Harry and Christ and other observations

[sofdog_2000]

No: HPFGUIDX 78277

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "saieditor" <chspnll at p...> 
wrote:

> I am speculating now about Voldy's statement to Harry in SS, 'there 
> is no good nor evil, only power'. This raises a further problem in 
> that due Harry's absorption with dreams about doors and corridors, 
> we now have a theme of mind possession, or possession of 
> consciousness, which, in some part, has to be resolved before any 
> conflict. I dont think Harry, in this vulnerable state, will be in 
> any final face to face conflict with Voldy. How could he?
> 
> Some one will have to take up the gauntlet to prod Harry into 
> further Occlumens lessons or teach him new stategies to protect his 
> mind.
 
Sof: I think Sirius' death would be all the motivation Harry needs to 
get that Occlumency down pat. 

> I have noted carefully the absence of any overt Christian themes or 
> structures, (as someone else mentioned, there is no chapel, the 
main feast is the Yule Ball, and the exchange of presents)so this, 
> without reading too much into it, simply reflects where most people 
> are with Christmas. Where I come from, it is nothing but an 
> opportunity for adverting, marketing, Santa commercials ad nauseum, 
> and I am generally sick of the commercialisation of Christmas. I 
> digress. 

Sof: I too wondered if the Christian protests were founded. The few 
references to God (My God!) seem to be offhand comments common in the 
Western world even for the unfaithful. 

In no way has this series ever seemed a Christ allegory to me. I say 
this because, well most stories and particularly distinct hero 
stories like HP follow the ancient storytelling construct of the 
Hero's Journey. This theme is repeated in almost all storytelling 
around the world far back before the rise of Christianity. Harry was 
clearly cast as a messianic character from Chapter One of "Sorcerer's 
Stone." He was the one person the Dark Lord could not kill, and his 
survival overcame the Dark Lord. I know someone argued against this 
last week but the fact is these are around us all the time (Buffy the 
Vampire Slayer, Xena: Warrior Princess, The Terminator, The Matrix, 
The Lord of the Rings). Those who frequently follow myth, classic 
tales, modern fiction and comic books are too familiar with the 
pattern not to spot it at a drop. It is simply to common. 

You can argue pro/con on the universality of Christianity, but the 
real question is does Harry Potter represent a spiritually universal 
message? Are the ideals that Rowling represents broad, relevant and 
compelling enough to illuminate - particularly for the young - what 
it means to be good and to do good? It really doesn't matter what the 
author's background is, where she derives her sensibilities. What 
matters is that she really understands the driving force of positive 
living and how best to impart that to children in a way that compels 
them to do good as well. 

Does that make sense? I'm thinking particularly of Bettelheim's "Uses 
of Enchantment." He describes the categories of fairy stories and how 
they work to motivate good behavior. Some motivate children through 
morality and others motivate them through identifying with a winner 
(the hero). 

Is Harry the Messiah of the Wizarding World? Sure. The narrative 
tells us so repeatedly. But readers need not see him as Christ-like. 
There is room to reference him against so many other, older figures 
from the world's myths. That there are Christian elements present 
isn't bothersome to me in the least. The series is rife with elements 
from all manor of literary, mythic, historical and religious sources. 
There's something in the HP books for everyone. 


> Noting the absence of any overt Christian themes or symbology, In 
> General, I can only come back to Dumbledore and his statement to 
> Fudge, people are defined by their choices, and experience the 
> consequences of their choices. In that, there is no difference 
> between the Muggle world and the Wizarding World. What does seem 
> strikingly odd to me is that there is some glaring gaps in morality 
> in the Wizarding World regarding the acts of some of the characters.
> 
Sof: Wizards are humans. There is no imperative given that Wizards 
are morally superior to Muggles. All of these examples - cheating, 
assassination, torture - are the normal failings of people. Wizards 
are just people who do things in a different way. If you look too 
closely you'll see that none of this really makes any sense. Wizards 
have national pride, cleaving to Muggle symbols like Leprachauns and  
shamrocks, yet they don't know enough to wear pants instead of 
nightgowns in public? How is that possible? How can the Wizarding 
world have evolved alongside/within the Muggle world yet have such 
inconsistent concepts of Muggle society? Which seems to me to 
indicate clearly that this story was originally designed for 
children.