NOTE: ONE SHOULD NOT READ THIS UNLESS ONE HAS READ THE ENTIRE HARRY POTTER SERIES. SPOILERS, Y'KNOW. ~To be read while listening to "Wild About Harry"~ On July 21st, 2007, the seven-book tale of Harry Potter became complete. Chronicling seven years in the life of a young wizard, this epic series has been enjoyed by millions. It has been translated into more than sixty languages, won countless literary awards, and in terms of total sales, competes only with the Lord of the Rings and the Bible. It has transformed the life of its author, J.K. Rowling, taking her from being a poor single mother to the second richest person in Britain. For eleven years, the series’ readers, children and adults alike, have been speculating madly on what future volumes will hold, and anticipating the next installment with glee. On the night of the final book’s release, Harry Potter fans in bookstores across the world gathered in huge numbers to celebrate its release and receive their copies. I first came across the series the year I turned nine. Learning that there was an interesting new kid’s fantasy series around, I quickly devoured the first two books, Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets, and the third soon after. By a stroke of good fortune, the fourth book came out that summer. After that, I was along for the ride, and I made sure to follow the series to its conclusion. What is it that makes Harry’s story so compelling? What has drawn so many, from kids to adults, to these books? Part of it, I think, lies in the appealing way Rowling writes. Her narrative style is smooth and fluid, easily conveying all that happens in each year without coming off as clunky or awkward. Despite introducing more than 200 characters in some volumes, Rowling has an astounding grasp on each of them, and seems to know instinctively how each of the characters will react to each of the others, and to every given situation. She describes these individuals with the most subtle of verbal cues, and yet readers quickly understand just who these people are. Despite the way the series grows darker as it builds toward its climax, Rowling also manages to interweave sly, British humor throughout, often in the form of the clever quips Harry and friends make to each other and figures like Draco Malfoy- though of course jokesters Fred and George play a role. Another factor in Harry Potter’s appeal is the incredibly detailed universe J.K Rowling has built. Drawing inspiration from magical stories all over the globe, she has crafted a herd of magical beasts of various shapes and sizes, a government ridden with corruption, and an entire parallel world of wizards that imitates our own with its own sports, celebrities, and cleaning products. It is very much to Rowling’s credit that the world she has designed feels so natural, so real, that to revisit it again and again feels like making a journey home. Perhaps the greatest reason, though, that the series has remained so popular for so long is because it touches something within us- that Harry Potter’s story can tell us something about our own lives. The series, viewed as a whole, is really very much an epic story, drawn from mythology and legend, that depicts the journey of one orphan from boy to man. J.K. Rowling has noted that she never set out to make Harry Potter a morality tale. But she has many things to say on the nature of life and death, of love, of prophecy and free will, and these ideas have woven themselves slyly into her work. Fortunately, they don’t leap out of the page to mob the reader, but these themes can be found when one looks for them. Perhaps the greatest theme in the series is death, and humanity’s relationship to it. To understand this, let’s first look at the archetypal dark wizard who haunts the series, Lord Voldemort. In Voldemort we have a man who is obsessed with the idea of death. As he made his plans to grow to infamy and power, the villain began to fear that one day, he would lose it all; that he would succumb to that shameful human weakness, death. This never-ending nightmare of Voldemort’s runs through his entire life, coloring everything he does. Even his name is derived from the French and Latin phrases for “flight from death,” or “theft from death.” He cannot rest, then until he has made himself immortal. What does Voldemort do to accomplish this goal? He deliberately tears apart his very soul. Through horrific acts of murder, he rips his soul into shreds and places the fragments inside trophy-like objects. This will force his soul, should he ever die, to remain anchored on earth instead of moving on to the afterlife, giving him the chance to create a new body at a later date and regain power. This alone would be awful enough, but Voldemort is not content to create only one of these Horcruxes, as those who inspired him had. He insists on dividing his soul into seven different parts, leaving only a thin sliver of soul in his body that fractures upon the slightest provocation. Albus Dumbledore takes every opportunity to tell his former student that there are things far, far worse than death. Though he doesn’t specifically state it, Dumbledore seems to be indicating the kind of maimed state Voldemort has chosen for himself. To a normal person, death is painless- but when Voldemort’s soul attempts to leave the earth, he experiences “pain beyond imagining.” This is entirely due to the Horcruxes he has created. But then, Voldemort is no stranger to this kind of self-mutilation- in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s/Philosopher’s Stone, he is willing to drink unicorn blood for strength, despite knowing that it will give him “a half-life, a cursed life.” Near the end of the seventh book, as both Voldemort and Harry enter, for a time, a state of death, or something very like it, Harry finds himself at peace and in his own human body. Voldemort, by contrast, is represented as a hideous, mutilated, tortured baby. This is obviously a representation of his own deformed soul. It’s unclear what will happen to Voldemort now that he is dead. But it’s entirely possible that he may have to endure this pain for all eternity, because he sought to run from death by destroying himself. For another look at death, we can turn to the hero of the story, Harry Potter himself. For most of his life, Harry has had to deal with death at every turn. The loss of his parents weighs heavily on him, and he craves that close contact with them that he only seems to find in rare glimpses- their images in the mirror of Erised, their last words brought to life by the power of the dementors, the almost-ghosts that appear in books four and seven. No one has been more affected by death at a young age than Harry. But he has not, unlike Voldemort, allowed death to destroy him. Despite his doubts and fears, Harry has come to accept death, and achieve mastery over it. This is largely symbolized by a group of magical items introduced in the final installment- the Deathly Hallows. It is said that the one who bears all three successfully can be called the Master of Death. And the greatest part of bearing the Hallows is knowing when to use them. Harry takes the Elder wand not for the purpose of achieving power, but for breaking the chain of murder that surrounds it. He takes the Resurrection Stone not for dragging back the souls of those who are at peace, but for making his journey into the afterlife. And he uses the Cloak of Invisibility not merely for protecting himself, but for aiding his friends without danger. This is something not even Albus Dumbledore, for all his wisdom and grace, could have done- he tries, in fact, to abuse the Resurrection Stone and pays for it. Only one man in a million, reflects Dumbledore later, could have united the Deathly Hallows. When Harry learns the truth about himself- that he is, in fact, an accidental Horcrux- and realizes that he must sacrifice himself to destroy Voldemort, he does one of the most noble and compassionate deeds ever done. He walks quietly to the forest, marveling at the strength he finds within himself to do this, and gives himself up to protect the others at Hogwarts. From the very moment he hears Snape’s confession in the pensive, Harry’s whole being is concentrated on fulfilling the task Dumbledore has set before him. Here Harry totally embraces death for a higher purpose, one motivated by love and hope. In this sacrifice for his friends and allies, Harry mirrors the sacrifice made by all who died in the fight against Voldemort, the sacrifice made by Dumbledore, the sacrifice made by Severus Snape, and most of all, the sacrifice made by Lilly Potter for her son Harry. Thanks to Voldemort’s foolish plan to make himself even more indestructible by filling his veins with Harry’s blood, Harry is able to return from the dead, and because of Harry’s sacrifice, Voldemort cannot lay a hit on the boy’s allies. In the end, Harry outmaneuvers the Dark Lord, and Voldemort is vanquished. In Harry we have someone who is willing to look death in the eye and bow to it. Harry has evolved into the classical hero of lore- one who accepts his place in the natural order, and moves past all human fears to become something greater. Harry has transcended death, conquered it, and mastered it. It is fitting that he should be the first person ever to bear all three Deathly Hallows. If there is a message about death in the Harry Potter series, then it is this: Death is a natural part of the world and should be accepted as such. To run from death, to deny it, leads to disaster. To embrace death leads to wisdom and peace. A deep message to place in a children’s book? Certainly. But Harry Potter does not throw these ideas at its readers in a blunt fashion. Rather, it lets them flow throughout the story for the readers to agree or disagree with as they wish. And J.K Rowling’s greatest legacy will always be her stance that children can deal with far more than adults give them credit for. This willingness to reach out to everyone, young and old, will always be one of the greatest aspects of the Harry Potter series. ~Mastercougar