Harry Potter, Too cool for school?
... am not condemning those who believe that reading Harry Potter is the same as worshiping the devil, because I am a Christian also and I hear it plain and simply when the bible tells me not to partake in witchcraft. Also, I am not condemning those people who are so fired up about this novel that they want Harry Potter taken out of all school libraries because these are the people I am addressing. Reading Harry Potter is not participating in the side of evil or the practice of witchcraft and this book is not a bad example for children. In fact Harry Potter is the exact opposite from a bad example; it is a wonderful example for people of all ages. Not only does Harry Potter stir up the imagination of a child by presenting this completely believable made up world of wizards, dragons, witches, trolls, muggles, goblins, and a sport called quiditch, but it accomplishes the task of getting children to read. My little sister always read but not books that went up to eight hundred and seventy pages. After reading Harry Potter she was ready and eager to start reading other books, classics such as Little Women. So I wonder how parents could be so persistent on banning Harry Potter from libraries when it in itself works as a tool for children’s mind growth. Harry Potter will however keep getting banned; it will join other great American classics such as the Catcher in the Rye, and of Mice and Men. Harry Potter is the most frequently banned book in America (Education World). Books these days are getting banned for the level of fantasy. Let’s keep in mind as this essay continues that fantasy means pretend, made up, not real. Children know what fantasy is the second they get their first baby doll and play with it as if the doll was their own. When I was little my world focused around my American Girl doll Molly. Molly came with her own novels about her story, and had fun clothes and set ups for each of the novels. Now children can get carried away in a book not a doll, but Harry Potter is better than most books because it involves magic something that we all have wished were real at times. Why ban a book because of the level of fantasy? A parent encourages fantasy everyday. When you buy a child a doll, a toy, a pretend car, a trip to the movies, or reading a bed time story, parents are encouraging fantasy. What makes Harry Potter’s world of fantasy any different than any other world of fantasy? The answer to that question is simple; people believe that reading Harry Potter is satanic. In our family we have had two unpleasant encounters with people pursuing Harry Potter as satanic. The first of these being with my little sister who was told she was making God unhappy by reading the Harry Potter books. According to the bible, all children are innocent of all sins. So how could my innocent sister be making God unhappy? The second time was when I was at a church function called midweek. Every Kramer 4 Wednesday the youth of our church would get together sing praise and worship songs, have a devotion and talk about everything. It was there at midweek that one of the speakers warned us what we were doing when we read the Harry Potter books. According to her “the devil has us right where he wants us.” I deeply believe that the people who are protesting having Harry Potter in the libraries, and the people who are feeding little kids and teenagers that this book is satanic are really missing the whole point of Harry Potter and that is the triumph of good over evil. Harry Potter is a legend amongst the wizard world. When he arrives at Hogwarts for his first year he is treated like an instant celebrity. Readers soon find out that Harry was the only one of his family to survive from Lord Voldemort, who is known among scared first year students as “he who must not be named.” As an infant Harry defeats the most evil of the wizard world and gains his infamous scar. Before any further introduction of spells or witches, there has already been a defeat over evil. Lets take a look at the school Hogwarts itself. Harry and all the other students have to take a defense against the dark arts class so they are all prepared if ever in the presence of a wizard who turned dark. The defense against the dark arts class is so vital in these novels because the books problem always centers on ...