Plot Description: Is the Harry
Potter series a dangerous influence on children? Does its anti-Christian values
make it an inappropriate influence?
When I uploaded a picture of this on
my Instagram account I got a lot of messages along the line of, “oh my god,
cooooool!!” “Where’d you get this from?!” “F4F?” and “Send me nudes”. The
latter two are, admittedly were just Instagram spam, but the amount of interest
of what is basically literacy theory surprised me. The appeal perhaps proves
the first point Richard Abanes makes, Harry Potter is one of the most, if not
THE most popular book series ever written, and if it has Harry’s name on it,
people are likely to be interested. This is, however, where mine and Mr. Abanes
occurring views end.
Abanes states the argument of the
book clearly on the front cover:
Harry Potter: Harmless Fantasy or Dangerous
Fascination?
How many of you will be staring at
your computer screens perplexed at this question? Harry Potters just a nice
story about an orphaned wizard, right?! There’s nothing harmful in the plot
that makes J.K. Rowling’s series inappropriate to children, Christian or not?
Well just to cut a long story short you’re right. I’ll briefly sum up the main
points of Abanes argument:
- Rowling’s representation of Magic is too close to the occult form of Magick denounces by the Bible, making it inappropriate of children.
Abanes states examples of how
Rowling takes real figures and references of the occult world and intertwines
them with her fictional world. Mythological, astrological, even the Arthurian
legend and how they are used to gently and skillfully introduce the occult
world in an appealing form to children.
The occult, if you’re wondering is essentially ANY form of thinking or reasoning
as to what or how we are here, that does not conform to Christian beliefs and
the Bible. For example, the use of the feline in the series (Mrs Norris, Crookshanks,
Professor McGonagall’s animagus) is used in clear reference to Wicca. And what
we would think of as clever intertextuality of Harry’s books for class authored
by Wicca figures and the reference to Nicholas Flamel is denounced as Rowling
subtly trying to link the real to fiction to influence the reader.
2) Ron, Hermione and Harry, in particular, portray
behaviours and attitude that make them dangerous heroes for young children.
*eye roll*
Sorry I couldn’t help it.
Abanes cites numerous examples of
Harry and Ron sneaking out of their dorm, trespassing, lack of respect for
adults, drinking, cursing and a general lack of Christian values. The faults to
this argument are laughable.
·
As Rowling CONSTANTLY AND REPEATEDLY tells us:
not all bad people are completely bad, and not all good people are completely
good, this I believe is a very good lesson for children to learn. Harry, Ron
and Hermione are Gryffindor’s. This means they are brave, courageous and loyal.
However, they can also be pig-headed, stubborn and too fast to rush into things
without thinking. If Rowling presented us with a 2 dimensional representation of
a person with solely good values, not only would this be an inaccurate
portrayal of human behavior, it would also be plain boring!
·
Harry Potter is a teenage boy. He’s going to be full
of angst. He’s going to do things he’ll regret. If you try and deny that this
will happen to your child and shield them from the world, that’ll blow up in
your face. Big time.
·
Harry apparently shows bulling tendencies. For
example, as Abanes cites, Harry and Ron’s attitude to Hermione and Neville in
the Philosophers Stone.
“Hermione
succumbs to peer pressure after overhearing Ron and Harry say she is disliked
at the school. Hermione endears herself to them by telling a “downright lie” to
a teacher in order to cover up for the boys… This morally troubling scene
concludes with Hermione and the boys becoming friends” (p36)
This scene is in no way put into
context. Harry and Ron on hearing there’s a “TRRRROLLLLLL!!!! TROOOLLLLL IN THE
DUNGEON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” rush to try and warn Hermione as they are both extremely
worried for her safety. Then on finding her in mortal danger save her life! If
Hermione were to turn them into the teacher then she’d be a downright
dislikable person. Perhaps, Rowling intention then, was to teach children a
lesson about abandoning childhood self-centeredness in order to make friends. And
as for Neville, yes Hermione curses him when he attempts to stand up to them leaving
the dorm. Rowling however, more than makes up for this by making Neville the
hero at the end of her book with Neville being the reason Gryffindor win the
house cup, teaching children, that it is worth standing up to people.
3 )Due
to the fact that Rowling places her fiction novel in the world of reality (e.g.
Kings Cross Station, locations in Surrey ect.) children will be unable to
distinguish what is fiction and what is reality.
If this is a genuine concern of
parents then there’s no more hope for mankind. Let’s all just burn every
fantasy and fiction book ever written. We wouldn’t want children thinking then
short people are hobbits, would we?
People really don’t give children enough
credit, they’re capable of understanding and grasping maturer content that you’d
think. Harry Potter is, after-all, a story about friendship and love; magic is
a mere narrative backdrop. If children were to grow up with no fantasy,
imagination or magic (see what I did there) it wouldn’t be much of a childhood
at all.
I did, in a way enjoy this book. It
made me slightly angry and annoyed, but being British I gain pleasure from
this. I also enjoy reading literary theory, and Harry Potter being my favourite
book series it was nice to read a critical theory on it. This is however, where
my enjoyment ended. The examples cited were random at best and used only to fit
his argument. The argument itself is EXTREMELY weak, and despite not being a
Christian myself, I’m sure they too would find this reading hard going and disagreeable
(Abanes himself uses multiple quotes from influential people in the Christian
world who have only praise for Rowling’s series).
Of course make your own mind up
whether you agree with the argument, after all what do I know? It’s
interesting, none-the-less, to know other people’s opinions and thoughts. It’s like
soup of the mind to read arguments that oppose our own!
Leave comment letting me know what
you think!
Lots of Love,
Rhian
Xoxo
Richard Abanes, Harry Potter and the Bible: The Menace
behind the Magick, Christian Publications, Inc, Horizon Books [2001]
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