Harry Potter and Humanity

Abstract

"In this article, I analyze how the Harry Potter novels bring to awareness two fundamental aspects of the human condition: the importance of one’s choices and the inevitability of one’s mortality. These are highlighted through the contrast of the characters of Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort. We first meet Harry on his eleventh birthday; he’s a child about to enter puberty. We watch as he grows, and bear witness to the hardships he faces and his struggles to make the right choices in difficult circumstances. We leave Harry as an adult, with children of his own, having achieved maturity through his appreciation of his humanity. We also learn how Tom Riddle becomes Lord Voldemort. Tom, like Harry, is an orphan who struggles against difficult circumstances. Tom, though, makes very different choices. One of the most significant choices Tom makes, at the root of his immorality, is his refusal to accept his mortality."