I have a new pet peeve. Namely, those people who feel that Harry Potter is the root of all evil and should not be allowed in schools or theaters, or in the hearts and minds of children anywhere. My first reaction is utter disbelief. How do these people figure that the magic of Harry Potter is going to destroy their children? Or their religion? Or their belief system?whatever that may be? I can't honestly answer the question because I can't stand to be close enough to the people who feel this way long enough to get a full explanation.
Who and what is Harry Potter? What does he stand for? What does he teach the children of today? Well, here are my thoughts. Harry Potter is a young British boy who lost his parents at a young age, and lives with his aunt and uncle, who treat him badly. Does this teach kids that aunts and uncles are evil? Is this the danger that Harry Potter poses? Well?what about the classic wicked stepmother of the fairy tales? I don't hear anyone up in arms over Snow White (despite the fact that the Disney version is an absolute push-over?and not too bright to boot). Anyhow, Harry Potter discovers that he is actually destined to become a great wizard. He learns that there is a place where people know his name! They look at him and recognize him! It's like every kid's dream! (Oh, it must be dangerous!!)
I will point out at this point that this is a VERY normal thing for kids to feel. I, in fact, wrote a story at the age of 8 or 10 or so, about a young girl (who looked remarkably like a Barbie I used to own) who's family died horribly in a fire when she was young. She discovered that a brooch of her mother's gave her the power to travel between worlds: her world, and a world where, unbeknownst to her, her mother was queen. There were all sorts of cool creatures there: mermaids, centaurs, and lots of other critters that just happened to look like a popular toy of the time: Glimmers. Did this fantasy mean that I burnt down my parents' house to try to get a better look at this world? No! I was imaginative, not stupid! I liked the fantasy of having people respect my opinion, listen to my orders, hear what I was saying?because in the real world, a kid is queen of very little. Don't we all dream of what we can't have? It doesn't mean we do anything to get it. It doesn't mean that we confuse reality with fantasy. Even a moderately well adjusted 6 year old knows the difference between a fairy tale and dad's day at work. It doesn't mean he doesn't find the fairy tale more interesting. Just that he knows it's a story.
Okay. Magic. Why is Harry Potter's version so dangerous? I just don't understand. What is the huge difference between Harry Potter and the Narnia books? Granted, Narnia is a religious series, but kids don't know that. At least, I didn't. I just thought it was a great story. There were still the great elements: good and evil, magical creatures, ordinary kids doing extraordinary things?so why is that so different? As far as I can tell, Harry Potter teaches kids that friends can be found in odd places (Hagrid), that with friends, all things are possible (all the adventures to date), that anyone can make a difference by standing up for what they believe, that school can be a magical place?.how can all that be bad? I'm a little confused! The author of these books also stresses that Harry can't fix everything with magic. There are limits. There are times when magic is dangerous. And there are a lot of instances where intellect saves the day (Ron's chess game, Hermione's knowledge of practically everything) when magic can't. Why is that important? Because it's a metaphor. Power isn't the solution to everything. To kids power might mean being a bully, or the teacher's pet. It might mean being the best dressed, or the smartest kid in school. In any case, these books show the pros and cons of each of these categories, and they stress the importance of every type of person: the popular one (Harry), the smart one (Hermione), the loyal one (Ron) and many more. The books also stress that it's important to be flexible. It's important not to pre-judge people.
I see the Harry Potter books as a big metaphor for any kid's life. It can be tough. Sometimes people don't understand you, or assume things about you?but you can overcome adversity with perseverance and a little help from your friends.
I look at the books that I read in school when I was younger. In fifth grade I was in an advanced reading group (I spent most of my free time reading those awful fantasy novels by people like Piers Anthony and Robert Asprin, so I was a very good reader) and we read, "That Was Then, This is Now," by S.E. Hinton (who also wrote "The Outsiders.") It was a good book. I don't remember it terribly well at this point (some 15 years later) but I remember that it was very strong. I remember that the main character had to make a difficult decision on whether or not to turn his brother (a drug dealer) in to the police. I remember that doing so almost wrecked him. The book was very gritty and emotional. It made me think about the shades of gray that sometimes make up right and wrong. It was depressing. People died on the streets, did drugs, got hurt?but it was okay for me to read it. And you know what? I'm glad I did! It really made me think! It didn't scar me for life, or frighten me to death; it just made me think about life and direction and where I might be headed, and what the people less fortunate than myself were doing? But the violence and emotion in that book were so above and beyond anything you'll find in Harry Potter that I just can't comprehend why I was allowed to read S.E. Hinton, but some schools want to ban Harry Potter.
Maybe it's because Harry Potter is too much fun. Maybe he doesn't preach enough. Maybe he isn't pious enough. Maybe making kids want to read because it's fun is a bad idea. I really don't know. But one of the things that make Harry Potter so attractive is the fact that kids want to be important. And they like books where a protagonist their age is important, and able to control his own world, at least to some degree. So I have to ask, what is so wrong with allowing kids that very small amount of control over their lives that allows them to pick the books that they want to read?