[HPforGrownups] Comparitive Literature (was - Re: They are children's books)

[An'nai Jiriki]

No: HPFGUIDX 81840


--- Iggy McSnurd <coyoteschild at peoplepc.com> wrote:
> From: Laura
> > First of all, for Harry to assume a Christlike
> role in the
> > hypothetically allegorical HP books, he hardly
> needs to mirror Christ's
> > Godlike personality or lack of sin.  Allegory
> isn't about rewriting
> > Scripture.  It's about taking a theme from an epic
> tale and fleshing it
> > out so that it becomes more human (and,
> incidentally, more accessible
> > to the reader).
> >

*Snip*
Just to back up Iggy, Harry also resembles Horus from
Egyptian Myth.

> 
> Iggy:
> 
> *grin* If you want to have a lot of fun, you can
> also compare him to
> Belgarion from the "Belgariad" and "Malloreon"
> series by David and Leigh
> Eddings.
> 
> 1 - He was a child of prophecy destined to defeat a
> being of great evil
> (Belgarion vs. Torak, Harry vs. Voldemort)
(Horus vs. Set [Good and Evil Kings of Egypt])

> 2 - For most of his childhood, he was kept in hiding
> and made relatively
> anonymous.  (Garion on Faldor's farm, Harry at
> Privett Dr.)
(Isis hid Horus in the reed along the Nile [later
interpreted as they became pesants] to hide from the
hunting Set)


> 3 - He wields great power, usually with the aid of a
> magical item.
> (Belgarion has the Orb of Aldur and the Sword of the
> Rivan King, Harry has
> his wand.)
(Horus was given all the powers of the Gods when Isis
told him the Words of Power [aka, the magic spells of
Egypt] & his eyes were magic gifts from Thoth after
Set ripped them out)


> 4 - When his identity is revealed, he is the most
> famous mortal of his time.
> (Belgarion is the Godslayer come at last... Harry is
> the Boy Who Lived.)
(Horus was the first 'mortal' King of Egypt, the
ancestor of all Kings, and well know due to prophecy
and divination of the preists)


> 5 - He often questions why the task must fall on his
> shoulders.  (Both have
> to come to grips with their destiny, despite wanting
> to be relatively
> normal.)
(Horus was always thought to defend the Holy Lands
[Egypt] from the forces of Evil [Set])


> 6 - As a child and before knowing who he is, he does
> things with his powers
> without realizing it.  (Garion cured a madman of his
> insanity and almost
> merged his mind with his aunt's.  Harry talked to a
> snake and jumped to the
> roof of his school.)
(Horus killed the Snake that was sent to kill him when
he was 3 years old [the origin of the child Hercules
myth])


> 7 - Both are alone in the task they have to do to
> achieve their destiny, but
> are also surrounded by "helpers" who have their own,
> more minor but
> important tasks.  (Belgarion has Silk, Relg, Barak,
> Belgarath, Polgara,
> CeNedra... and more.  Harry has Ron, Hermione,
> Dobby, Dumbledore,
> McGonagall, and the DA.)
(Horus has Isis, Thoth, Osiris[in spirit form],
Sekhmet... and the rest of the Gods and men that wish
Osiris' line continue) 


> 
> I could go on... But I think I've made my point. 
> *grin*
Me too.

So, it's not just the Christian Myths that Harry
Potter relates to, it's all Myths that deal with the
Sacrificial King (Harry). JKR took her insparation
from Christian views, as she has said she is
Christian. One cannot write from veiws they do not
know (that is not to say she did not research other
paths/ways to write the books). If the series was not
infused with Christian themes, I would be surprised.

But looking farther back in history, we can find the
pre-cursors to the Christian themes, and quite often
where Christians plagerized the stories, in the Myths
of Ancient Cultures. 

Chris

=====
"You irritate me. Kill me now." ~Javert, Les Miserables

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