Harry Potter avoided ten years of his life as the Boy Who Lived by becoming the Boy Who Lived in the Cupboard. Rather than allowing for Harry to grow up beloved, well-known, and respected, Dumbledore decides that he is better off with the Dursleys as the fame associated with his role in Voldemort’s first demise “would be enough to turn any boy’s head” (13). While this concern is valid, and later books even show that Harry occasionally lets the fame get to his head, Dumbledore’s decision causes Harry’s formative years to be spent with a family that does not care for him well and to be affected by bullying throughout his childhood. Despite this rough childhood, Harry Potter is a very good person. Even at eleven, he is sensitive, generous, and possesses strong moral convictions.
Harry’s sensitivity and generosity are evident in the train scene with Ron. He knows that Ron will not simply accept a donation of candy. Instead, he proposes a trade for one of the soon-to-be-forgotten corned beef sandwiches. He later notes that “It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harry’s pasties, cakes, and candies” (102). He does not share reluctantly, and he does not accept Ron’s first refusal as having done enough.
Additionally, Harry has strong convictions and is willing to stand up for them. Unlike the children who mistreated him so as not to invoke Dudley’s wrath, Harry is fully willing to anger Draco Malfoy. He does not fear retribution. Harry refuses to shake Draco’s hand and go along with his dismissal of Ron, cooly stating, “I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks” (109). Harry Potter, as an eleven year old, knows to stand up for what he believes is right even though no one has done that for him before
Further, when Harry hears of the troll in the dungeon, his first instinct is not to protect himself by hiding away in the Gryffindor dormitories. Rather, he convinces Ron that they need to go find Hermione and warn her of the danger. Harry thinks of her even though they are not quite friends at that moment in time. This desire to warn her becomes even more impressive when the two boys take on the troll to save her.
Another mark of Harry’s good character is his tendency to gravitate toward other people who are inherently good. Ron and Hermione, his two best friends, are high quality people as well. Ron is willing to sacrifice himself in the chess game during the quest for the stone because he knows it is more important for the other two to move along and save the stone. Hermione’s values are clearly illustrated when she exclaims, “Books! And cleverness! There are more important things – friendship and bravery and – oh Harry – be careful!" (287). It is well-known how much Hermione values learning; to say that friendship means more is the mark of a better priority alignment than her previous belief that getting expelled is worse than death.
I think you bring up some very good points - the very same ones I would tell my friends to bring to their parents if they were raised too religious to read Harry Potter. This "inherent goodness," as you call it, must outweigh the notion that witchcraft is inherently evil. Aside from this concept of "goodness" you call to our attention, Harry demonstrates the important Christian value of selflessness. He is able to obtain the Sorcerer's stone from the Mirror of Erised (Rowling 292). Dumbledore explains that only an unselfish person, "'one who wanted to find the Stone - find it, but not use it - would be able to get it'" (Rowling 300). Harry could be considered a Christ-like figure, but as that comparison might not help my case (despite the fact that it is present in so many works, so it seems a bit ironic that it off limits here), so I will not use it explicitly. Instead I will simply say, despite terrible abuse from the people were supposed to love him most (Judas, Peter), as you point out, Harry unselfishly fights to prevent the demise of the entire wizarding world (Christ on the cross). Is there a children's series that better aligns with Christian values?
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that Harry's character is built throughout the novel to represent inherent goodness. This inherent innocence is exemplified particularly well when J.K. Rowling uses Harry to contrast characters such as Dudley and his family as well as Voldemort.
ReplyDeleteFirst, Harry grew up with very horrible people who treated him badly. Despite this, he never retaliated forcefully and respectfully obeyed the cruel Dursleys. Although Harry does poke fun of Dudley, such as the unintentional prank with the snake at the zoo (28), these instances are merely for comedic purposes and Harry knows that the way he is being treated is wrong. Therefore, his upbringing marks him as an inherently "good" person that contrasts the horrific Dursleys that he must deal with.
Furthermore, Harry's pure character contrasts that of the "Dark Side" as well as Voldemort. Throughout the novel, the concept of good versus evil is touched on, with Harry representing good most of the time and Voldemort representing evil. Within the first pages of the novel, Harry's inherent good triumphs over Voldemort's evil even when he was an infant. When Voldemort tried to kill Harry, he failed for the first time. This is just one example of Harry's inherent goodness, which contrasts Voldemort's evil.
In the end, Harry's goodness is remarkable considering his horrible upbringing and lack of family. However, Harry's contrast against the evil of the Dursleys and Voldemort prove his inherent innocence.