By Anne Collins Smith

The following opinion piece by Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Classical Studies Anne Collins Smith appeared in seven newspapers in four states following distribution by the Scripps Howard New Service.

Assistant Professor of Philosophy Anne Collins Smith

The Harry Potter books have captivated children, yet can be chilling to adults. Within the context of the stories, magic is real and may be used as a force for good or evil. In the course of Harry's studies at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, we read about curses, spells, hexes, and other negative forms of magic known collectively as the Dark Arts.

Adults may take heart in knowing that the Harry Potter books vehemently discourage the dark-ness they describe. More important, the reference to darkness is actually necessary as an integral component of their powerful moral lesson.

These disturbing elements clearly depicted as evil are necessary because the Harry Potter books are more than just the adventures of a boy studying to become a wizard. They contain an allegorical struggle between the forces of good and evil. In the course of this struggle, the reader learns many things: the impor-tance of loyalty, integrity, and courage; the usefulness of book knowledge, experiential learning and hard-won wisdom; and the power of love. These qualities do not simply make Harry Potter a well-adjusted individual - they save his life.

It is understandable that parents want to shield their children from representations of evil. But children already know very well that there are dark and scary things in this world. They need to hear that these dark and scary things can be overcome. As C.S. Lewis observes, "by confining your child to blameless stories of child life in which nothing at all alarming ever happens, you would fail to banish the terrors, and would succeed in banishing all that can ennoble them or make them endurable." Readers are cheated of the message they need to hear when the hero defeats only a straw man. In order for the message to be effective, in order for the battle between good and evil to be decisive and convincing, genuine good must conquer genuine evil.

I agree that evil and death are not a necessary component of children's literature in general. The Hundred-Acre Wood does not need a bear-slaying demon, nor do Madeleine and her friends need to fall into the clutches - or cookpots - of Hannibal Lecter. But in a certain class of literature, for a certain age of children, both the presence and the satisfactory vanquishing of genuine evil are necessary. Stories such as C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain, and Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising sequence draw their power from a battle between good and evil. Because the evil to be defeated is powerful and cunning, the hero must inevitably grow and become a better person in order to fight it successfully. Thus, while reading an exciting adventure, the reader also absorbs lessons of virtue and maturity. Moreover, it is a common pattern in such books for the hero to be an ordinary person, an Everyman (or, in the cases under discussion, an Everychild) with whom the reader can identify. Thus the abstract message "Good can overcome evil" is enriched and personalized, becoming "Someone like me can overcome evil."

These are important moral lessons for our children to learn and apply to our everyday world. After all, what are Lord Voldemort's weapons? Prejudice, intolerance, and contempt for those who are different; abuse of the weak by the strong; greed, fear, and ignorance. Lord Voldemort's weapons exist in our world as well as in the world of the Harry Potter books. A child who has read the Potter series is not only forewarned against these evils, but better-equipped to handle them.

Letters to The Editor

To the Editor:

Not as a Fulbright Scholar, but a Fulbright Exchange Teacher, I spent one of the most satisfying periods of my life, the academic year 1987-88, near Glasgow, Scotland. Happily, it was French I taught at Loudown Academy, because for the first four months I struggled to understand the pupils' broad Irvine Valley patois. Indeed, a fellow Fulbright Exchange Teacher from the U.S. whom I met during a student field trip to Normandy and Brittany wondered what language my colleagues were speaking. (English!)

After more than 30 years as a high school French teacher and foreign exchange program advisor, I retired in 1993. I spent five of the last seven years as a volunteer missionary (ELCA) at the Theological Seminary in Bratislava, Slovak Republic. My first tour was as lector of English; most recently I served for two and a half years as 'spiritualka,' or spiritual counselor to the seminarians. I returned this past July, needless to say, with rich memories of very special students, with memorable experiences and relationships forged.

Yours sincerely,

Judith Brndjar
SU Class of '62