The stories about the boy who faced challenges overcame all the difficulties, saved the wizarding world, and valued friendship inspire everyone. There is hardly a person in the world who has never seen the Harry Potter movies or came across the books. Hogwarts will help everyone to escape problems of real-life and will make anyone believe that everything is possible. J. K. Rowling wrote the first book in 1997, and the first book amazed so many people that Rowling consequently wrote six more.
Harry Potter influenced not a single generation. Children across the globe read books and were waiting for the movies, believed in magic, and expected to get the letter from Hogwarts when turned eleven. Every book is written in detail. From the very first page, the reader feels as if he opens a secret passage towards a new and better reality. Harry Potter shows how prejudices, conflict, and social hierarchies work in the community and the role of the moral concepts in struggling with difficulties.
The main heroes are realistic and advocate such important things as intelligence, friendship, love, and understanding. The story highlights that money should not determine social status. Perhaps, J. K. Rowling took the description of students who were not popular or even ignored in the school and turned their features into an advantage. In the controversial nature of heroes, the reader can discover himself sometimes. While writing a book the author usually gets inspired by something. In the case of Harry Potter, Rowling wanted her hero to face the same challenges that real people struggle with in the reality. Rowling once stated:
I wanted Harry to leave our world and find the same problems in the wizarding world. So you have the intent to impose a hierarchy, you have bigotry, and his notion of purity, which is this great fallacy, but it crops up all over the world. People like to think themselves superior and that is they can pride themselves in nothing else they can pride themselves on perceived purity. So yeah, that follows a parallel to Nazism (Granger, 2009).
The Harry Potter books are fantasy novels. The major purpose of Rowling to write the stories was to address significant issues that unfortunately begin to lose relevance in the modern world. The author aims to stress that friendship and intelligence matter more than money; fundamental values should not be forgotten. Harry Potter was a turning point for most of the children. This book raised interest in reading and proved that it can be fun.
The wizarding world described by the author is unreal, however, sometimes this border fades and readers are involved in the book as if it is about their life. Every child had the biggest wish to become a wizard. Harry Potter became the mainstream. According to recent researches, Harry Potter fans are likely to be more tolerant and liberal (Kozlowska, 2014). Rowling helped people to open their eyes and see that magic is possible, and it is around us. This book is not only for children as the true meaning is hidden between the lines, only adults can discover it.
Rowling shows that some problems are eternal. For example, the consequence of the Second World War, some researchers state that they are symbolized by the timeless power of Voldemort. She draws parallels between Hitler and Voldemort, Grindelwald, Slytherin, and the antisemitism movement. Those people who did not have the pure blood of wizards had to die, according to the ideology of Voldemort, Grindelwald, and Slytherin.
The same ideas shared Hitler to Jews. Several similarities between Hitler and Voldemort can be found regarding their political regimes, hate for Jews and Muggles. The vast majority of people think that Harry Potter is about a fantasy world that has nothing to do with reality. However, the meaning of the book is somewhere deeper. Social problems, dictators, and values are the major accents that Rowling wants to make.
The books influence the development of the personality. The entire generation was raised on Harry Potter books. Every child tried to be similar to Harry Potter, to have such true friends like Hermione and Ron, to overcome difficulties and challenges like Harry did. The books and the movies shaped the ideal picture of the world, where goodwill always defeats evil and there is always a happy end.
I should admit that books by Rowling influenced my life in a significant way. I began to enjoy reading and read all the books at an impressive speed. Harry Potter became the part of my heart that will always be with me as well as values advocated in the books. The book has a significant message for society: people are equal! Racial or social prejudices should not take place in the modern world. The book persuades readers with the emotional and visual development of the main characters. Harry Potter highlights that morality is the major weapon in the struggle with social conflicts and injustice. The work is much more serious than the ordinary book for children. It raises significant issues that are eternal and provides a better understanding of the fundamental values.
References
Granger, J. (2009). Harry Potter’s bookshelf: The great books behind the Hogwarts adventures. New York: Berkley Books.
Kozlowska, H. (2014). Can ‘Harry Potter’ Change the World? The New York Times. Web.