As college students, we don’t usually have the time to dig into a good novel if it’s not part of our course curriculum.
Worse off are our younger bothers and sisters, though.
Between sports, school, cub or girl scouts and other activities younger generations seem to have even less time to read than we do.
While physical activity is good to keep our kids active and healthy, it is important to keep the mind strong as well.
But rarely do we find a book or a series of books that will not only hold a child’s interest from start to finish, but appeal to people of all ages.
That was, at least until a few years ago, until J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series.
According to the New York Times, more than 325 million copies of the seven-book series have been sold, with approximately 12 million copies of the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, having been printed already.
Given all this success it’s amazing to think of how many naysayers there really are who rail against the little wizard.
Religious conservatives believe that the themes, particularly witchcraft, will lead our children toward Satanism and the occult.
Evangelical Christian groups may quote Deuteronomy 18: 10-14, which says, "Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord…"
This is not to be said about all religious groups, though. Some groups view Harry Potter books in a positive light, have read them, and believe no harm is being done.
There are also other opponents to Harry Potter, such as feminists who believe the story is chauvinistic and hardly includes, or negatively portrays, females. Some feminists, however, seem to forget that Hermione is one of the smartest, wittiest characters in the series.
Regardless of the opposition, there is a reason why Harry Potter is so popular. Rowling has accomplished in a short period of time what most parents spend years trying to do: get children to read.
Wizards and witchcraft aside, that’s something all of us Muggles can agree is a good thing.
Latimer, a creative writing graduate student, can be reached via [email protected]
