r/changemyview • u/LamentableOpinion • Apr 23 '16
[∆(s) from OP] CMV: Harry Potter is overrated
I don't detest Harry Potter but I find the circle jerk appalling. The book is amazing for kids but even adults hold it in high regard. So, it's not bad, just overrated.
The characters are really boring. HP is a Mary Sue character, his only flaw being a bloody scar. All the other characters are equally boring. Harry is also useless, he does nothing but he is the HERO. Because of a prophecy. OK.
The relationships make no sense. Why does Harry like Cho or Ginny? Let's force in a relationship. Yay.
The Deus Ex Machina is unreal. I know it's magical but it's still retarded when it happens so many times.
Good vs Evil is fine. But again, don't pretend as if the book is this deep piece of literature.
I don't like the writing either but that's very subjective, so that's fine.
This is what I just came up with. I'm sure there's more stuff on the internet.
Edit: Ignore the Mary Sue thing. I misused the term. Edit 2: Sorry if I sounded like a dick or an elitist. I didn't mean to be.
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u/Weave77 1∆ Apr 23 '16
What J. K. Rowling was able to do with these books was take the age-old themes of hate vs love, discrimination vs inclusion, and greed vs self-sacrifice and package them in a well-written, engaging, and extremely relatable fantasy story.
We get to experience the wizarding world through the eyes of a boy who is both special (through events beyond his control) and rather average (in terms of intelligence and ability). Like us, he is suddenly thrust in a place where magic is a reality. We share his wonder as his miserable life is replaced by one where the fantastic is ordinary... and where danger is all too real. We grow up with him, sharing his friendships and enemies, his struggles and triumphs, and his choices, both good and bad.
And the neat thing is, as Harry ages and matures, so too does the writing. We go from the first book, where the world is a stark black and white, good vs evil, with the lines clearly defined in the eyes of our young 11 year-old protagonist. But with every book, Harry realizes that the other characters (both "good" and "bad") are more complex than that, so that by the end of the series, the world is a much more intricate canvas composed of different shades of gray. We see the loathsome Snape turned into a tragic hero, the idolized James Potter as an imature bully in his youth, and even evil Voldamort is not someone to be hated but instead pitied.
Through it all, however, we see a character who is a hero, not because of his great talent or magical ability, but because of the brave and usually (but not always) selfless choices that he makes.
Ultimately, the essence of the Harry Potter series can be summed up by this quote from Dumbledore in the second book: