This post is for Chapters 14 through 15 in Harry Potter...
Abby, I found it extremely interesting how you referred to this series being positively influential because Harry Potter is a very good friend. It is indeed very hard to imagine what would have happened to Harry's character if he had become friends with Malfoy, but I believe that his personality would never have allowed him to do this, and if it had, the friendship wouldn't have lasted long.
Something that you also mentioned in your post was whether the dangers that are present in these books should be taken too seriously as a reason of bad influence since most of them aren't even possible in the real world. I think that these dangers should not be considered as harmful, but it also seems that Harry is facing more and more of them with every new event that occurs in the book now. When Harry and Malfoy witness a mysterious figure drinking the blood of a unicorn (later found out to be Voldemort), it can be said that he was closest to danger ever since his parents were killed. Parents might think that this could send violent images and such into the minds of children and even scare them, but parents should know that fear is a natural phase of growing up, and that none of this is actually true, so a little fear generated by this book is not going to change much for children.
Tell me one thing, don't parents want their children to respect life no matter what form it exists in? When it is revealed in this portion of the book that Hagrid wants to raise a dragon even though it is illegal, the reader can see just how much the giant values the lives of not only fellow humans, but animals as well. "So now they had something else to worry about: what might happen to Hagrid if anyone found out he was hiding an illegal dragon in his hut." (pg. 233). The law doesn't change Hagrid's decision, and some might think that this influences young ones to break the law, but if a small detail like this is enough to influence a person, the person is young enough that it is not likely for them to try breaking laws. It is more possible that this kind of event would help children think more about how they treat others and life, and it could be enough to have them ponder what they would have done if they were in Hagrid's shoes. If not anything else, a child can learn more about him or herself from this kind of context. Even though Hagrid has to end up asking Ron's brother to take the dragon before it grows too big, the fact that he cared enough to even let it hatch at his house, and this is enough to tell the reader that caring is all that matters in the end, because more important than the separation of the two is that Harry, Ron, and Hermione gain much respect for Hagrid because of the risks he took.
Abby, I found it extremely interesting how you referred to this series being positively influential because Harry Potter is a very good friend. It is indeed very hard to imagine what would have happened to Harry's character if he had become friends with Malfoy, but I believe that his personality would never have allowed him to do this, and if it had, the friendship wouldn't have lasted long.
Something that you also mentioned in your post was whether the dangers that are present in these books should be taken too seriously as a reason of bad influence since most of them aren't even possible in the real world. I think that these dangers should not be considered as harmful, but it also seems that Harry is facing more and more of them with every new event that occurs in the book now. When Harry and Malfoy witness a mysterious figure drinking the blood of a unicorn (later found out to be Voldemort), it can be said that he was closest to danger ever since his parents were killed. Parents might think that this could send violent images and such into the minds of children and even scare them, but parents should know that fear is a natural phase of growing up, and that none of this is actually true, so a little fear generated by this book is not going to change much for children.
Tell me one thing, don't parents want their children to respect life no matter what form it exists in? When it is revealed in this portion of the book that Hagrid wants to raise a dragon even though it is illegal, the reader can see just how much the giant values the lives of not only fellow humans, but animals as well. "So now they had something else to worry about: what might happen to Hagrid if anyone found out he was hiding an illegal dragon in his hut." (pg. 233). The law doesn't change Hagrid's decision, and some might think that this influences young ones to break the law, but if a small detail like this is enough to influence a person, the person is young enough that it is not likely for them to try breaking laws. It is more possible that this kind of event would help children think more about how they treat others and life, and it could be enough to have them ponder what they would have done if they were in Hagrid's shoes. If not anything else, a child can learn more about him or herself from this kind of context. Even though Hagrid has to end up asking Ron's brother to take the dragon before it grows too big, the fact that he cared enough to even let it hatch at his house, and this is enough to tell the reader that caring is all that matters in the end, because more important than the separation of the two is that Harry, Ron, and Hermione gain much respect for Hagrid because of the risks he took.
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