romantic story with Cho Chang, but he fell into the clutches of Voldemort by degrees. The part of this book, which appeals to me most is not the emotions of these youngsters. Actually they were childish from my perspective. The emotions the Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort had are more compelling for me to look into. Why was Bartemius Crouch Jr. so obedient to Voldemort? Why did Voldemort kill his father and grandparents? “Both of us, for instance, had very disappointing fathers...very disappointing indeed. Both of us suffered the indignity, Harry, of being named after those fathers. And both of us had the pleasure...the very great pleasure...of killing our fathers to ensure the continued rise of the Dark Order!” In point of fact, such tragedies and conflicts are the most
Like this excerpt from JK Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” the majority of the book series takes a clear stance against discriminatory practices. However, she also portrays serious stereotyping oversights throughout her work.
But this was not the sole thing which added to his uneasiness. He did not find an appropriate dancing partner for the Christmas party. Harry wanted to have a romantic story with Cho Chang, but he fell into the clutches of Voldemort by degrees. The part of this book, which appeals to me most is not the emotions of these youngsters. Actually they were childish from my perspective. The emotions the Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort had are more compelling for me to look into. Why was Bartemius Crouch Jr. so obedient to Voldemort? Why did Voldemort kill his father and grandparents? “Both of us, for instance, had very disappointing fathers...very disappointing indeed. Both of us suffered the indignity, Harry, of being named after those fathers. And both of us had the pleasure...the very great pleasure...of killing our fathers to ensure the continued rise of the Dark Order!” In point of fact, such tragedies and conflicts are the most
Harry Potter is a prodigious leader that others want to follow, and it is quite distinguishable that the love surrounding him is extraordinary. Harry’s comment concerning the eagerness to sacrifice his own soul in order to save those he loved only showed the reader that he has a pure, loving heart. Similarly, Jesus had the power not only to love everybody, but also to influence others so heavily that they too began to love him and the people surrounding. Rowling used third person point of view to give insight on the amount of need and want of Harry as their “leader and symbol, their savior and guide” that the people who surround him felt. Aside from the love and willingness to sacrifice that Harry had for others, his friends and family shared a special love for him. Harry’s mother had loved him so much that she died to protect him. Likewise, Harry had some pretty remarkable friends with so much room in their hearts for him that they were willing to protect him, stand through the darkness by his side, and love him for the burdens he carried. Love teaches people to make sacrifices and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows conveys that message well, but nothing compares to the ultimate sacrifice made by Jesus Christ through his love for the
...ave evolved about the subject matter of these books. The greatest controversy, though, centers on the series’ religious references, which have caused many parents to despise the “immoral” concepts of the stories and forbid their children from reading these books. Such people feel that Rowling promotes paganism through the magic performed by the characters, and promotes evil through various connections to Satan. Still, Harry Potter does not reflect the practices of Wicca and good always overpowers evil in the end; therefore, we should not be concerned with the effects of the series on children, or even adults. After all, readers have been enjoying stories containing magical references for centuries and humanity has not suffered because of it. Harry Potter is just another magical story and should be enjoyed, rather than judged because of its controversial references.
Harry Potter died for the wizarding world much like Jesus Christ died willingly for our sins. After they died, they were resurrected by a father figure. Harry was resurrected by Albus Dumbledore in a way. After Voldemort tried to murder him a second time using the killing curse Harry went into a dream state where he met with Dumbledore who gave him a choice to live or die. Jesus and Harry are more alike than people think. It's not just because they both died for the people around them. Jesus Christ stripped the devil of his powers just like Harry stripped Voldemort of his. They both saw the enemy, stood up to them and they conquered.
In Harry Potter, one of the premier topics is love, in the feeling of tribute, familial ties, and companionship. The spectator sees this in the adoring generosity of Harry Potter's guardians for a newborn child Harry; Harry, Ron, and Hermione (The Trio) bear much adore for one another and showcase this in their activities towards each one in turn; Harry shows extraordinary cherish for his Godfather, Sirius Black, and Sirius gives back this adore from various perspectives, incorporating altruism;...
Now my third and final compare and contrast is that friends would also sacrifice for themselves also. In Harry Potter and in The Maze Runner Harry and Thomas’s friends both sacrificed for them, (Spoiler Alert) like in Harry Potter when Ron’s brother Fred, dies for Harry. Just like his parents, friends, teachers, uncles I could go on. Or in The Maze Runner when Alby dies for Thomas or Chuck.
The play I picked for my director’s notebook was Harry Potter and The Cursed Child by Jack Thorne, J.K. Rowling and John Tiffany. A few factors went into me choosing this as my play. These reasons include the buildup that went into the revealing of the play itself as well as the idea of all the technical elements that I’d heard so much about in the previously referred to build up. This play also holds a lot of significance to me as a person due to the way the original series helped me grow up and I feel this play may do the same.
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
Typically, when someone thinks of religion, they think about worship of a higher power, compassion for all living things, and a general love of the world. Satanism, while a religion, does not fit these conventions. The faith holds no belief in a higher power, is rather selfish in nature, and paints a bleak picture of the world and its workings. In addition, Satanism has controversy riddled history dating back to the seventeenth century. Due to the religion’s unconventional nature, it is often looked down upon and its principles and values are ridiculed. To better understand a faith like Satanism, it helps to look at it alongside a more familiar and commonly understood religion like Christianity.
The Harry Potter series, written by J. K. Rowling, is about a young boy who finds out he is a wizard and uses his magic powers to vanquish evil. The series is currently the target of many protestors, as they scrutinize and penalize the books for their creative and imaginative topics. Ranging from education to religion, protestors' reasoning's behind theses attacks have sparked nationwide debates. Everything from censorship to book burning, protesting and pulling theses books from school shelves, have been done to outlaw the Potter series. Elizabeth D. Schafer, author of "Harry and History", summarizes how these controversies stem forth and how she disagrees with the protests against the Potter series. Censorship of the Harry Potter books is a vain attempt to maintain control and power over citizens as their rights and freedom of choice is being severely violated by forbidding the viewing of certain sources of entertainment.
...ck and a potential pitfall. Someone full of hate and greed, such as Tom Marvolo Riddle, who has never known it even once in their entire life, cannot understand its full magical power. Love is one of the hardest and strongest kinds of magic and is perhaps the fabric that holds the wizarding world of Harry Potter together. Dumbledore says to Harry “Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all those who live without love” (Harry Potter and the Deathly Halllows 722). The series stresses that it is important to love. It is obvious throughout the series that Harry embraces his history and duty by accepting the soul-purifying act of practicing self-sacrificial love. It is no surprise that the Harry Potter series is so widely in a time of fear, uncertainty, and unrest. Harry defeats evil not by fearing it, but by embracing it and overcoming it with love.
The novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, is a story about an orphan named Harry Potter who is sent to live with his relatives, the Dursleys. For the first ten years of his life, Harry is hated and ignored by his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. Harry has never experienced a friendship with anyone until the day he is sent to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Throughout the school year, Harry develops a balance of friendship between Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom. Each of them, has a need to belong somewhere. Together, they form a balance that make them each feel wanted in way that they have never known until they meet each other.