Rarely does a book series cause such a sensation as JK Rowling's Harry Potter books. The books, chronicling the school life of young wizard Harry Potter and his friends, have been recieved all around the world in a sort of frenzy - and nobody can be sure just why the books have been so popular. To most, the books are a heartwarming tale that catches attention on two levels - one level for the heartwarming, moralistic, heroic, good-triumphing-over-evil view of the books, and the other for the action-packed, often magical adventure scenes. But some take a different point of view on the phenomonal series, saying that the content is too violent, revengeful and bloodythirsty for younger readers for which the books, with their obvious magical content, were written for.
In a world where dragons, gigantic spiders and three-headed bests are the norm, and where you have to watch your back lest a crippling and often fatal curse is thrown upon you, it is indeed true that Harry Potter and his friends are one group of youngsters that face evil more than normal children do. Not every child, also, has one of the world's worst Dark Wizards as their arch nemesis. This is the view taken by many fretful parents, that a child should not have to deal with such dangers. What most people who take this view fail to realise is that Harry isn't a normal child. He's a wizard. Most of the events described in the books, violent or non-violent, cannot happen in the real world because of the simple fact that the books are set in a magical world, where our rules don't apply. Children can recognise the book for what it is - a fantasy - otherwise, why would the books be so popular? The reason these books have caught the attention of thousands of young readers is because Harry's world is not accessible to them. The things he does and the places he goes are something they are never going to experience, so they happily read about these magical deeds through Harry. Why should the violence become more real to them than the spells, creatures and games they know can only exsist in these books?
And although violence is maybe more apparent in the Harry Potter series than most other children's books, the other values it has are far more beneficial and powerful than most of the other children's books, too. The strong emphasis on family values, ethics and morals are seen everywhere throughout the books. The violence is only more apparent than these issues is because violence always has an added shock-value that is going to take attention away from the less shocking, abiet more important, things. And best of all, ethics, morals and values as portrayed by Harry and his friends are written in these books in the easiest way that children can relate to them. Every child that has read the books can relate strongly to one, if not all, of the three main characters - Harry, Hermione, and Ron. The characters are not perfect - they sometimes break rules, do not finish their homework, and hold grudges against other classmates. This outlook on children being not perfect, but generally mostly good better than bad, shows children that it's okay to be afraid and to be angry, and by doing this lets in the other excellent qualities of the books.
Children, and also most adults, are attracted to these books because they have something beneficial for everyone. Most young girls read the books with admiration for the clever Hermione, who is a wonderful role model for younger girls. The magical aspects and sheer wonderment of a world that is so totally different to their own is what appeals to most girls. For boys, there are the attractions of such sports as Qudditch, such beasts as Fluffy, Hagrid's three headed dog, and scenes of good versus evil, with Harry and his friends always coming out on top. JK Rowling has created a genius blend of characters and events, that will please almost anyone. Adults are mostly taken with the books, not only for their enthralling storylines, but for the actual characters themselves. Most parents are glad to read a story of children with ethics, feelings, family values and morals to their own children. These books are like a vegetable covered in chocolate - pleasing for kids and adults. To take out the adventure aspect of the books would be to ruin the whole recipe.
With so much violence in the world today, it's no wonder that parents want to be able to sheild what they can from their kids. But the Harry Potter books carry no over the top violent aspects, and are mostly based on an adventure format. The books show children the world is not an entirely perfect place, and that has benefical repercussions. Harry Potter is based in an unrealistic world, and if our rules of gravity, space and time don't apply to them, then why should our views on violent influences? |
