Harry Potter ends

While on the camping trip, I finally got down to reading the last Harry Potter book. I was not a fan of these books in particular, but neither had I been downright against them, and decided to give the series a fair shot by reading them all through in order before starting the last book. Since I was late to this book, I came across many reviews of it first, and often was surprised by them. The general view among Christian reviewers seemed to be that Book 7 made it clear that this series was good literature, and that there was little doubt that JK Rowling had written wholesome and Christian books.

I won’t say anything on the plot of the book itself, because I’m sure most of the people who will read it have already read it, but these comments almost disturbed me. To be sure, there are many wholesome points in the last Harry Potter book, but those were there in the other books as well, and wholesome points alone do not good literature make. One common point was that because JK Rowling had placed a Christ figure and scriptural references pretty explicitly, those who still considered her books un-Christian would have to make silly points to still oppose them. But I do not believe that you can say that simply because a book has a Christ figure, or even that an author professes to be a Christian, automatically makes the books have a Christian worldview.

In fact, even if the last book had a Christian worldview, which I do not hold, I fail to see how that would make up for the previous six books, which so many agreed did not have a good worldview. As much as JK Rowling may think of herself as a Christian, her books do not hold up in honor what is good and right and true. Yes, Harry may sometimes be selfless and put himself in danger to save the lives of people, but that does not outweigh the fact that he curses and is cruel to those who he dislikes.

We are invited to applaud Harry when he curses the nasty characters, because they “deserved” it, and yet we are also invited to be upset when those same characters give Harry back the same treatment. Now, as the main characters are children, it would be unreasonable to expect mature behavior from them at all times, and yet the teachers and authority figures (many of whom we are called to admire and look up to) hardly chastise Harry for this. And then there is, of course, Harry’s frequent rule-breaking, which scarcely goes punished or even treated as something undesirable. When Hermione, once a character who sought always to follow the rules, joins Harry and Ron in their disobedience, the tone is one of relief, as if she was wrong to do otherwise.

When it comes down to it, Harry is only noble when it comes to earthshaking events, when the world is at stake and he is facing the ultimate evil. And here, it is true, he performs bravely and selflessly, and gives a good example. But in most other circumstances, he is self-centered and a hearty adopter of the philosophy that says “the ends justify the means”. Indeed, even in the last book, when Harry is at his most mature and most admirable state, that philosophy still lurks in the corner.

JK Rowling tries to portray good and evil as distinct, as black and white, but her good characters do most of the same things that her evil characters do, even use Dark Magic, and only the intentions are different (and occasionally not even those). Despite the presence of many good messages, the Harry Potter series ending does not make all criticism of the series “slander” or “outrageous”, as has been said by some.

Did I enjoy the last book? I did, as I enjoyed books 5 and 6, as her writing and stories definitely matured. There is in the final few chapters of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows an incredibly powerful story, and had it been part of something more wholesome it would have been an asset to literature. But as the situation stands, I must still hold that the books are not the safest fare, and should be read by a mind already founded in truth.