Posted by Helen on: 07.24.2007 /
My son picked up 2 copies of the book at midnight Friday and my children started reading. When I got up they were both lying asleep on their beds, lights on, books at their side.
My son finished the book Saturday afternoon and gave it me to read. I finished it on Sunday (yes I did get some sleep Saturday night).
Overall I was impressed with what JK Rowling achieved in this book, especially given the constraints of a final book in a series, which has to resolve mysteries in a creative, interesting, suspenseful way.
Julie Clawson writes on her blog
I do have to say that after this concluding book all conservative Christians need to make a huge apology to JK Rowling, lift the bans on the books, and give them a place of honor on the spiritual fiction shelf next to the Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings (where I’ve kept my set all along…)
I never agreed with Conservative Christian criticism of the book series either. Back in 2001 I wrote about Christian Virtues in the Harry Potter Movie, as a protest against what I was hearing from a number of Christians. (2001 was the year I stopped simply accepting what Christians had taught me and started questioning much of it instead)
I like many of the themes in the series. Love is very powerful, more powerful than the most skilled magic. People who have power from innate or acquired skills have the choice to use it to gain power and influence for themself or turn away from that temptation. The series affirms lots of good character qualities – loyalty, courage, perseverance, etc.
I like a lot of how JK handles the relationships between people throughout the series – how the relationships develop as Harry gets older (although sometimes I felt she belabored stages like Harry’s anger in book 5). I like how we learn progressively more about people in each book.
I enjoyed the touches of humor in the books (often not easily reproduceable in the movies) and how JK parodies school life with magical versions of what I went through at school, often carrying the parody down to the small details. The weakness of the books, which my children picked up on, is JK’s lack of creativity with the language – she generally confines herself to a small range of adjectives, which gets very repetitive. I understand these are children’s books but she could still have used more variety of adjectives.
My daughter finished on Sunday and my husband isn’t reading it, so now we can discuss it in our household.
A couple of comments on the recent movie (of book 5) – I really liked how the two new characters Professor Umbridge and Luna Lovegood were portrayed. It was disappointing that they didn’t include some of the fun/interesting parts of the book – like the parts with Rita Skeeter in and the visit to the hospital to see Mr Weasley when they run into Gilderoy Lockhart and Harry sees Neville’s parents.
Comment by: April Terry
1I have encouraged my son to read the Harry Potter books and watch the movies, not because I want him to get into witchcraft, but because they are good stories and they are interesting.
I have just always let him know that it’s pretend—nothing more, nothing less. As a child, I watched the Wizard of Oz and that has plenty of “magical” things in it, and I never once thought it was real and I didn’t grow up to be a wizard or a witch.
Comment by: Helen
2Thanks April – great point about the Wizard of Oz.
I think they come across as pretend; I never understood why some Christians have regarded them as a serious invitation into the occult.
Comment by: seekingsomething
3I’ve never got into Harry Potter because I just switch off when stories become too wizardy and magical… but I really enjoyed the review.
I never got the conservative Christian worries about occultism. I’ve heard the Narnia series criticised similarly in some circles….
My childhood (OK and still into adulthood)favourites were books that were portraits of ordinary-ish everyday life. I couldn’t get past the wizardyness of HP to appreciate the human themes.. but I’m glad to hear they are there. :)
Comment by: Helen
4Thanks ss
I expect the people who criticized Narnia for the occultism have had a very hard time with Harry Potter!
I quite like fantasy but – each to his or her own. Mostly the magic struck me as a clever parody/creative and inventive plot device.
Comment by: Steve S.
5…you know, funny thing is, I never heard anyone say anything negative about Harry Potter.
I heard plenty of people talking about the crazy Christians who were saying, “Harry Potter is the of Devil!” but I never heard anyone actually say, “Harry Potter is of the Devil!”
Maybe I just go to the wrong kind of Church?
PS I know the fact that I don’t watch TV (that is where the devil ‘really’ lives!) probably helped…
Comment by: David H
6My daughter has a friend whose father felt this way about the books. When he found out my kids were reading them he became quite distressed. He already had many issues with what he considered my so-called Christianity. But for a couple of years he wouldn’t let my kids stay over-night at his house because they were reading those books.
I have heard and read conservative Christian lectures on the evils of Harry Potter. Here is a quote from a web site I just ran across:
Google “Harry Potter evil” and you will find a million similar sites. Sure, many are from fringe types, but the recurring theme in most is that their creators claim to be Christian.
One that pushes the envelope in lampooning such “Christian” beliefs can be found here. I couldn’t figure out if the place was for real until I came across the “What Would Jesus Do” thong ad.
Comment by: Helen
7Steve, yes, you clearly go to the wrong sort of church ;-)
Comment by: Rachel
8David, my husband and I received quite a bit of harassment from some of our fundamentalist family members for letting our daughter read Harry Potter. They most definitely thought the books were “of the Devil” and would lead her into witchcraft.
Before letting her read them, we had sought the advice of our Baptist minister who said that the books were great, that he and his wife read them and that they were “no different than Chronicles of Narnia.” I did tell my family about the recommendation we had gotten from our pastor but of course that did not change their minds about the books, only about our pastor!
BTW, the harassment we received really irritated my husband. When we become even MORE liberal and apostate by leaving the Baptist church for the Episcopal church and that resulted in more harassment, my usually reticent and long-suffering husband had enough! He wrote a gracious but firm email requesting that certain individuals keep their opinions to themselves.
Comment by: David H
9I mentioned CS Lewis to my daughter’s friend’s father. his conclusion seemed to be Lewis must be wrong, too.
Comment by: Pete S.
10I just finished reading “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” a couple days ago. It was sad coming to the end of a long series, but the ending was satisfying. I think there are some very interesting, and sometimes confusing or inconsistent messages about spirituality, death and the “after-life” in the book (probably springing from some not-altogether-organized or clear thoughts on the matter by Rowling,) and it would take some actual quoting from the book to delve into that. Since this is subtitled “no spoilers” I better not. However, concerning Christians distrust or dislike of Harry Potter due to its magical element, I do have some thoughts.
First, I think that “magic” is a universal desire. I remember wishing magic were true basically all my life. To stretch out your hand and cause something to happen because you thought it, for instance. Reality doesn’t work that way, but the Harry Potter series addresses this longing, and is empowered by it. Doesn’t everyone dream of flying for instance? The books allow for that vicariously: we participate in Quidditch without ever mounting a broomstick, just because it somehow universally appeals to this desire to transcend our earthly limitations. It is a nod to the power of human imagination, not a nod to Satan and some 21st Century Dark Arts.
Second, We are, after all, ALL MUGGLES. Even Rowling. There is something humbling, even humilitating, about just being Muggles. But being Muggles is the great equalizer. JK Rowling has allowed us to ALL be on the outside looking in, and be able to feel what it is like being a second class or untouchable citizen: something less than magic. I think that is good for us. We realize that what Voldem….er…He-Who-Shan’t-Be-Named stands for is that elitist, fascist, pure-blood evil that infects much of the world still. Whenever and whereever we continue to treat someone else as inferior due to race, religion, creed, age, sex, etc.. we are like the Death Eaters. I’m glad that Harry and Co. were around to rally to our cause, and be willing to die so that we Muggles could live.
Just some beginning thoughts.
Comment by: David H
11Magic has always been alluring to me, but not the potion and wand-weaving kind. That has always seemed far to human and mechanistic. My interest in magic began with the Brothers Grimm, George MacDonald, Mary Stewart’s Merlin trilogy, JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. Magic in those stories is something elemental, something ingrained in the world. Us humans have forgotten it if we ever knew.
But my favorite books that use magic are the Earthsea trilogy by Ursula K. LeGuin (although the singing motif used in Narnia and Middle Earth really resonates with me). Much as in Lewis’ Narnia, magic is the language of creation. It is a language the predates all living creatures. What magicians spend much of their time doing in Earthsea is trying to re-discover the language of God.
Magic either is or isn’t (there are magicians mentioned in the Bible). The human efforts I have seen on that front — not illusion, David Blaine — have been pretty feeble. But magic as a metaphor is pretty powerful. And metaphor, as I have had to say far too often during my writing career, is not the same as endorsement.
Comment by: Pete S.
12magic is an element in the books by Christopher Paolini: “Eragon” and “Eldest”. One of the things that he includes in his portrayal of magic is the use of an Ancient Language: the words contain the power of magic. Words are also employed by JKRowling in Harry Potter. If one knows the words and can channel that meaning… Words are powerful. This is one thing that is overwhelmingly linked to the idea of magic.
We should take care with the words that we use.