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REFLECTIONS ON THE HARRY POTTER SERIES

Well, I finally finished them. Sometime last month, I at long last fulfilled my determination to read to the end of the last book of the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Some of it was on paper, some on CD -- I think one of the early ones was even on cassette (back in the day!). But finally, I got done. Now, having stopped watching the flicks after The Prisoner of Azkaban because it was hard to read the novels after ... I can see the rest of the movies. And look forward to it!

When H.P. first became popular, everyone was atwitter. Teachers were excited because kids wanted to read (and lo and behold, Scholastic landed the publication rights!). I remember seeing a picture in U.S. News and World Report after the first book hit the shelves, showing a group of children all with Harry Potter glasses on. It was the craze. But there were naysayers, too, as there always are -- sadly, predictably, tiresome-ly, especially among the more religious folks, who were obsessing about all this talk of witchcraft and attendant things. (Never mind that they celebrate Christmas at that school for wizards.) Alas. But it really didn't dampen the enthusiasm of most (including some Christian kids from very conservative families I knew, who were devouring the books almost under cover, doing everything but putting them in a brown wrapper) ... nor should it have.

So now that I've read the whole series, what do I think?

Well, they are good in almost every way.

1. They deal with the reality of good and evil in everyday life. The sheer weighty banality of evil, especially in its organizational and bureaucratic guise, was an almost constant backdrop in the books. (C.S. Lewis would have approved.) The reality of evil, both personal and in its consequential, transpersonal form -- but of the possibility of setting things right, albeit with the lingering effects of consequences from misdoings ... all of this is good. There is a price to pay to see the good; there is a price to pay for choosing the bad. Prices are unavoidable in life -- what do you want to pay them for, that's the question.

2. Who you are matters. Each person has as role to play: not only Harry, Hermoine, Ron, Dumbledore, etc., but also the Malfoys, Snape, and their lot. There is redemption (Perry Weasley), betrayal (Severus Snape), opportunities missed (Tom Riddle) and won (Draco Malfoy). No one is perfect -- not even Dumbledore, who is the closest thing to a divine figure, but has his flaws; no one, not even Voldemort, has to be irredeemable. Decisions matter, as with Dumbledore's to eschew the temptations of power in the Ministry of Magic, Harry's to embrace his destiny, or Hermione's to remain the faithful friend and companion, come what may.

3. Appearances versus substance. One of the current expressions I despise the most is: "Perception is reality." No, perception is perception and reality is reality. This is one of the more important life-lessons driven home time and again in this series. Bravo. While perceptions -- really, misperceptions, can cause people to do things they shouldn't and therefore fudge things up, in the end it's the substance which matters.

4. The importance of friendship. Golden, this is. I'm not sure, for this reason among others, that these books could have been written by an American, because of our rather superficial and debased everyday conception of friendship. There is a profundity here which bears meditating upon, in the price -- the sustained, durable price -- these friends are willing to pay for one another, and the patience with which they bear with one another and accept one another.

5. Choices determine life-trajectories. Decisions matter. You can sometimes fix things -- they are, often, in the series -- but never redo them. The moving finger writes ....

6. The unexplained, random, and unknown. There is a sense of mystery in the series. Yes, there is magic -- but there is always more and a deeper magic than is known. Some control is possible, but not total control. There are limits to power and influence. There is that which is larger than oneself.

7. Sometimes, the noblest expression of power is to turn away from power. This is what Voldemort never understood, but Dumbledore and Harry, in different ways, did. We often think that things would be better if we could just control events better. That's a mirage, not only because it's impossible, but because it's often not true.

A great series. Up there with Narnia, the Rings, and a few others that all kids should have the opportunity to read.

Now, to catch up on the flicks! I can't wait ....


Prince Frederick, Maryland (Providence)