Morality in Harry Potter

September 06, 2008

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Morality in Harry Potter

by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P.
reviewed by Laura Jana, M.D., F.A.A.P.

If you ask most children why they like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone or any of the three blockbuster books that followed it, they'll probably tell you that the books are funny or exciting, or perhaps "cool." But even though kids might not focus on the moral messages in these works of fiction, they certainly come across, loud and clear. Harry Potter both entertains and teaches. But what exactly are the messages, and are they something you want your children to learn?

Morality in fantasy
Like almost all classic fantasies, the Harry Potter books center on the grand battle between Good and Evil, with the fate of the world in the balance. The struggle between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort is in essence the same battle that rages in Narnia in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, in Middle Earth in The Lord of the Rings, and in "a galaxy far, far away" in Star Wars. The battle that is fought with wands or swords mirrors a moral battle within the heart of the hero: Will Harry give in to fear? Will he be able to maintain his all-important friendships even though he is famous and clearly gifted? Can Harry be good and still break the school's rules all the time? Moral questions and dilemmas are at the heart and soul of the Harry Potter stories.

Morals and morality
To answer these questions, it's helpful to draw a distinction between morals and morality. Morals are messages or rules, as in "the moral to the story is, Be nice to strangers." Morality is the foundation of beliefs on which the story as a whole rests. The Harry Potter series is rich on both fronts. Grown-ups seeking moral messages can find some truly wonderful ones in these books, such as

Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.

The truth is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution.

To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever.

It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.

It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.

But if you set out to look for the overall morality of Harry Potter, you won't find it summed up neatly in any particular sentence. Rather, it's to be found in the way the whole story is put together, in the wonderful and vast cast of characters and the dilemmas they face. This core of morality speaks more loudly than the morals (as rich as they are) because children experience the morality of the stories in their imaginations, while the moral messages are only words. (The same principle functions in real life: Children learn more from the morality they experience in their homes than they do from the spoken moral messages their parents or teachers deliver.)

Here is what one insightful 12-year-old girl (who just happens to be my daughter) had to say about the morality of the stories:

People are different. Some are really cool. Some are really horrible, and you just have to deal with it.

You have to look past the things you see, past first appearances.

It's a lot about diversity--social and economic.

People need second chances.

Friends are really important. Parents are really important.

Breaking rules is usually a really bad idea. But if you're a wizard, it's OK.

What children take from fiction
The Harry Potter stories aren't simple, and there's no sure, simple way to tell what messages or meaning a child will take away from them. Different children will find different meanings according to where they are in their own development. Because children--and adults--have to use their imaginations to make the world of Harry Potter come alive for themselves, they are also free to take away the meanings they need, and ignore those that they don't have use for.

I think that this multipurpose nature is one thing that marks the Harry Potter stories as truly good fiction. It's also remarkable what is not to be found in the stories given their great popularity: no graphic brutality, no guns, no sex, and no coarse language--all elements that seem to be inescapable parts of the usual media fodder offered to children. No matter what advertisers and TV producers seem to think, children and adults don't really need or even necessarily want a steady diet of high-octane, edgy stimulation. What we crave is a good story about characters we can care about, and a story that speaks to the moral issues we confront every day. Harry Potter gives us that.

Click here to join the discussion on Reading and Your Child


RELATED INFORMATION

			The Role of Fantasy in the Lives of Children
			Why Parents Should Read Harry Potter
			Reading Aloud: Nurturing Literacy
			Media Watch

Created July 13, 2001
Reviewed July 13, 2001

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