I recently read an article about how parents are upset about children reading books from the Harry Potter series. Immediately I was outraged. The story of Harry Potter is so creative and imaginative. It allows us to clearly envision a magical world. The objection is that parents believe that by allowing their children to read these books they are subjecting the kids to witchcraft. Certainly, everyone has their obsessions in life, especially children.
As a child, I had many obsessions, such as my obsession with the television show Rugrats. Although I was obsessed with the show for a period of time, I eventually stopped watching the show and moved on. Parents forget that children have phases. While kids are only going through these phases, parents are in a sense acknowledging that there is real magic out in the world if they feel that they are subjecting their children to witchcraft with the reading of Harry Potter.
Everyone knows that magic of Harry Potter’s sort is not real. There are no such things as magical schools and spells. Although we have magic in our world today, it is unparallel to the magic that is contained in a Harry Potter book. If children read the books and decide that they would like to become magicians in our world is there a problem with that?
Personally, I believe that by not allowing children to read these books parents are depriving their children of exciting, yet completely harmless books. My sisters and I all read the books. They struck an interest of reading in me that I had never seen before. LET THE CHILDREN READ.
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I agree with much of what you said here, Brian. When I read Harry Potter for the first time, I was enthralled. This was a whole other world unleashed for children to discover. It made reading cool again, especially for children who wouldn't normally read for pleasure. As I read these books, I became more obsessed. I knew everything there was to know about the world of Harry Potter. However, my best friend Laura was not allowed to read them. Her parents were firm believers in Christ and wanted to shield her from the witchcraft practiced in Harry Potter. I could not understand this; Harry Potter wasn't about practicing witchcraft.
ReplyDeleteHarry Potter is not just a children's story, glorifying evil or witchcraft. It is an excellent example of an epic story, or the story of a hero's journey. These novels present the classic battle of good vs. evil, while emphasizing themes like friendship, love, and fighting for what you care about. The characters in these books just happen to be wizards, because it allows them to live in a world almost completely separated from the one we know. J.K. Rowling did an excellent job separating the magical world from the real world in her stories, so that the reader focuses on the themes and morals. She created this entire world so completely that it almost seems real; covering every subject both children and adults care about. She included an education system (and not just one, but three different styles from around the world- Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang, in addition to homeschooling); a government (complete with a Minister and different divisions); shopping (Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, Twilfitt and Tattings, Gladrags Wizardwear); a monitary system/bank (knuts, sickles, and galleons/Gringott's); sports (Quidditch); health care (St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries); food/candy (Honeydukes Sweetshop, Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour); mail (Post by Owl), and even pets (toads, owls, cats, rats). This world was so fully fleshed out that the reader was lost in it, following the journeys of Harry, Ron, Hermione, their teachers and the enemies they created.
The world of Harry Potter is magical, and the amount of detail is unmatched. These stories have inspired children to read like no other story before. I feel that this should be celebrated, and children should be allowed to read these novels. They are no small feat, either: these books are hundreds of pages long. If children want to jump into these wonderful tales, I believe they should, without being held back.