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_____________________________________________________ English 60-90: C – Essay _____________________________________________________ Becoming The Chosen One The choice, identity and destiny of Harry Potter Oscar Holst EN3300 – English as a World Language Supervisor: Anna Greek Spring 2008 Examiner: Johan Höglund Högskolan i Kalmar Table of Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………………….1 Method…………………………………………………………………………….2 Background………………………………………………………………………..4 The nature of the Free Will problem………………………………………4 The concept of Free Will and the threats to it……………………………..4 Literary criticism on the subject of Harry Potter and Choice……………..6 1. The choice of being part of a society – the world of wizards……………...9 Harry determined? ………………………………………………………10 2. The choice of being part of a group - houses of Hogwarts……………….12 The aspect of difference/similarity……………………………………….13 The aspect of division/unity……………………………………………...16 The aspect of constancy/change………………………………………….18 Harry determined?………………………………………………………..19 3. The choice of being an individual - Harry Potter………………………...25 The advocate of Determinism – Professor Trelawney ………………….26 The advocate of Free Will – Professor Dumbledore……………………..28 Harry determined?………………………………………………………..30 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….36 References………………………………………………………………………..37 Appendix…………………………………………………………………………39 1 Introduction The Road Not Taken Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long as I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, … Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference (Robert Frost, 1916) We cannot have it all. We cannot tread all the paths before us. What, then, is the road to be taken? How is a choice to be made? Are all choices equally good? Is there such a thing as the right choice? Then, how are we to discern it from the wrong choice? Throughout history, mankind has used different strategies to help the individual make the correct choice. It is no coincidence that the concept known as “morality” exists. Rule and religion have been used to teach humans to tell right from wrong. But what is right in a post- modern world where the power of traditional authorities is wavering, in the age of individualism? Joanne Kathleen Rowling, Scottish author of the books about the boy Harry Potter, is arguably one individual who holds power over the minds of a young generation of people. As of June 2008, the seven-book series has sold more than 400 million copies and have been translated into more than 64 languages (http://www.thebookseller.com/). British children’s 2 literature scholar Peter Hunt argues that the novels read by the greatest number of children are those that are most important to study carefully, as it is these authors “whose attitudes and politics are most likely to be stamped (through subconscious osmosis) into the national consciousness”. (Hunt 36) What kind of morality then, is put forward in the Harry Potter books? Harry is arguably a good person who generally makes morally defendable choices. But can it be said that these choices emanate from a kind of self within Harry (a supposed Free Will)? Or, are there external forces that irrevocably force him in one direction? The paper analyses the development of Harry Potter and his identity through studying some key choices he makes throughout the entire series. The purpose of the study is to contribute to an understanding of what images of choice, identity and morality are conveyed to a new generation of readers. Can we really choose freely or is it just an illusion? In the cases where it can be debated whether this is true, what are the bases for doubt? Method The primary research question falls into two parts: What important, irrevocable character- defining choices does Harry make, and what is it that governs his decisions? In order to answer these questions, the three arguably most important character choices for Harry Potter have been selected for analysis. Each is discussed under a separate heading in the paper, however there are important links between them. The first heading deals with the choice of being part of a certain society rather than another - in Harry’s case, the world of wizards instead of that of “ordinary” people. The second choice is that of belonging to a certain group, sharing friendship and ideals – in Harry’s case, the school house of Gryffindor. Lastly, there is the choice of being a certain individual – put into other words it has to do with whether your fate is truly yours. Each heading is in turn divided into two main parts. The purpose of the first part is to describe and analyze the environment around Harry, and how it narrows down the choices available to him. The second part (called “Harry Determined?” under each heading) aims at analyzing Harry’s changing perceptions of his own choices and at figuring out why he assumes this attitude. Harry’s choices take place in a fictional world. However people can relate to them as representing defining moments in your life where a person has to make choices that will 3 determine the rest of his or her life - together, these choices would constitute “the road taken”. In this context, however, it should be pointed out that these choices become important because people make them important. Two different approaches have been used in carrying out the analysis. They are a cultural approach and a philosophical approach. The reason for this is to on the one hand describe the paranormal world in which Harry Potter and the other wizards live. The objective of this approach is to discern how this fictional world is ordered as regards to the limitations of choices that the character of Harry Potter can make. The philosophical approach has been used as a tool to enable the discussion of whether or not other choices could have been made. I would like to add that other strategies could have been used, such as for example using the religious concept of predestination in describing the behavior of Harry. Focus has been put on the de-facto choices made by Harry and what they mean in the social and cultural context in which he acts. The background section is divided into two parts. The first part briefly distinguishes the philosophical concepts of Free Will and Determinism, as the difference between them forms the basis for the method of analysis. This discussion is important, as belief in the truth of Free Will or Determinism affects, as I will demonstrate, how choices are made and whether people are morally responsible for their choices or not. As a natural consequence then, the second part of the background presents some of the contrasting, evaluative attitudes and interpretations on Harry Potter’s choices held by various authors. Lastly it should be said that for the sake of clarity, a short appendix has been added at the end of the essay. It lists the seven books in the series in the order that they were written, the same order in which the story unfolds. This can be used as a help in sorting out the correspondence between the books and the timeline of the story. 4 Background The nature of the Free Will problem Are human beings free to act as they will? This is a highly complex problem. For a start, what does being free mean? There are two uses of the term “freedom”, one referring to political liberty and the other to action control (Pink 3). Political freedom has to do with the ways in which states restrict the activities of its citizens by using, for example, laws. But it is as referring to action control that Free Will has occupied the minds of philosophers, and it is primarily this meaning of the term that will be discussed in this essay. Many of us intuitively believe that we do have action control and thus, in a sense, we have freedom. This is a widely spread conception throughout the Western world today. It is the line of thought that could be described as “common sense”. As Thomas Pink puts it, “The idea of being a free agent – of being in control of how we act – seems … to lie at the heart of our moral thinking”. (9) This is why, unless you have a very serious case of mental sickness, you are considered responsible for your actions. However it is also generally believed that feelings and desires are not as easily controlled. “This is why we are responsible for our actions, and not for our feelings and desires”. (9) However, the nature of the Free Will problem is such that it seems impossible to ever be able to find an accurate answer that we know to be true. Therefore, there is serious disagreement among philosophers about whether these views – that we are all in control and can thus be held responsible for how we act - really should constitute our common sense. After all, the question remains unanswered: to what degree are we really in control of our actions and choices? The concept of Free Will and the threats to it The Free Will theory is considered one of the critical concepts of philosophy and has been discussed in the Western world at least since the time of the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome. Up until present day, numerous theories have been put forward to provide for a more complex understanding of casual mechanisms.

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