Analysis Of Harry Potter Essay

Emily Erickson

Dr. Christina Hitchcock

Theology of Harry Potter

Jumping to Conclusions:

The Problem of First Impressions in the Wizarding World and Ours

In Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis, Curtis writes: “Things aren't ever what they seem to be when you first look at them. What's important is that you keep your mind wide open and try to understand what's going on from a lot of different angles” . Throughout history, society has used appearances as an initial and quick means of judgment. However, reality shows that appearances can be untrustworthy because of their lack of being able to show the true depth of a person or situation. In J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series, this idea of an initial, misleading first impression is shown and developed throughout many different characters and scenarios. Rowling takes characters who seem weak and makes them strong, turns characters who are seemingly evil into figures of heroic goodness, and creates situations that seem simple yet turn out to be inertly complex. The Harry Potter Series is skillfully filled with the exact concept that Curtis spoke of in his book. Rowling writes in such a way that the initial impressions of characters throughout are eventually challenged and refuted as the characters are developed more overtime. She expects her readers to recognize that outward appearances are deceptive and that it is important to look beyond those appearances and to learn to discern the reality of the heart which is not immediately obvious. This lesson is one seen and taught commonly throughout all different aspects of life and literature. For example, The Bible also greatly illustrates the importance of not judging people based off of their appearances as well as the idea th...

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...istian themes in Harry Potter, it is suggested that “Harry Potter is not really about magic, but about character.’” I agree with the thought behind this statement: on the outer surface of the series, the book consists mainly of a heroic quest supported by magic and supernatural abilities…but things aren’t always how they appear to be, are they? When you truly unfold the series, digging deep into themes and inner context, we discover a story in which we learn about the importance of appearances. We learn about character and how falsely judging peoples’ character based on outward looks or first impressions is more than likely going to give you misdirection on who they are on the inside. This idea is also supported in the Bible in many different occurrences and we know that we are taught to not only apply this when we read literature, but also to our everyday lives.