While wandering through the posts on Barnes & Noble's Harry Potter discussion board (this isn't something I do often, believe me!), I came across a post by John Granger, author of Looking for God in Harry Potter, The Hidden Key to Harry Potter, and Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys for the Serious Reader. According to Granger, the Harry Potter novels constitute a "postmodern metanarrative" full of Christian allegory and symbolism.
Are we reading the same books? I certainly see some of the Christian symbolism--J. K. Rowling herself has stated that she is a Christian, but that she doesn't want to discuss her beliefs for fear that "the intelligent reader, whether 10 or 60, will be able to guess what’s coming in the books." But postmodern?? Who is it in her books who states that "there is no good or evil"?
Good and evil often do a good job of hiding in Harry's world. People in positions of power and authority do terrible things; friends betray friends; distasteful and unlikable people stand up for what's right. But that is a far cry from the postmodern view that good and evil are subjective qualities. There may be a big question about Snape's loyalty, for example, but the fact remains that Snape is loyal to someone. Either he has chosen the good side or the bad side. We are in debate over which side he has chosen, not over whether there are sides at all.
I haven't read Granger's books, so I don't know the full extent of his ideas and theories. I know he is an avid supporter of the Harry Potter books, and that he defends them as Christian-friendly literature. I have The Hidden Key to Harry Potter but have never read it; now I'm very interested to see what he says.
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