Harry Potter Argumentative Essay

Since 1995 the character known as Harry Potter has gained not only positive feedback, yet also negative. Harry Potter has been known around the world as the “boy who lived” not only in the fictional world he was created, but as well as in our own world. It has come about that the brand of Harry Potter is estimated to be around the sum of $15 billion and ever growing. The character created in a children’s novel has taken on a life of itself rapidly increasing in the eyes of viewers as either an honorable or evil figure. Analyzing how Harry Potter evolves not only in the novels as a character, as well as in the eyes of the critics, we can truly understand how at the age of 10 and moving forward he has become an overall iconic figure. As a
result of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone being the first novel published by J.K Rowling the wizarding world has forever changed the people latching onto this fictional realm and the characters within it. Growing ever so steadily throughout the seven novels, Harry Potter’s developments from adolescence to adulthood occurs in an abrupt approach. The exponential growth linked to Harry Potter novels is placed under The Snowball Effect (“The Harry Potter Phenomenon Revealed”). The Snowball Effect is linked to the idea that “Much of the growth has come from word-of-mouth recommendation from readers themselves, along with how they are intended to fit into the realm of adolescent literature (“The Harry Potter Phenomenon Revealed”). Thus, at an early age reading may be deemed a task and linking oneself with a novel that gives a relationship with a main character to one’s age maybe might grab the attention of a young mind effortlessly. In an interview with J.K Rowling, she was asked Why there was there so much character development and expansion (“The Harry Potter Phenomenon Revealed”). J.K Rowling’s answer gives great insight why any child at an early age might of picked up the novels and never let them down, All of them are really starting to find their own identities and that means, in their various ways, facing up to the things that have been imposed on them by their parents or school (“The Harry Potter Phenomenon Revealed”). Having a novel that starts off with a young character with the same age as who might be reading it with the idea that this character is deemed to be rebellious can be viewed as a poor role model in the mind of adults.
Many parents of children picking up the series at first questioned if these books did indeed go against their religions values as well going hand and hand with the rebellious figures inside. Harmless fun to some became worshipping in some critics’ eyes, Can you imagine the amount of children memorizing them, then playing Harry Potter with their friends, thinking they are making make believe magic (“Does Harry Potter Promote Satanic Witchcraft?”). Allowing their child to partake in reading the Harry Potter series to some was as if everything they were teaching their children might be wiped away. Children began to act as if they were characters in the novels and wanted to learn spells just as their favorite character has been
doing.
Witchcraft has always been looked at as a form of dark art and has been labeled to the satanic side. Has the pretend play brought out of the novels have given a cause for concern by the parents to their children? Harmless fantasy has taken a mind of its own in these critics forever changing the way Harry Potter has been seen.
Progressing throughout the novels symbols are introduced with iconic meanings linking them to ungodly evils. This series is clearly talks about demons: Slytherin, Draco, and Voldemort (“Does Harry Potter Promote Satanic Witchcraft”). Some might say that Harry Potter avoided the evil side and fought against them as he did against two of the evil figures in the series; Draco and Voldemort. While before all else Harry Potter is indeed put into house Gryffindor that is viewed as the side of honor. Even though in the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter discovers he has the ability to vocalize with serpents known as Parseltongue. For centuries serpents have always been an enormous part of religion while being associated with demons and the devil. Just as it was said in the bible the devil was a fallen angel and some sensed Harry Potter was that of maybe the seconding coming.
Breaking down one of the articles chosen to examine gives great insight on how the critics give their perspective on Harry Potter. Many authors of Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter take Rowling’s world intensely seriously, seeking meaning and more contents of Joanne Rowling’s head (Gold). J.K Rowling gave us the honor of following the journey of a child starting off at the age of 10 and growing steadily throughout his life until he reaches his own adulthood with his own children. As the novels progress pieces fall in place that shows the evil within the realm as well as the
goods.
The novels may have been released one by one and the critics broke down the literary works one by one, but that is just it. They took the novels and examined the content of the one before the other, with no regards to the one that may follow. Over analyzing the novel in a critic’s standpoint is just that. Even with the controversy regarding evil in the novels Reverend Don Peter Fleetwood said, I do not see any, any problems in the Harry Potter series, J.K Rowling is Christian by conviction, is Christian in her mode of living, even in her way of writing (“The Harry Potter Phenomenon Revealed”). Although some still viewed the novels to have a dark cloud over them until all evil is vanquished, others felt the dark cloud was Harry Potter. It has always been clear to the world that religion is the face to many of people’s lives. That may so just be the very problem for these critics at hand. Everything is clear and above board then: the success of the Harry Potter books proves that they are genuine articles, books that are really for children, that children actually enjoy (Gupta). These novels connected with the children reading them in many ways. Harry Potter is a strong figure that was able to be looked upon and be connected with. The school that Harry Potter attends throughout the series known as Hogwarts has tons real world, connecting points to the schools these children maybe attending. Not so much the type of classes, but the way their school may go about on a daily basis. Harry Potter made a name for himself by being who he truly was. He had his own bullies and confronted them in his own manner. One line by Elizabeth Heilman could not be truer to the way J.K Rowling goes about grabbing the attention of the audience, her ability to create characters whom readers care about is the key to the novels’ success (Heilman). Indeed these novels were that of great masterpieces. J.K Rowling wrote these novels with the adolescents in mind when connecting with the audience she has chosen. The critics had their say and will still have their say and will always try to break down the text till there is no more. Harry Potter at the age 10 becomes an outstanding man who fights for what he believes in. Just as in the novels the films gives justice on playing out the pages that were written first. Being able to wittiness the two sides of good and evil being fought out by the most iconic figure Harry Potter for the last decade. Harry Potter not only changes, but changes in a way that critics should have viewed him from the start. Deemed by some to still be pure evil should not be the way J.K Rowling intended it to be. Harry Potter starts off as a young boy who learns that it does not matter if your situation is not ideal at the time that if you persevere through it and become who you want to be anything can happen. This should be any ideal message of the children J.K Rowling sought out to grab the attention from at the start of the series. “Harry Potter believes the presence of moral choices, strong friendship and bravery teaching children life lessons. It drives children to read, keeping them from excessive amount of television and video games, which may not have much redemptive value. If I have understood well the intentions of Harry Potter’s author, they help children to see the difference between good and evil. She is very clear on this. (Gold)” With a positive outlook on how J.K Rowling has given us an iconic figure known as Harry Potter should give critics great honor that their child may look up to the series. Harry Potter becomes a man through the series facing what he fears most and that should be a message passed on. Some might fear that their child is reading between a good and evil figure and that truly what they are reading, but how the interpret the message is on them.