The Trouble with Harry (Potter)...

Dom has a very good post introducing an article on Harry Potter written by his wife, Melanie:

As if the Medjugroje discussions weren’t heated enough, I’m now going to be bringing up another sacred cow. Specifically, I’m going to point you to a post on Melanie’s blog that asks the question whether Harry Potter is an anti-hero. Now before you all fly off at the keyboard, read the post. Don’t forget that Melanie has read at least some of the books and enjoyed them for what they are. However, we’ve both expressed reservations as to whether we’d put them in our kids’ hands without a lot of maturity and preparation...

...the anti-hero tag comes from his penchant for breaking the rules all the time without any sort of consequences. What separates Harry from Voldemort? Harry lies, cheats, and steals. Voldemort lies, cheats, and steals. But when Harry does it, it’s for a good cause. In other words, in the world of Harry Potter, the end often justifies the means... (quoting Llama Butchers):

"If he could obtain it, would Harry use The Ring [i.e. the One Ring of the Lord of the Rings] to defeat Voldemort?"

Melanie and I both agree that this is a very good question because it goes to the crux of the difference between HP and LOTR and Chronicles of Narnia.

[Read the rest of Dom's post here, and Melanie's post here.]

Having read all the Harry Potter series of books as well, I found the Bettinelli's comments very helpful in pinpointing one of the subconscious causes of unease I've had with the tale (however entertaining and step-above-the-usual-literary-fare-of-our-age it may be). A good read!