edcoaching
New member
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2008
- Messages
- 752
- MBTI Type
- INFJ
- Enneagram
- 7
Ah, but the truths in fiction and fantasy are oft more truthful than those in nonfiction, where facts can be conveniently sifted to prove one's point...
When one looks at just one aspect of something like Harry Potter, yes, one could find things to object to. Could it lead some astray? Of course, just like the search for a perpetual motion machine, the quest for alchemic gold through "science," and so on.
But when one considers the themes of Harry and his friends, there's a much bigger truth. What if adults bury their heads in the sand and refuse to see the evil around them? What if it is the children who are the wise ones--often the case in real life but they are usually powerless. The magic of Harry Potter's world makes it possible for the children to stand up against the forces of darkness, albeit walking into great personal danger which proves fatal to some, to stand up for goodness and freedom. And what is good and what is evil? Can someone be redeemed? The whole character of Snape, followed through the seven volumes, gives us plenty to ponder about who the righteous and unrighteous truly are. Can leaders become so convinced of the rightness of their ways that they are blinded to the real situation (Dumbledore)?
Think of the parallels to Nazi Germany, how the American citizenry were duped into supporting the war in Iraq, etc., etc. Like the fiction and/or fantasy of Ender's Game, Anna Karinina, Time and Again, 1984, Lord of the Rings, and all great literature, Harry lets us ponder without politics what we might have done, the possible consequences of our own hubris, and the purpose of life.
Besides they're a great read and anything that gets children to willingly delve into 900 pages has merit in and of itself.
May we all act on our beliefs as did Dumbledore's Army...
When one looks at just one aspect of something like Harry Potter, yes, one could find things to object to. Could it lead some astray? Of course, just like the search for a perpetual motion machine, the quest for alchemic gold through "science," and so on.
But when one considers the themes of Harry and his friends, there's a much bigger truth. What if adults bury their heads in the sand and refuse to see the evil around them? What if it is the children who are the wise ones--often the case in real life but they are usually powerless. The magic of Harry Potter's world makes it possible for the children to stand up against the forces of darkness, albeit walking into great personal danger which proves fatal to some, to stand up for goodness and freedom. And what is good and what is evil? Can someone be redeemed? The whole character of Snape, followed through the seven volumes, gives us plenty to ponder about who the righteous and unrighteous truly are. Can leaders become so convinced of the rightness of their ways that they are blinded to the real situation (Dumbledore)?
Think of the parallels to Nazi Germany, how the American citizenry were duped into supporting the war in Iraq, etc., etc. Like the fiction and/or fantasy of Ender's Game, Anna Karinina, Time and Again, 1984, Lord of the Rings, and all great literature, Harry lets us ponder without politics what we might have done, the possible consequences of our own hubris, and the purpose of life.
Besides they're a great read and anything that gets children to willingly delve into 900 pages has merit in and of itself.
May we all act on our beliefs as did Dumbledore's Army...