Examine Harry Potter Through a Scholar's Lens in John Granger's The Deathly Hallows Lectures
Written: Nov 05 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: fascinating take on the last Harry Potter book, in-depth, FAQs
Cons: occasionally a little over my head, spoiler city if you haven't read Deathly Hallows
The Bottom Line: An intriguing book for those who continue to enjoy digging into Harry Potter.
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| bilbopooh's Full Review: John Granger - The Deathly Hallows Lectures |
I just finished Breaking Dawn, the final installment in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, and it made me recall the anticipation and pleasure of reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows two years ago. I was exhilarated to finally come to the conclusion of the saga but depressed that it was all over. One of the ways I kept the series alive despite its conclusion was writing poems focusing on various characters. Another was following and participating in online conversations about the books.
Some of the meatiest discussions occurred at Hogwarts Professor: Thoughts for the serious reader of Harry Potter. I visited the site now and again, pondering the insights of John Granger, who runs the site, and his fellow Potterphiles, and when last year saw the release of Granger‘s The Deathly Hallows Lectures, I snatched up a copy.
Granger, who has written several books exploring deeper layers of meaning he believes are embedded in J. K. Rowling’s series, applies some of the ideas from his earlier volumes to the seventh book. He makes reference to other Harry Potter books, particularly Philosopher’s / Sorcerer’s Stone, but his primary focus is on this specific book. In the first chapter, he explains his Five Keys to Unlocking Harry Potter, which include Narrative Misdirection, Literary Alchemy, Hero’s Journey, Traditional Symbolism and Postmodern Themes, giving a brief overview as to how each applies specifically to Deathly Hallows.
The second chapter has to do with literary alchemy, a subject with which I was unfamiliar prior to reading Granger’s work. He gives a good primer on what it’s all about and offers several compelling examples to suggest that Rowling was using it as a framework. First there’s the alchemical wedding. Then there’s the nigredo, or black stage, which is characterized by despair and disorder. Albedo, the white stage, has to do with purification, and rubedo, the red stage, completes the process with its “resolution of contraries”. Granger’s thoughts on this subject are fascinating, and it’s fun to go through his lists of tip-offs to the alchemical formula and contemplate how many of these references were placed there by Rowling for the very reasons he suggests.
The subject of sight is extremely prominent in this book, and Granger explores it in different ways throughout the fourth through seventh chapters. Chapter four deals with Harry’s mother Lily and the significance of her green eyes, particularly in light of Dante’s The Divine Comedy. Chapter five points out all of the ways in which Rowling incorporates sight-oriented symbols - mirrors and eyes - into Deathly Hallows, while chapter six addresses the value of “taking Harry seriously,” an endeavor for which Granger recommends using “triangular vision,” an idea connected to the novel’s central symbol, which is explored in more depth in the seventh chapter.
With his first book on the subject, Granger became a pioneer in the area of studying Harry through a Christian lens. Given the fierce debate that has raged around the suitability of these books for a Christian audience, I have found his conclusions welcome and refreshing, so I was probably most interested in the third chapter, which has to do with the Christian elements of Deathly Hallows. These are so numerous and significant that when I finished Rowling’s epic, I couldn’t help thinking that it ought to put to rest many of those who would object to the books on religious grounds. Granger picks up on even more than I did, and I came away more convinced than ever of Rowling’s rightful place amongst the giants of Christian fantasy like J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis.
Each chapter comes with a series of helpful endnotes, often with websites listed so that readers can easily delve more deeply into the subject at hand. The chapters are also broken up with bold-printed section titles, making it easy to flip through quickly and get a very basic idea of what is being discussed. Additionally, there’s a lengthy index in the back. My favorite aspect of the book for quick reference is the FAQ, in which Granger answers 31 questions over the course of 36 pages. Question 21, “How does Deathly Hallows fit in with or complete the seven book series?”, is especially worth reading, as he charts all of the similarities between the first and last book.
Though there are a couple places when Granger goes a little over my head, in general his writing style is very accessible. For a book with only seven chapters, it’s a fairly lengthy 300 pages, and I wouldn’t feel obligated to read it front to back; I skipped around, reading different sections and chapters as the mood struck. It’s a book I continue to enjoy flipping through now and then, and I expect that others who love examining Harry from all angles would feel the same way.
Harry Potter Reviews:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (book) * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (book) * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (book) * Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (film) * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film) * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film) * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film) * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film) * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince * Harry Potter Flip Book * Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them * Quidditch Through the Ages * The Tales of Beedle the Bard
Harry Potter Parodies:
Suicide is Painless * Mary Was an Only Child * Invisible * Gilligan's Island * I Got a Name * Santa Claus is Comin' to Town * Carolina in My Mind * Take Me Home Country Roads * Open Arms * Homeward Bound * I'll Have to Say I Love You With a Song * Turn the Page * He's Got the Whole World in His Hands * El Shaddai * Let It Be * Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer * Belle * Heartland * The Green Fields of France * Yesterday * Feelin' Groovy * My Little Town * Dust in the Wind
Harry Potter Poems:
In Defense of Harry * Butterbeer * Fred and George * Not Worried * The Pride of Gryffindor * A Visit From Hagrid * Remember Cedric * Snape's Secrets * Gilderoy, Gilderoy... * Dudley's Departure * Hedwig's Descent * Luna * Auntie Muriel * The Importance of Being Sockful * A Free Elf * Thestrals * Tickling the Dragon * Without You * First Kiss * The Fool * Courageous Colin * Exhortation * The Chudley Cannons * Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes * Silly Hair * The Snape-Shaped Hole * The Waltz * Vernon's Dream * There Was Only Ever One
Recommended:
Yes
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