"Harry Potter": Evil or Educational

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, since J.K. Rowling published the first "Harry Potter" book, some parents, religious groups and educators have opposed the supposed 'controversial nature' of the books saying that they are evil, while other people feel they are educational and beneficial. The author points out that Courtney Strimel in her article "The Politics of Terror: Rereading "Harry Potter" did a better job of relaying her message because she listed many reasons why Harry Potter books help children and her reasons left little room for one to argue otherwise; whereas, while making good points, Berit Kjos in "Harry Potter Lures Kids to Witchcraft" gave too many opposing positions and left many unanswered questions. The paper asserts that, whether the Harry Potter books are harmful or worthwhile will continue to be debatable; however, in this case, Ms. Strimel's article was the better of the two because she made the more convincing argument by providing strong opinions, better explanations and relevant facts. The paper includes several quotations.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Evil: Berit Kjos' "Harry Potter Lures Kids to Witchcraft"
Educational: Courtney Strimel's "The Politics of Terror: Rereading "Harry Potter""
Comparison

From the Paper:

"She discussed the effectiveness of the use of Harry Potter books in helping children cope with terrorism issues. She claims, "instead of making the series immoral, the magic, frightening storylines, and character ambiguity all operate together to explore a vast array of morality issues." She goes on to strengthen this argument by discussing several different issues in great detail. One such topic is terrorism, of which she states, "the lessons about terror in the Harry Potter series may be scary and confusing at times, but magical fantasy allows children to deal with timeless, realistic, frightening topics while maintaining a safe distance from the agent causing the anxiety." This is a strength because it is a very plausible and justifiable argument that shows a benefit to children reading these books."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Kjos, Berit. "Harry Potter Lures Kids to Witchcraft." http://www.crossroad.to/text/articles/Harry&Witchcraft.htm
• Strimel, Courtney, "The Politics of Terror: Rereading Harry Potter." Children's Literature in Education, Vol. 35, No. 1, March 2004. http://www.ohiolink.com (PDF format).

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