Bottom Line: Harry Potter may be fictional, but there are important truths in his life . . . at least through book six!
I will let you know if I change my mind at the end of book seven . . . but so far there are five important themes in He Who Must Wear Round Glasses life . . . beyond the fact that inventing such a character and marketing him well will get you a castle of your own!
First, magic cannot solve real problems. For most moderns technology is magical . . . . allowing them to manipulate physical reality to do stupendous things. Magic in Potter is astounding, and technology in reality is amazing, but men are still men. Deep human problems, hatred and pride, cannot be solved by waving a wand anymore than loneliness vanishes when you turn up an Ipod.
Second, like Harry many people get off to a bad start in life (losing parents is only the start for poor Harry), but a bad start does not have to control a person’s destiny. Finding good mentors really matters. Harry is blessed by having concerned friends of his parents who intervene into his dreadful circumstances . . . many real human beings can look about and find their own Hagrid or Dumbledore in school and church.
Third, some people choose to be wicked, enjoy being wicked, and cannot be helped in the end. Of course, (thank goodness!) many of us do bad things (as Harry does at times) and then are sorry. We turn from evil ways and are deeply sorry for them. Some people not only don’t do that, but are happy to be bad. They reject the ethical laws of nature and of Nature’s God and must be opposed with force.
We can pity He Who Must Not Be Blogged About and understand why he became what he is, but he still has to be stopped. The delusion that everyone bad is “sorry” or “misunderstood” is more a fantasy than the magic in Potter.
Fourth, Harry learns not to look to government for solutions to problems and that politicians sometimes like to deny rising evil to put off difficult tasks. It can after be popular (for a time) to shout, “Peace! Peace!” when there is no peace.
It is not just the Ministry of Magic that wants to deny that there is an evil out there that must be opposed . . . or spends more time inventing elaborate regulations on almost everything than winning a war.
Finally, Harry grows up. He does not try to stay a boy forever like some wizard Peter Pan.
He faces the growing responsibilities that come with adult pleasures and pains. Potter knows that you cannot play Quidditch forever. Harry doesn’t sit and watch television hoping to avoid his issues nor does he cut himself off from adult contact. He has strong peer relationships, but he also has good adult relationships as well. Harry knows snogging is fun, but true love is better. All enjoyable things in his life come with the need for restraint.