Well, here it is, the concluding chapter to my series on the Christian themes I’ve discovered within Harry Potter. This final book was split into two parts when the movies caught up with the books, beginning what I feel is an unfortunate trend. Now the Twilight movie adaptations and the Hobbit adaptation has also gone this route (three movies for the Hobbit, in fact), and it’s been rumored that the currently unfinished Hunger Games adaptations will continue the trend when the Mockingjay movie is filmed.
At the start of the novel, Hogwarts has been closed. The students’ parents feel that without Dumbledore, their children will not be safe. (One could argue that the children weren’t very safe even when he was alive. Trolls and spiders that eat people in the Forbidden Forest don’t seem safe to me)
Voldemort has turned the world, through the influence of his followers, into one that resembles Nazi Germany, extending his hatred towards his parents by subjugating Muggles and promoting hatred of half-bloods. (Isn’t it ironic that he would also be persecuted as well, since his father was not a wizard?)
Harry discovered in the previous book that Voldemort has split his soul into seven containers called “horcruxes”, which is forbidden even when done with a smaller amount. Like all evil, he fears death because it leads to the destruction of his plans. Potter and his allies must now destroy all of these pieces. During this fight, more allies lay down their lives for him. I especially took Dobby’s death hard, remembering his valiant defense of Harry in the second book. “Greater love hath no man than one who will lay down his life for his friends.”
I realize that I have probably not changed the minds of many of my readers. I still defend these books and do not feel that they are garbage nor evil. They promote good values like honesty, cleverness, and loyalty.
Aspie Catholic 