Flores 1

Camila Flores

Mrs.Briones

English 1302-227

25 March 2022

Why is Harry Potter Beneficial?

Introduction

Growing up as kids sometimes it feels really lonely in certain situations. Other times we

don't understand or know how to deal with certain emotions. Harry Potter is a good example of

creating misunderstanding between the author and the book. Although Harry Potter is a

children's book and movie. Many people were against the theme, mostly because religion is a

huge factor. Although not many people believe religion is a factor. Many religions believe it's

crossing the line between evil and good while others find it beneficial for kids growing up to

help find a greater understanding of what they are feeling and how they are.

What Harry Potter means to People

Many people who grew up with Harry Potter have seen everything the author, the books

and movies have gone through. From books to movies, it never stopped getting criticism, most

importantly from religious people. While also getting a great deal of support. Harry Potter is

about a preadolescent kid who finds out he’s a wizard, with the help of two friends; Ron Weasley

and Hermione Granger, while learning everything they need to know to become young wizards,

they embark on many adventures to save the world. While not many people see it as harmful,

many religious people believed that Harry Potter was involved with great evil. While others

found comfort in the fictional characters. Not only from the characters but from the world too.
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Finding the good in all evil and the evil in all good. Learning how morals can be seen from

different sides yet be the same.

How Harry Potter and religion clash with each other

The Harry Potter movies are known for three kids studying in a famous school of

witchcraft and wizardry. Although not many people like those types of movies, there's a large

population of people that are against their children or any child in general watching this movie.

Many believe that in some way the author of Harry Potter portrayed religion in a way good but

also in a bad manner. While others believe that watching the movies and reading the books will

lead the child down a curious path to what the characters of Harry Potter were learning, leading

the children down a path of witchcraft and paganism “It has also been met with strong religious

reactions…[such as] extreme acts of religious rejection from church leaders and parents in

conservative Christian communities…book burnings, library bans and public denouncing of the

series as evil and promoting witchcraft” (Feldt 14). Christianity went as far as burning books that

are related to witchcraft to prevent any curiosity.

What effects does Harry Potter have?

While many people don't agree with how religion is portrayed in the movies and books,

many teachers and doctors believe that the relationships of Harry Potter and everything it has to

go through helps create valuable lessons and helps create a connection between students who are

struggling on a daily basis and feel alone. “Many related to Harry’s feelings about school and

some related to Harry's home life”, being able to see their students open up because they learn

that whatever they are feeling, whatever they are going though they are not the only ones that are
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experiencing those problems (Gibson 6). Helping them understand that certain things also need

to be taught at school “Public schools can help them clarify, identify, and understand the details

of the metaphysical tournament of narratives, but they cannot take sides. It's what makes moral

education in public schools limited, tolerant, and at times metaphysically boring” (Glanzer 4).

And while one teacher found it useful for her students to read Harry Potter, a doctor found a

connection between Harry Potter and his patient “ the term portkey, which I borrowed from

Harry Potter”…”to capture the profound impact of emotional trauma on our experience of

time”…”Harry was a severely traumatized little boy”…[but]” he arose from the ashes of

devastating trauma as a wizard in possession of wondrous magical powers, and yet never free

from the original trauma, always under threat by his parents' murderer” (Stolorow 1). Using the

term “portkey” as a way to understand how his patience in some aspects overcome trauma.

Comparing that of his patients and what Harry Potter went through.

Conclusion

In conclusion, not many people agree with what is practiced in Harry Potter. Throughout

all the disagreements many people have used Harry Potter in a positive way. From finding a

connection with impaired “Deaf children and Harry grow up feeling alone and ‘‘different’’ than

everyone around them without understanding why”, to teachers learning useful information to

help them connect with their students (Czubek 2). Doctors are able to find a deeper

understanding of how trauma works with certain patients. While many don't support Harry Potter

for a variety of reasons. Harry Potter has benefited many people, from all ages, and all

backgrounds.
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Works Cited

Bencivenga, Jim. “Harry Potter and the Question of Good and Evil / Christian Science Sentinel.”

Christian Science Sentinel, 3 Oct. 2021,

https://sentinel.christianscience.com/issues/2006/1/108-1/harry-potter-and-the-question-of-

good-and-evil.

Czubek, Todd A, and Janey Greenwald. “Understanding Harry Potter: Parallels to the Deaf

World.” Shibboleth Authentication Request, 1 Sept. 2005,

https://web-p-ebscohost-com.tamiu.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=9

6f3b531-b1f2-4479-a78d-bca7eae74c55%40redis.

Feldt, Laura. ”Contemporary fantasy fiction and representations of religion: playing with reality,

myth and magic in His Dark Materials and Harry Potter.” Shibboleth Authentication

Request, 10 Aug. 2016,

https://www-tandfonline-com.tamiu.idm.oclc.org/doi/pdf/10.1080/0048721X.2016.121252

6?needAccess=true.

Gibson, Donna M. “ Empathizing With Harry Potter: The Use of Popular Literature in Counselor

Education.” Shibboleth Authentication Request, 1 Sept. 2007,

https://web-p-ebscohost-com.tamiu.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=0

d913238-94ee-420c-a4fd-452938c3c35f%40redis.

Glanzer , Perry L. “Harry Potter's Provocative Moral World: Is There a Place for Good and Evil

in Moral Education.” Shibboleth Authentication Request, 1 Mar. 2008,

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https://web-p-ebscohost-com.tamiu.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=1

5760b6c-2f09-40d1-9884-24516eb2e604%40redis.

Stolorow, Robert D. “Portkeys, Eternal Recurrence, and the Phenomenology of Traumatic

Temporality.” Shibboleth Authentication Request, 21 June 2011,

https://www-tandfonline-com.tamiu.idm.oclc.org/doi/pdf/10.1080/15551024.2011.582936?

needAccess=true.