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    Themes - Harry Potter

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    Alice Lira
    The main themes in the Harry Potter series according to the document are death, love, and the moral complexity of good and evil. Death is central to Harry's character development as he comes to terms with his parents' death and faces his own mortality throughout the books. Love is what distinguishes Harry from Voldemort, as Harry is willing to sacrifice himself for others due to his capacity for love, while Voldemort lacks love. Additionally, the lines between good and evil are blurred as characters are complex and can choose good or evil, with redemption possible for those who choose good later on.

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    Themes - Harry Potter

    Uploaded by

    Alice Lira
    52 views2 pages
    The main themes in the Harry Potter series according to the document are death, love, and the moral complexity of good and evil. Death is central to Harry's character development as he comes to terms with his parents' death and faces his own mortality throughout the books. Love is what distinguishes Harry from Voldemort, as Harry is willing to sacrifice himself for others due to his capacity for love, while Voldemort lacks love. Additionally, the lines between good and evil are blurred as characters are complex and can choose good or evil, with redemption possible for those who choose good later on.

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    Themes - Harry Potter

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    The main themes in the Harry Potter series according to the document are death, love, and the moral complexity of good and evil. Death is central to Harry's character development as he comes to terms with his parents' death and faces his own mortality throughout the books. Love is what distinguishes Harry from Voldemort, as Harry is willing to sacrifice himself for others due to his capacity for love, while Voldemort lacks love. Additionally, the lines between good and evil are blurred as characters are complex and can choose good or evil, with redemption possible for those who choose good later on.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    52 views2 pages

    Themes - Harry Potter

    Uploaded by

    Alice Lira
    The main themes in the Harry Potter series according to the document are death, love, and the moral complexity of good and evil. Death is central to Harry's character development as he comes to terms with his parents' death and faces his own mortality throughout the books. Love is what distinguishes Harry from Voldemort, as Harry is willing to sacrifice himself for others due to his capacity for love, while Voldemort lacks love. Additionally, the lines between good and evil are blurred as characters are complex and can choose good or evil, with redemption possible for those who choose good later on.

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    Themes - Harry Potter

    [34][35]
    Harry Potter's overarching theme is death. In the first book, when Harry looks into the
    Mirror of Erised, he feels both joy and "a terrible sadness" at seeing his desire: his parents, alive
    [36]
    and with him. Confronting their loss is central to Harry's character arc and manifests in
    [36][37]
    different ways through the series, such as in his struggles with Dementors. Other
    characters in Harry's life die; he even faces his own death in Harry Potter and the Deathly
    [38]
    Hallows. The series has an existential perspective – Harry must grow mature enough to
    [39]
    accept death. In Harry's world, death is not binary but mutable, a state that exists in
    [40]
    degrees. Unlike Voldemort, who evades death by separating and hiding his soul in seven
    [39]
    parts, Harry's soul is whole, nourished by friendship and love.
    Love distinguishes Harry and Voldemort. Harry is a hero because he loves others, even willing to
    [41]
    accept death to save them; Voldemort is a villain because he does not. Harry carries the
    protection of his mother's sacrifice in his blood; Voldemort, who wants Harry's blood and the
    [27]
    protection it carries, does not understand that love vanquishes death.
    Rowling has spoken about thematising death and loss in the series. Soon after she started
    writing Philosopher's Stone, her mother died; she said that "I really think from that moment on,
    [42]
    death became a central, if not the central theme of the seven books". Rowling has described
    Harry as "the prism through which I view death", and further stated that "all of my characters are
    [43]
    defined by their attitude to death and the possibility of death".
    While Harry Potter can be viewed as a story about good vs. evil, its moral divisions are not
    [44][45]
    absolute. First impressions of characters are often misleading. Harry assumes in the first
    book that Quirrell is on the side of good because he opposes Snape, who appears to be
    malicious; in reality, Quirrell is an agent of Voldemort, while Snape is loyal to Dumbledore. This
    [44]
    pattern later recurs with Moody and Snape. In Rowling's world, good and evil are choices
    rather than inherent attributes: second chances and the possibility of redemption are key themes
    [46][47]
    of the series. This is reflected in Harry's self-doubts after learning his connections to
    [46]
    Voldemort, such as Parseltongue; and prominently in Snape's characterisation, which has
    [48]
    been described as complex and multifaceted. In some scholars' view, while Rowling's
    narrative appears on the surface to be about Harry, her focus may actually be on Snape's
    [49][50]
    morality and character arc.
    Rowling said that, to her, the moral significance of the tales seems "blindingly obvious". In the
    fourth book, Dumbledore speaks of a "choice between what is right and what is easy"; Rowling
    views this as a key theme, "because that ... is how tyranny is started, with people being apathetic
    [51]
    and taking the easy route and suddenly finding themselves in deep trouble".
    Academics and journalists have developed many other interpretations of themes in the books,
    some more complex than others, and some including political subtexts. Themes such as
    normality, oppression, survival, and overcoming imposing odds have all been considered as
    [52]
    prevalent throughout the series. Similarly, the theme of making one's way through
    adolescence and "going over one's most harrowing ordeals – and thus coming to terms with
    [53]
    them" has also been considered. Rowling has stated that the books comprise "a prolonged
    argument for tolerance, a prolonged plea for an end to bigotry" and that they also pass on a
    message to "question authority and... not assume that the establishment or the press tells you all
    [54]
    of the truth".

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