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Altruism in Contemporary Young Adult Literature

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Altruism in Contemporary Young Adult Literature
The Harry Potter series is an international literature phenomenon that is both criticised and cherished. Penned by renowned author J.K. Rowling the story of the boy wizard seems to break the barriers of age, race, religion and gender with the range of its fans. This investigation focuses on the Harry Potter series and intends to answer the question of Harry Potter: Selfish or Selfless under the topic of Altruism in Contemporary Young Adult Literature. This investigation is a literature review; unlike a science experiment this report requires are more in-depth analysis of literature on the chosen topic. The intentions of the research are to investigate the topic of Altruism within the Harry Potter series, specifically the choices and sacrifices that the protagonist, Harry Potter, and the antagonist, Tom Riddle or Lord Voldemort. The key findings of this report are the close relationship between the choices and sacrifice both the protagonist and the antagonist and the defining difference between a hero and a villain within the Harry Potter series; this report also focuses on the ‘final’ sacrifice of the protagonist within in the final Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. One very important key finding that this report will discuss is that Harry Potter is a teenage boy who just so happens to be a wizard; he is not a wizard who happens to be a teenage boy. The define line between the two statements is what influences many of the choices and sacrifices, and also provide the essence of the story being a journey of a hero that symbolizes the efforts of youth, offering some insights into the inconstancies within humanity.

Altruism is defined as the unselfish concern for the welfare of others or the act of sacrificing one’s own interest for the greater good. The term altruism was coined by Auguste Comte, a 19th century philosopher of science and sociologist. Altruism, or being altruistic, is a key point in many religions, such as Christianity,


Bibliography: • Altruism International. 2010. What Is Altruism? [Online] http://www.altruists.org/about/altruism/ [Accessed on August 20, 2010] • Anelli, M • Avogadro. 2007. Choice or Change? The Ambiguous Ending of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows [Online] http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/features/essays/issue19/choice%20 [Accessed on August 20, 2010] • Brown, Jen • Campbell, Joseph. 1993. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. London, Fontana Press. • Emma • Faria, P. 2008, The Journey of the Villain in the Harry Potter series: An Archetypal Study of Fantasy Villains. PhD Thesis. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. • Hilaire • Kern, Edmund M. 2003. The Wisdom Of Harry Potter; What our favourite hero teaches us about Moral Choices. New York, Prometheus Books. • Princeton University • Rowling, Joanne K. 1998. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. London: Bloomsbury. • Rowling, Joanne K • Rowling, Joanne K. 2002. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. New York: Scholastic. • Rowling, Joanne K. 2003. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. London: Bloomsbury. • Rowling, Joanne K. 2004. Harry Potter and the Philosopher 's Stone. London: Bloomsbury • Rowling, Joanne K • Rowling, Joanne K. 2007. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. London: Bloomsbury. • Rowling, Joanne K. 2007. What exactly happened when Voldemort used the Avada Kadavra curse on Harry in the forest? [Online] http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/faq_view.cfm?id=122 [Accessed on September 27, 2010] • Scribbulus, 2006 • Viera, M. “Harry Potter: The final chapter.” [Online] Dateline (NBC), 29 July, 2007. Transcript by AccioQuote! http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2007/0729-dateline-vieira.html. [Accessed on September 8, 2010] • Wikipedia • Woeste, Victoria. S. 2009. Moral Choices in the Harry Potter Novels. [Online] http://www.mugglenet.com/editorials/editorials/edit-vwoeste01.stml [Accessed on August 23, 2010]
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