Harry Potter and Coping with Death

The Harry Potter novels are a cultural phenomenon that has truly swept through the entire world, beginning with the UK, the US and other English-speaking countries and eventually spreading to every other country as well. As of 2003, the Wall Street Journal published that the books have been distributed in 200 countries and translated into 55 different languages. The seven books took about a decade to complete and release, and were featured prominently in the media for an impressive amount of time. Something about the slightly clichéd, "specky, scrawny git," as Harry is labeled in the latest novel, was endearing to a generation of children and teenagers who grew up alongside Harry and his friends. Before long, Harry Potter became an enormous sensation - there are currently movies, video games, board games, action figures, even rock bands and amusement parks. All of these are influenced by the books by JK Rowling, making The Harry Potter series a veritable cultural phenomenon.

The first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's [Sorcerer's] Stone, was published in June of 1998. Within a year, the book had won The Nestle Children's Book Award; the Children's Book of the Year Award, granted by the well-known British Book Awards; and also was granted the Children's Book Award. It became well-liked among children and young adults, and soon even curious parents and other adults were hooked. Indeed, within a short amount of time, the books became extremely popular among adults of all ages, from college-aged students to retirees. Considering the inarguably vast success of the Harry Potter series, it is much less a question of whether or not the series is a cultural phenomenon, and instead a matter of what a simple series following the coming-of-age of a teenage wizard has to offer that made the books so wildly popular. Harry Potter is a sensation which has enraptured the world and influenced everyone who has not spent the last decade under a rock. Is the appeal due to the desire to steal away into a land of fantasy world and forget "real life" issues? Perhaps it is deeper than that; indeed people have long had a fascination with the opportunity to steal away into a fantasy world, but perhaps not so much to "escape real life." People may be attracted to fantasy in order to attempt to undertake the multifarious and captivating concept of humanity's attitude toward the finite nature of life.

The magical world of Harry Potter presumably presented that chance, with the added pleasure of intrigue, dark wizards and interesting and well-developed characters. As a bonus, the world is not some far-away place or unfamiliar realm; the series takes place in familiar locations in this world, such as different places in England and Scotland. Young teenagers and schoolchildren were drawn to the relatable protagonist, Harry, and found themselves empathizing with his school experience and social interactions. Adults also found themselves enthralled with the series, fascinated by the conflicts and complicated character relationships. Indeed, this relevance that the series has found with adults is perhaps the key to why the series has grown in popularity. However, the series is not what the general public assumes it to be at face value: a light-hearted escape into a magical fantasy-world where one can ignore the more harsh "real life." On the contrary, the novels present a sort of safe medium for the exploration of its much darker subject matter: death. Death is a pervasive topic throughout the books, echoing the fascination people have had for the concept of death throughout human history. It is something that affects every single person who has ever and will ever live, and the enthrallment humanity has with death has been a large part of human culture since the dawn of time; spawning mythology, philosophical ponderings and religious fascination.

Harry Potter follows a young man as he grows to maturity and learns to embrace the responsibilities which come with adulthood as well as those that accompany his unique situation of being the one who is destined to destroy the "dark lord," also known as "Voldemort," who has been terrorizing the wizarding world for more than a decade at the first novel's commencement, in an attempt to become an absolute dictator among wizards. The name "Voldemort" itself is derived from the French phrase "vol de mort," literally, "flight from death." As the major antagonist of the novels, it is ironic that his name includes the word "flight," insinuating that he is driven by fear. As the novels progress it becomes quite clear that the villain of the novels is indeed a cowardly individual bent on escaping the inevitability of death - even more frantically than he pursues the accumulation of absolute power. In accord with Voldemort' s fear of death, his followers are christened "death eaters." This is a strange title for people who fear death so deeply, but appears to be an intimidation tactic more than anything else. "Death Eater" sounds scary, dark, dangerous - but what does that truly mean? Is "consuming" death truly something to be feared? It appears to simply be the manifestation of Voldemort's desire to obliterate death - if he can manage to "eat" death, it will be gone, and he can enjoy immortality without fear. He wishes to completely avoid dying and goes to unnatural extremes to satisfy this desire, including splitting his soul into seven pieces; a ghastly and blasphemous atrocity.

As was mentioned earlier, a large part of Harry Potter's zealous fan-base is composed of adult readers despite the novels being marketed toward a younger audience. Indeed, with all of the controversy in the media surrounding the books - whether it is that they are teaching children heretic and satanic beliefs by 'endorsing magic,' or if the subject matter is simply too adult to be included in children's novels - there has been much discussion of whether the novels truly should be classified as a children's books at all. "The most vociferous critics of the novels, primarily conservative Christians, cite the theme of magic as inherently anti-Christian," states Courtney Strimel, in her book regarding the relationship between real-life terrorism and the issues faced in Harry Potter (36). A highly ranked man in the Christian church of Italy, stirred up negative feelings toward the series when he publicly criticized the series, "By reading Harry Potter, a young child will be drawn into magic and from there it is a simple step to Satanism and the Devil," Reverend Gabriele Amorth claims. Such statements, however, are made in ignorance to the actual subject matter to the novels, and many religious critics have not even read the books at all.

Even Pope Benedict had something negative to say about the Potter series, stating, "It is good that you explain the facts of Harry Potter, because this is a subtle seduction, which has deeply unnoticed and direct effects in undermining the soul of Christianity before it can really grow properly." Many casually religious individuals are influenced by the fear of being potentially delegated to hell. Catholics, who make up a significant population in the western world, generally take the Pope's words quite seriously and many would likely write off the books without reading a single word themselves, only because the Pope disapproved.

Ironically, with a large theme in the series being of facing death and dealing with the death of loved ones, the quote which is prominently placed on the grave of Harry's own parents is a quote from the bible itself: "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" [1 Corinthians 15:26]. Some of Rowling's most prominently placed values are in fact Christian ideals as well, such as self-sacrifice and also being at peace with death and finding solace that life continues on in some manner after the death of one's body. It is almost as though the premise of the novels was taken directly from the bible itself: "Greater love hath no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends" [John 15:13]. Moments before the very first scene in the series, Harry's mother, Lily, sacrifices herself so that her son might live and be protected by the magic of a mother's love - which is quite literally a protection spell, activated upon her death. She could have lived; she was given the option to relinquish her son and be spared, but she chose an honorable death for the sake of Harry. Again and again this theme of self-sacrifice is displayed by those characters who are seen as virtuous or heroes. In the third novel, the character Sirius Black faces an old friend who betrayed Harry's parents, outwardly saying for the first time what was formerly only demonstrated through self-sacrificing acts rather than blatant statements.

"You don't understand!" whined Pettigrew, "He would have killed me, Sirius!'"
'THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!' roared Black. 'DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!'" (365)

Again, it is obvious who the more villainous, sniveling character is, as Pettigrew displays his cowardice and chose his own life over that of his friends. His former best friends turn their backs on him for his cowardly behavior, and it becomes evident that if one gives in to fear of death, he can actually end up losing what is most important to him. Rowling presents early on in the series that there are worse things than dying: for example, having one's soul sucked out by the feared creatures called "Dementors."

Not unlike Voldemort and Pettigrew, each character can be placed in a category of where he or she fits in with the novels according to his or her attitude toward death. Throughout the novel, those characters that are perceived as "good" are those who do not fear death, or place other priorities above the fear of death, while the villains are those who are afraid of or wish to otherwise evade death. On the gravestone of Harry's deceased parents, who died fighting against the "Dark Lord," reads the inscription: "The Last Enemy to be destroyed is Death." This is meant to be seen in a spiritual manner, as opposed to the ideology of the "Death Eaters," who fear and want to literally destroy death. The concept being proposed on the tombstone is more one of transcending death by living on beyond the grave, perhaps in an afterlife, or simply having a legacy to live on in one's stead - in the case of Lily and James Potter, this legacy is their son Harry.

Sirius Black is another example of a character that is set upon a pedestal due to his lack of fear regarding dying. He is not a particularly wonderful individual; growing up, he often bullied less popular students, and he is quite swift to judge others. At his home, he is served by a "house elf" - essentially a slave - whom he treats very poorly and "with nothing but contempt." The author herself describes him as "brave, loyal, reckless, embittered and slightly unbalanced," but acknowledges his "great redeeming quality is how much affection he is capable of feeling" (jkrowling.com). Indeed, his own death is quite symbolic of the concept of "the last enemy to be destroyed," as he literally falls through a physical curtain of "death" - some tangible barrier between "here," and "there," - the unknown abyss of whispers and wispy darkness.Sirius is not a perfect, moral individual, but his death occurs when he is attempting to protect Harry, who is his godson, and his friends. Shortly after his demise, he is described as "a brave, clever, and energetic man, and such men are not usually content to sit at home in hiding while they believe others to be in danger." The descriptors "brave, clever and energetic," as well as "loyal" are ones that are again and again impressed upon the reader as being the most important qualities a person can possess (Rowling Order of the Phoenix 839). Any and all character flaws are acceptable to gloss over - recklessness, hypercriticism, and tendencies to bully, among others - so long as the essential qualities of courage and love for and intense loyalty to friends are adhered to.

Despite the lofty values represented in the novels, parents across the globe have decried the series - mothers' taking stands against allowing children to read the books in school, parents concerned about the dark themes included in the books. Additionally, parents simply don not want their children reading books that they believe could perhaps do quite the opposite of what a fantasy book is known for: prematurely expose them to such dark themes as death, evil and betrayal. Courtney Strimel states, "the charge by many critics, regardless of religious affiliation, has been that the series contains an inappropriate amount of violence and terror for a children's series" (36). Indeed, by the end of the series, the death toll is over thirty named characters, and more whose identities are never stated, with several of those deaths being characters which were near and dear to the readers. The seventh novel is a bloodbath, with cherished characters being killed off left, right and center, many quite unceremoniously.

As a disclaimer before one of the more in-depth articles on Harry Potter's relevance to the adult world, the author mentions, "It is acknowledged that many critics believe that the same elements claimed as beneficial in the essay are actually immoral and dangerous to child readers." (Strimel 35). Some parents fear that perhaps their children are not mature enough to distinguish fantasy and reality. However, this is a misguided notion. In an interview, a neurologist and child psychologist, Dr. Philip DeFina, states, "Higher level abstract reasoning capabilities emerge at around age 6 or 7. This is the time that executive functions develop in the frontal lobes of the brain: planning, organizing, and distinguishing fantasy from reality." The Harry Potter books are marketed toward older schoolchildren who are well beyond this stage of cognitive development, and are therefore more than capable of understanding the difference between fantasy and reality. Therefore, they are able to take from the series the deeper morals which are presented in conjunction with the themes of death, rather that fixating on the deaths themselves.

JK Rowling herself, the author of the series, reveals her belief in the matter of death in the series during an interview, saying, "You are writing children's books, you need to be a ruthless killer.'" She seems to take the opposite belief of many parents who wish to shelter their children from such dark themes as evil and murder, and argues that the books are designed to help people cope with death, as writing the books was a bit of therapy for herself in coping with the recent death of her mother. The loss of her mother deeply impacted the direction in which she went with the novels, and she mentions it "made an enormous difference ... because I was living it - I was living what I had just - what I had just written." Early in the conception of the series , she decided definitively to explore the theme of death and coping with it, fear of death and even exploring the afterlife. Early on, she had disposed of Harry's parents in an unceremonious manner, just to get them out of the way so that he would be an orphan. It was only after the death of her mother that she realized this was not okay - their deaths had to have some sort of meaning - and thus she delved into the theme of death as she continued on in the series. Indeed, the books have a very dark underlying focus, which can be appreciated by adult readers of the books, and can be employed as learning devices for those younger readers of the books. DeFina mentions, "Children should be educated properly based on their level of cognitive ability." As aforementioned, a child over the age of 6 or 7 is able to understand the books without being scarred by the concept of death. Instead of being too serious and violent a series for children, the books in reality offer excellent mechanisms through which to acclimate children to the reality of death being a part of the cycle of life: it is natural, inevitable, but not all so terrible and frightening. Even when those we love and care for leave us, there is always something left behind. Staying true to their epitaph, Harry's parents truly do live on in their son. In one of the final scenes, Harry is able to see the specters of his parents and others who passed before him, and speaks to his father: "You'll stay with me?" [Harry] "Until the very end," said James." (DH) This appears to be less of a literal appearance of his parent's ghosts, and more of a representation of Lily and James living on through Harry. They are always a part of him despite that they died so long before.

Even the humor, which is quite extensive throughout the novels, is fairly macabre and often alludes to death. Instead of being scarring to children, however, it could be argued that this is quite beneficial for younger audiences. Children, especially those in America, are raised to be sheltered from the reality of death and the violence which is rampant in the media and in society as a whole. However, this mentality that parents generally have, though inspired by the most caring intentions, can be counter-productive and detrimental to a child's healthy relationship with death. By incorporating death not only into the entire plot of the novels, but also into passing remarks and humor, JK Rowling is offering a secure way for children to be exposed to the reality of death in a gradual way. In the last novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, two characters discuss the imminent death of one as though they're discussing the weather;

"'You must kill me.' There was a long silence, broken only by an odd clicking noise. Fawkes the phoenix was gnawing a bit of cuttlebone.
'Would you like me to do it now?' asked Snape, his voice heavy with irony. 'Or would you like a few moments to compose an epitaph?'" (Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 659).

In approaching such a heavy and morbid topic as planning one's own death for the greater good with nonchalance, JK Rowling does not bring undue attention of panic to the concept of death, capitalizing that it is simply a necessary aspect of the cycle of life. At other points in the series, quite grotesque situations are presented in a joking manner, such as when a ghost jokes about his particularly violent medieval death, saying, "Half an inch of skin and sinew holding my neck on, Harry! Most people would think that's good as beheaded, but oh, no, it's not enough for Sir Properly Decapitated-Podmore" (Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets).

Natasha Walton, writing for the popular UK newspaper, The Guardian, suggests that the rampant popularity of Harry Potter among adults is merely borne out of the underlying desire people have for comfort and reassurance; to regress to a time where one didn't have to worry about things because death was some distant impossibility. She states, "It is tough to live in a world where there is no grand force that cares for your existence, no sense of purpose to the universe, no conscious presence being expressed in the cheerful sprout of flowers or the menacing rumble of thunder." She argues that Harry Potter fulfills that fantasy for an adult to regress back into their childhood and escape into a world where things are simple, and where with a little courage and a lot of friendship, one can save the world with magic. As a matter of fact, JK Rowling herself describes the phenomenon of adults falling in love with the series quite simply herself, noting that "the dream of being able to become a wizard and control the environment is still enormous -- for adults as well as children." Though this fantastical appeal of magic and escapism is what draws in the readers, the true magic of the series is its actual content, which is in fact quite dark. Harry Potter is based in a fantasy-world, but many things which occur within the series echo real-life situations. However, with the addition of a little magic, JK Rowling is able to explore particular aspects which are naturally appealing to humans

Essentially, the Harry Potter series appeals to vast and varied audience of people from all walks of life - from children to professionals to retirees - across different nations and transcends usually impassable cultural barriers to become known and loved around the world. A large aspect of this popularity is due to the simple matter that all people share the desire to escape into a world of fantasy and explore a world where it is easy to regress to a time where imagination is more important than reality. However, a very important feature in the extreme popularity of the Harry Potter series is the prominence of death and coping with the reality of mortality which is prevalent throughout the entire series. The books are quite open about death - the reality and inevitability of it, and the suddenness with which it can come, and can be instrumental in acclimating children with the concept of death in a stress-free manner. This exposure to such dark topics spurned controversy among concerned parents who wish to shelter their children. However, it arguably presents the opportunity to educate children of the nature of death, and different ways to handle it. Characters who are seen as heroes face death without fear, which presents a fascinating concept both to children who are developing their opinions on death as well as to adults who may revisit their own philosophies on death and dying. Adults are able to appreciate the books on a different level, and apply their more extensive life experience and education in relating the books to a deeper meaning.

Works Cited

DeFina,, Dr. Philip. "Abstract Reasoning Development in Children." Telephone interview. 2 May 2010.

"JK's OOTP Interview." Interview by Jeremy Paxman. HP Lexicon. 19 June 2003. Web. < http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2003/0619-bbcnews-paxman.htm >.

King James Bible. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. Print.

"New Pope Hits Out at 'Harry Potter' Books at Hollywood.com." Movies | Reviews | Movie Times | Hollywood News | Hollywood.com. 25 Apr. 2005. Web. Apr. 2010. < http://www.hollywood.com/news/New_Pope_Hits_Out_at_Harry_Potter_Books/2439745 >.

Rowling, J. K., and Mary GrandPré. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. New York: Arthur A. Levine, 1999. Print.

Rowling, J. K., and Mary GrandPré. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine, 2007. Print.

Rowling, J. K., and Mary GrandPré. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine, 2003. Print.

Rowling, J. K., and Mary GrandPré. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. New York: Scholastic, 2001. Print.

Rowling, Joanna Katherine. J.K.Rowling Official Site - Harry Potter and More. Web. May 2010. <http://jkrowling.com >.

Walter, Natasha. "A Hero for Our Time: The Secret of Harry Potter's Phenomenal Success Lies in the Continuing Allure of Magic and Fantasy in a Secular Society." The Guardian [London, UK] 17 July 2005: 27. Print.

Westen, John-Henry. "Vatican's Chief Exorcist Repeats Condemnation of Harry Potter Novels." [Rome]. LifeSiteNews. 1 Mar. 2006. Web.