Between 1995, when the first Harry Potter manuscript was finished, and now, the Harry Potter series has grown to be something sensational…magnificent. It is a series of books that steals you by hooking you in, and then tossing you into an amazing whirlwind of wonder. A lot of people I have spoken with have not been able to put it down, whether it is the first time they’ve read it, or the twentieth time. It has also grown to be one of the most controversial books that people have read, along with Catcher in the Rye and Go Ask Alice. It has been challenged seven times by the American Library Association, by far the most challenged book. (http://www.about.com/cs/censorship/a/challenged.htm)
In Harry Potter, we see a boy who is raised by Muggles, or non-magic folks, after his parents are killed by Voldemort, the most powerful dark wizard of all ages. After many years, he is rescued by wizards. He decides to go to Hogwarts School Witchcraft and Wizardry. Every year, when he returns, he faces a dark magic force, such as Voldemort, the soul of Voldemort, and even more Voldemort, until he was defeated. After the sixteen years of fear, he finally brings peace to the magical world.
The Harry Potter books are filled with themes, such as friendship, love, death, and life after death. But the device of witchcraft is why Harry Potter is so controversial. It is all pointed to Wiccans, who believe that they are their own goddess, and that they should be worshipped. “Immanent means that God or Goddess is within us - within all of us. And also within all of nature, which is why we revere nature. Heinlein wrote ‘Thou art God’ and ‘Thou art Goddess’, and some Christians will call this the ‘Christ Consciousness’; it means the same thing. Deity lives within us; we are the God or Goddess incarnate.” (Lady Bridget, http://www.ladybridget.com)
In many other religions, people believe that should only one god should be worshipped, and that there should be no others. They believe that anything that is worshipped other than God is idolatry. Anyone who is committing idolatry is with the devil. That belief is where Wiccans and most other religions differ. “The harmless fantasy of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry can only seem dangerous from the perspective of someone who believes that ‘witches and occult powers are real, and contrary to God’s laws.’” (Michael Ostling, p. 23) This fact influences the parents in those religions. They don’t want their children to get attached to the idea of sorcery, witchcraft, and magic, because they might fear that the child might grow up and become a big part of a more real magic belief, such as being a Wiccan. This causes them to want to pull their children out of classes when the book is read, or for it to be banned at the school completely.
There have been many attempts to have them banned in elementary schools. Laura Mallory, who has never read the books, is convinced that they promote witchcraft. She has had it contested many times in court.
“Referring to the recent rash of deadly assaults at schools, Mallory said books that promote evil - as she claims the Potter ones do - help foster the kind of culture where school shootings happen. ‘That would not happen if students instead read the Bible,’ Mallory said.” (http://www.dailymail.co.uk)
However, there is no way to know if the Harry Potter books really did cause the shooters to shoot in the first place.
Is it ethical to ban Harry Potter solely based on the fact that it promotes witchcraft? Due to the fact that witchcraft is not the only thing that it promotes, it creates a place for children to mold their imagination (and it gets them INTO reading in the first place), and the fantasy genre would not exist without witchcraft and magic, Harry Potter should not be banned based on witchcraft. If anything, because of these things, Harry Potter should be allowed to be read by children, as well as in classrooms.
One of the things that J.K. Rowling understands about writing is themes. She understands that many books out there aren’t just pure magic, but there are other messages in them as well. Throughout his life, Harry was neglected and made fun of by his family, and the people at school. When he went to Hogwarts, he made friends. The fact that they stayed with him shows us the themes of friendship and love. The theme of love is the main theme of the books. It is what shields everyone from the evil forces of Lord Voldemort’s killing curse. When Harry delays Voldemort’s rise to power for another year, every year, it demonstrates the theme of good triumphing over evil. When characters died, she shows the theme of death. And when she shows Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus, who are his parents and their friends, shows us the theme of life after death.
"The essence of Harry Potter, as I read it, is that love leaves a mark," Small concluded, referring to the lightning bolt scar that the main character bears as a symbol of his mother's love. "This is a story of ultimate love and the eternal struggle such power has against that of destruction." (Brian Ragle, page 10)
In a young child’s age, there are certain distractions that keep children away from books. In other words, children generally don’t like to read. They don’t like to commit themselves to something so big, and so time consuming, when there is something that is easy for them to do, such as watch TV, or playing on the computer. However, this series allows them to mold their imagination, and it leaves them wanting more. In addition, as the child grows, the series grows as well.
If Harry Potter is banned, then they can’t get all that stimulation from the book, and the child cannot be expected to enjoy reading as much. They won’t want to read books like it, because they won’t know what books to actually read, that they can get all the adventure, fantasy, and everything else that is mixed with it.
“Katherine Thompson, owner of Frugal Frigate Bookstore, declared the series a ‘literary phenomenon.’ She noted that children as young as eight-years old will devour the books over seven hundred pages long and ‘still be hungry for more.’ Thompson suggested that the Potter novels interest children in reading books other than just the Potter series. She said that children come into her store between books and ask her, ‘What can I read that’s as good as Harry Potter?’” (Anne Woodrum)
Fantasy is something that happens a lot, in people’s day dreams, as well as in books. In the books category, there seems to be a lot of magic and witchcraft involved.
“Most of us remember with delight the Oz books, in which Dorothy, like Harry, was an orphan living in a bleak world until she was blown by a cyclone into the magic world of Oz. Did anyone try to ban these popular books which are filled with witches and improbable creatures? A more recent book series, the Chronicles of Narnia by the well-known British author, C. S. Lewis, also uses the device of children entering a world of magic…Why then have the Harry Potter books become such an issue?…The increasingly political Christian fundamentalists maintain that witchcraft is the work of the devil. Several evangelical pastors are preaching against Harry Potter, convinced that the popularity of these books is a very real sign of Satan's strength.” (S.B. Ballard)
If books like Harry Potter were banned, then all these other books would have to be banned, just to be fair. This would include books such as the aforementioned Chronicles of Narnia, as well as the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. As a result, there would be no fantasy genre in the schools for young people to read, and no imagination for them two dwell in.
Yes, the content changes how youth view the world around them and it causes them to believe in fictional things, but in a world like this, that is something that’s needed. The world is turning into something that makes children need to grow faster than what they are capable of doing. They need a distraction from the speed of the world around them, so they can have time to themselves to think. The world is also turning into this world where everyone wants to be more logical, and that gives people a chance to let the right side of their brain take over and be satisfied. The themes are some things that need to be re-taught in this world, because people get caught up in their daily rituals, and their jobs, and school.
There is also the issue of death. Parents don’t want their children to be exposed to the fact that people’s deaths start piling on after the fourth book, in more violent ways than the previous one. But that is one of the things that people need to learn happens in life. People die, and that’s natural. It’s not something that children need to get used to, and be familiar with the fact that it happens.
Yes, you can ban the books, but deleting the whole fantasy genre, getting rid of someone’s fictional views of the world, slaughtering a child’s desire to read, and helping a young child not understand some of the things that happen in the world are not really things that are really ethical. So no, banning Harry Potter solely based on the fact that it promotes witchcraft is not ethical.
Ballard, S.B. "Thoughts on Harry Potter: Wizardry, Good and Evil". Anglican Theological Review Vol. 82 Issue 1 2000: 173-175.
"Ban Harry Potter or face more school shootings'". Mail News Online. 2/28/10 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-408490/Ban-Harry-Potter-face-school-shootings.html.
Ostling, Michael. "Harry Potter and the Disenchantment of the World ". Journal of Contemporary Religion Vol. 18 No. 1 2003: 2-23.
Robinson, B.A.. "Common Wiccan Beliefs". Religious Tolerance. 2/28/10 http://www.religioustolerance.org/wic_beli.htm.
Ragle, Brian. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fear". Skeptic Vol. 12 Issue 2 2006: 10-11.
Woodrum, Anne. "The Harry Potter Controversy". East Carolina University. 2/28/10 http://www.ecu.edu/lib/Reference/Instruction/HarryPotter.cfm.
