The Harry Potter series was one on the most challenged series of the 1990’s. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, the use of magic often gets the label of "occult" or "Satanism" slapped on it - frequently, it seems by people who have not read the books, because there is a very strong theme of doing the right thing to protect others throughout each Harry Potter book and the whole series. Though, I was looking at some info compiled by the American Library Association yesterday, so it seems that challenges due to (perceived) occult/Satanism dropped off in the 2000’s: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/statistics
Concentrating specifically on Harry Potter and the Philosopher/Sorcerer's Stone*, we meet Harry - the Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One. Here we meet a boy from a humble background, about whom there is a prophecy. Sound like someone else you know? (OK, we don't know the actual prophecy for several books, but other characters know about it.) He is hailed as the one who defeated the Dark Lord, who cheated death itself. Harry doesn't even know he is anything special until he is 11 years old, and even then, seems hesitant to accept the truth.
At the end of the book, Harry is faced with a puzzle. The Sorcerer's Stone, which is desired by Voldemort to restore his power and make him immortal, is hidden in the mirror of Erised. As already established in the book, when Harry was first faced with the mirror that showed him his deepest desire, he saw not money, not toys or candy, not athletic prowess or popularity. He saw, very simply, his family. Now, when faced with the mirror again, his deepest desire has changed. He desires to keep Voldemort away from the stone; he desires to protect his new friends, and, indeed, the world, from the man who destroyed his family. So what does he see in the mirror? The stone safely hidden in his own pocket.
After Harry defeats Voldemort in this book, Dumbledore explains to him the enchantment that he put on the mirror when he hid the stone in it was that only someone who wanted to find the stone - "find it, but not use it" - would be able to retrieve it. What does an 11-year-old boy want with immortality?
I was reminded when I first read this book of young Arthur in the Sword in the Stone. Many men had tried to pull the sword from the stone because of the prophecy that whoever did so would be king. Arthur was squiring for his foster brother at a tournament, when he realized he had forgotten Kay's sword. Desperate to find a replacement, he came across a sword sticking out of a rock. Thinking only of his foster brother's need, he pulled it out and took the sword to him. Kay instantly recognized it for what it was, whereas Arthur, who if I recall, was about the same age as young Harry, didn't understand the significance of what he had done.
While so many are quick to cry "black magic, black magic!" I instead like to see in these stories the innocence and selflessness of the young.
*Here's a thought for those of you playing along at home - if the American version had kept the original title of "Philosopher's Stone," would there have been such a hue and cry about "black magic?"