Difference between revisions of "Harry Potter"

Revision as of 01:18, July 6, 2010

UMADBRO?

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[Image:67486ruy.jpg|right|thumb|British edition of '''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'''.]]
+UMADBRO?
-The '''''Harry Potter''''' books are a hugely popular<ref> The author has sold 350 million books and counting, been translated into 65 languages and had her work made into highly successful movies. [http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=3811481&page=1 ABC News] </ref> series of seven fantasy novels by [[J.K. Rowling]] about three children at a British boarding school for 'witchcraft and wizardry': Harry, Ron and Hermione. The children grow from age 11 to 17 in the books, giving them appeal to a broad range of readers including children and teenagers, but also appealing to adults. Since their release, interest and acceptance of withcraft has increased, particularly among the goth subculture, and many rides and attractions centered around the books are causing children to accept and admire witchcraft and magic.
-==Harry Potter==
-'''Harry Potter''' is the [[protagonist]] and the plot of each book focuses on Harry's adolescence and fight against the [[antagonist]] wizard Lord Voldemort. The books combine elements of whimsy reminiscent of ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]'', the strange adult immaturity of ''[[Through the Looking Glass]]'', and the implacable good vs. evil fight of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''.
-When Harry was a mere baby, his parents were murdered by the evil [[Voldemort]].  Harry didn't know that his parents were [[wizard (fiction)|wizard]]s until his 11th birthday; it came as a giant surprise. [[Hagrid]] took him to [[Diagon Alley]] for robes, books and wand; then on to [[Hogwarts]], a boarding school for wizards and witches. He had many adventures there learning [[magic]] and using it to fight the forces of the [[Voldemort|wizard]] who killed his [[parent]]s when he was an [[infant]]. Lord Voldemort seeks to become immortal by any means. Voldemort also leads forces of "Death Eaters" who follow Voldemort's ideology of a "pure-blood" (wizard who was born to wizard parents) society and persecute Muggles, non-magical folk. Along the way, Harry learns about life and [[death]] and grapples with questions of [[morality]] and [[friendship]].
-The seven books in the series have been fabulously successful, selling 300 million copies, and ''[[Forbes]]'' estimates that they have made Rowling the first billion-dollar author in history.<ref>[http://www.forbes.com/maserati/billionaires2004/cx_jw_0226rowlingbill04.html J. K. Rowling And The Billion-Dollar Empire].</ref> To date, five of them have been made into movies, the sixth to begin filming September 2007.
-The ''Harry Potter'' series of books are sizable volumes. The 870 pages of ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'', even though printed in large type, contain 255,000 words&mdash;about twice as long as ''A Tale of Two Cities''. The "Lexile" measure of reading level puts the series between 880L and 950L,<ref>For comparison: ''Charlotte's Web'' 680L, ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' 890L, ''Moby Dick'' 1200L</ref> comparable to sixth-grade texts<ref>[http://www.lexile.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?view=fa&tabindex=4&tabid=22 The Lexile framework for reading].</ref>
-== Popularizing the Occult and Mockery of Christianity ==
-{{spoiler}}
-Many conservative Christians have attacked the books. Most mainline Protestant and Catholic leaders have taken a more favorable position. For example, the official organization of American Catholic bishops (the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) has rated each film "A-II", --that is, suitable for adults and adolescents and was not found to be morally offensive.The episcopal conference even named the film adaptation of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" one of the ten best family films of 2004.
-However conservative critics have charged that the books have the potential of driving children away from Christian knowledge of good and evil toward the occult more than anything else in western society: "a generation of children is becoming desensitized to the occult. But with Hollywood's help, Harry Potter will likely surpass all these influences, potentially reaping some grave spiritual consequences"<ref>http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/harrypotter.html</ref>
-Witchcraft is expressly forbidden by the Old Testament.
-Some Fundamentalists have praised the moral values of the books. For example, Scott Moore, philosophy professor at Baylor University, has found some remarkable Christian symbolism in the Potter series.
-James L. Evans, pastor of Crosscreek Baptist Church, concludes, "Instead of condemning Harry, maybe we should learn courage from him to name as evil what apparently we are afraid to speak."<ref>Jim Evans, [http://www.ethicsdaily.com/news.php?viewStory=2737 "Harry Potter As Teacher Of Christian Values" ''EthicsDaily.com'' June 24, 2003]</ref>
-Conservative Christians say the ''Harry Potter'' series is written in a way that embeds fantasy and wizardry into a real world setting. This could potentially lead to some children exploring witchcraft, Wicca, and paganism. Indeed, the Pagan Federation in Britain has received a flood of inquiries from young ''Harry Potter'' fans.<ref>About.com: Agnosticism/Atheism - [http://atheism.about.com/od/harrypotter/i/witchcraft_2.htm Does Harry Potter Promote Wicca or Witchcraft? Is Harry Potter a Pagan Book?] (page 2)</ref>
-The children's fantasy genre and slick storytelling style may make the danger more severe, say conservatives: "This is a true representation of witchcraft, and the black arts, and black magic. And yet we have people that say this is merely fantasy and harmless reading for our children. Actually, what makes this more dangerous is that it is couched in fantasy language, and children's literature, and made to be humorous, and beautifully written and extremely provocative reading. and it just opens up children to want to have the next one. This is what is so harmful."<ref>http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/harrypotter.html</ref>
-==Criticisms==
-The ''Harry Potter'' series is written in a way that embeds fantasy and wizardry into a real world setting. This could potentially lead to some children potentially exploring witchcraft, Wicca, and paganism. Indeed, the Pagan Federation in Britain has received a flood of inquiries from young ''Harry Potter'' fans.<ref>About.com: Agnosticism/Atheism - [http://atheism.about.com/od/harrypotter/i/witchcraft_2.htm Does Harry Potter Promote Wicca or Witchcraft? Is Harry Potter a Pagan Book?] (page 2)</ref>
-Some expect children's literature to present characters that are role models and teach simple truths that will help children grow and know the difference between right and wrong.  However, the world of ''Harry Potter'' is one in which adult authority figures are complex, imperfect, and occasionally ludicrous. Some teachers in the series are boring, or outright incompetent, while others are supportive and protective (like [[Dumbledore]] and [[Lupin]]).  In the first book Harry disobeys the teachers and is successful and later praised, a questionable message for younger minds.
-The books also present witches and wizards as being both normal people and abundant. This deceit causes children to likewise accept magic and witchcraft as normal, and they identify with the children in the books, again furthering their acceptance and witchcraft. The reality about magic - that witches are evil and, thankfully, not common - is not presented.
-A recent survery conducted by the Fox News Network concluded that upwards of 20% of all children after reading just the first few chapters of the first novel have expressed a desire to turn away from more moral religious practices and convert to satanic worship, paganisim and the occult.
-==Notable Ban Attempts==
-On the week of April 10, 2006, Georgia mother of four Laura Mallory filed an appeal with the Gwinnett Board of Education in an attempt to remove the ''Harry Potter'' series from Gwinnett schools. Ms. Mallory (who has only read excerpts of the books) stated on the appeal form that she wished the books removed due to their "evil themes, witchcraft, demonic activity, murder, evil blood sacrifice, spells and teaching children all of this."<ref>[http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=32&url_subchannel_id=&url_article_id=14074&change_well_id=2]</ref>  The local board of education denied the request, as they felt the banning of ''Harry Potter'' would necessitate the banning of all books with reference to witches, including plays like ''[[Macbeth]]'' and even stories like [[Cinderella]].<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15127464/ Georgia mom seeks ban on Harry Potter]</ref>   Ms. Mallory has since appealed the ruling twice to no avail.<ref>[http://www.wtvm.com/Global/story.asp?S=5022462&nav=8fap]</ref> <ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16204853/from/]</ref> <ref>[http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/011807dnentpotterprotest.a89cec.html]</ref>
-Similar concerns have been voiced by Christian cartoonist [[Jack Chick]], pastor and author [[Dave Hunt]], the British group [[Christian Voice]] and various others. None of these has resulted in any form of legal action.
-==Series titles==
-*''[[Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone]]'' (original title as published in England and all other English-speaking countries other than U.S.A: ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'')
-*''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]''
-*''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]''
-*''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]''
-*''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]''
-*''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]''
-*''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]''
-Also, three companion books have been made to go along with the series: ''The Tale of the Beedle the Bard'', ''Quidditch Through the Ages'', and ''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them''. ''Quidditch Through the Ages'' and ''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'' are both written under pen names, but all three are written by J.K. Rowling. <ref>www.jkrowling.org</ref>
-==Further reading==
-* Brown, Nancy Carpentier. ''The Mystery of Harry Potter: A Catholic Family Guide'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Harry-Potter-Catholic-Family/dp/1592763987/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254259810&sr=1-4 excerpt and text search]
-* Cherrett, Lisa. "Harry Potter and the Bible" (2003) [http://www.harrypotterforseekers.com/articles/hpandthebible.php online version]
-* Cockrell, Amanda. "Harry Potter and the Witch Hunters: a Social Context for the Attacks on 'Harry Potter'", ''Journal of American Culture'' 2006 29(1): 24-30, in [[EBSCO]]
-* Colbert, David. ''The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter'' (2nd ed. 2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Magical-Worlds-Harry-Potter-revised/dp/0425223183/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263210737&sr=1-20 excerpt and text search]
-* Granger, John. ''Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys for the Serious Reader''  (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Unlocking-Harry-Potter-Serious-Reader/dp/0972322124/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263211376&sr=1-27 excerpt and text search]
-* Granger, John. ''Looking for God in Harry Potter'' (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/How-Harry-Cast-His-Spell/dp/1414321880/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254259810&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search, 2nd edition under ''How Harry Cast His Spell'']
-*  Heilman,  Elizabeth E., ed. ''Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter'' (2nd. ed. 2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Critical-Perspectives-Potter-Elizabeth-Heilman/dp/0415964849/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263211512&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
-* Neal, Connie W. ''The Gospel According to Harry Potter: The Spiritual Journey of the World's Greatest Seeker''  (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Gospel-According-Harry-Potter-Spiritual/dp/0664231233/ref=sr_1_33?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263211376&sr=1-33 excerpt and text search]
-* Thomas,  James W. ''Repotting Harry Potter: A Professor's Book-by-Book Guide for the Serious Re-Reader'' (2009)
-*  Whited,  Lana A., ed. ''The Ivory Tower And Harry Potter: Perspectives On A Literary Phenomenon'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Ivory-Tower-Harry-Potter-Perspectives/dp/0826215491/ref=pd_sim_b_1 excerpt and text search]
-==References==
-<references/>
-[[Category:Harry Potter Universe]]
-[[Category:Novels]]
-[[Category:Ghost Stories]]
-[[Category:Anti-christian]]

Difference between revisions of "Harry Potter"

Revision as of 01:18, July 6, 2010

Navigation menu

Search