Harry Potter - Good vs Evil
Evil in the Potterverse and its Implications for Modern Society
Throughout human civilisation, Evil has almost universally been connected with religion. Evil is most commonly associated with a material world of darkness, and is a destructive force opposing good; the spiritual world of light. Different religions hold variations on exact definitions and even within religions, ideas evolve. Medieval Christianity, led by the philosophies of Bishop Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas, conceptualised Evil as ‘the desire for anything remotely pleasurable to the human body’, a divine law now heavily relaxed by many modern Christians (Farley, 1990). Judaism expresses Evil as the consequence of disobeying or forsaking God. Individuals of Jewish faith do not consider Satan as the inception of all Evil (as is preached in Christianity), but believe Evil resides in the hearts of all humans which has to be oppressed individually. Humans have the unique cognitive ability to assess every situation before, during or after it has happened, and most importantly, are able to attach a moral judgement to every experience, factual or fictitious. Every known language holds a word to express ‘Good’ and ‘Evil’. As such, the idea of this on-going battle between these two forces is considered a cultural universal (Brown, 1991).
The battle between Good and Evil forms the backbone to Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Throughout the saga there are clear, distinct factions on both sides of the war. On the whole, Dumbledore and his school, ‘Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry’ encapsulate the strive for goodness in the world, conveyed through the teachers and students. On the other side, Voldemort leads the Death Eaters in their struggle for power, enforcing ideologies of racism, genocide and control through fear and oppression. However, through the characters of Harry, Snape, Dumbledore and Voldemort, Rowling effectively reminds the reader that the distinction between Good and Evil is not
Throughout human civilisation, Evil has almost universally been connected with religion. Evil is most commonly associated with a material world of darkness, and is a destructive force opposing good; the spiritual world of light. Different religions hold variations on exact definitions and even within religions, ideas evolve. Medieval Christianity, led by the philosophies of Bishop Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas, conceptualised Evil as ‘the desire for anything remotely pleasurable to the human body’, a divine law now heavily relaxed by many modern Christians (Farley, 1990). Judaism expresses Evil as the consequence of disobeying or forsaking God. Individuals of Jewish faith do not consider Satan as the inception of all Evil (as is preached in Christianity), but believe Evil resides in the hearts of all humans which has to be oppressed individually. Humans have the unique cognitive ability to assess every situation before, during or after it has happened, and most importantly, are able to attach a moral judgement to every experience, factual or fictitious. Every known language holds a word to express ‘Good’ and ‘Evil’. As such, the idea of this on-going battle between these two forces is considered a cultural universal (Brown, 1991).
The battle between Good and Evil forms the backbone to Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Throughout the saga there are clear, distinct factions on both sides of the war. On the whole, Dumbledore and his school, ‘Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry’ encapsulate the strive for goodness in the world, conveyed through the teachers and students. On the other side, Voldemort leads the Death Eaters in their struggle for power, enforcing ideologies of racism, genocide and control through fear and oppression. However, through the characters of Harry, Snape, Dumbledore and Voldemort, Rowling effectively reminds the reader that the distinction between Good and Evil is not
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