An Analysis of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

An analysis of Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows The themes of sacrifice, compassion, and the boundless fight of good versus evil are all majorly discussed terms naturally found in New Testament script. The themes found in Biblical script are also explained in fictional literature because these themes are popular qualities for most characters in many books and stories. Authors typically love to use these, which is the reason that most fantasy stories make allusions to the religious writings. Probably the most over used idea in literature is the war between good and evil. This is especially true in the Harry Potter Series and, most recently, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a novel from an epic book series that details a story about a boy who escapes death from the most infamously powerful wizard of all time, Voldemort. This book is the final tale of the series which entails Harry Potter’s final battle with Voldemort and the events leading up to it. Before Harry can fight Voldemort, however, difficult decisions are posed against him. Those decisions lead to solutions that force Harry into circumstances that put his life at risk as well as the life of others. Sacrifices play a keen role in Harry’s success in the fight against good and evil, as they are the only true method to destroy Voldemort. Harry wonders how he has survived the most deadly magical curse of all, the Avada Kedavra, while his parents did not. Even Harry’s two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, who have known him throughout his life, cannot even begin to understand how he feels about the dilemma, as they have parents who are both alive and well. Not having parents; however, has allowed Harry to remain humble in his personality. Harry’s heroic actions and ideas lead to the character as being a major example of sacrifice and compassion, as well as the vanquisher of evil and a symbol of Christ. Harry does not wish to allow his friends to pose as him because he worries for their lives. In a pivotal scene, to confuse the Death Eaters to attack the wrong Harry, Mr. Weasley devises a plan to use a Polyjuice potion to disguise everybody to look like Harry in order to keep him safe. Harry, strongly opposing this decision says, “[I]f you think I 'm going to let six people risk their lives—well then you’re wrong.” (48) . This causes Harry to truly value his friends‘ lives showing that in many ways, he is much like Christ. Harry would rather protect the lives of others than his own, further explaining his similarity to Jesus Christ. Harry finds Christian references in Godric’s Hallow written on tombstones. Godric’s Hallow holds the manifestation of a theme that represents the constant fight between good and evil. In one scene, Harry Potter and his friends decide to pay respects to his parents, who are now dead in their graves On the tombstones of his deceased parents, there is a quote that reads, “[T]he last enemy that shall be destroyed is death,” (328) . It describes the second coming of Jesus Christ at the end of the world, where he triumphs over evil and Satan as well as his followers. Its relevance also details what must happen in order to save the world, in which Harry must conquer the crippling oppression of the devilish figure, Voldemort. Harry knows that his destiny is to destroy the evil Voldemort, which Harry must do alone, even without the help from his allies. Many of his longtime friends are also accompanied by all the remaining teachers that have chosen to stay loyal to the school and to Harry. Many teachers have sided with the evil presence of the Death Eaters and Voldemort. In this scene, Harry stands contrary to his life-long enemy, with many of his friends at his side. Though large portions of his followers have yearned to attend and fight in the battle, Harry carries out the decree, “[I] don 't want anyone else to try to help. It 's got to be like this. It 's got to be me.” (737) . The news shocks everybody, as they all believe that it’s a suicide mission to fight alone. Harry does this because he does not want to have any more casualties done to any more people, even if his chances of beating Voldemort are slimmed down to very small odds because of his decision. A major sign of Heroism is saving something entirely by one’s self. As shown in Harry’s speech, he further exemplifies his heroic character towards his final fight with evil. Harry comes back to life after dying by the hands of evil in order to save his friends. Dumbledore teaches Harry that in order for him to destroy Voldemort once and for all, he must lay down his life instead of retaliating against him. In one scene, Voldemort kills Harry and he magically comes back to life. Shockwaves run through Voldemort’s body as he tries to comprehend why Harry Potter is still alive. Voldemort only refers to his resurrection as a “unfortunate accident” to which Harry replies, “[Was it an] Accident, that I didn’t defend myself tonight, and still survived, and returned to fight again?” (738) . Harry has managed to trounce the human enemy of death to save his friends. This shows that Harry is an obvious symbol of Christ, demonstrating it by the fact that he comes back to life again to defeat the enemy and save mankind. Harry Potter is an extraordinary wizard who closes in on his final encounter with the most evil wizard of all ages, Lord Voldemort. Before he can even do this, he must complete several challenging steps in order to have enough strength to even damage Voldemort. The only problem that exists, besides the fact that completing these tasks is extremely difficult, is that they only have very little time to do this. Despite these issues, Harry does make honest efforts to destroy him. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows explores the idea of resurrection, as its main protagonist dies and then comes back to life. It also explores the idea of sacrifice, especially when Harry decides to risk his entire life in the place of another’s. These character traits reveal the fact that Harry does truly care for his friends, as shown by him when he goes to great lengths to save them. In this way, Harry is a savior-like figure, who dies for all the innocent, while putting the blame of evil and directing its wrath upon himself. Work Cited
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. New York: Scholastic, 2007. Print.

Cited: Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. New York: Scholastic, 2007. Print.