Novels about a magical world that exists side by side with ours do not divert readers from reality at all. On the contrary, they help fight prejudices and stereotypes.
The success of the Harry Potter novels lies in the amazing combination of fantastic atmosphere and the realities of the modern world. His characters are wizards, but at the same time they are teenagers who grow up, fall in love and search for themselves. That being said, the evil they face isn’t all that abstract. The main antagonist of the series – the dark wizard Voldemort – seeks to “cleanse” the magical world from unclean wizards. Joanne Rowling herself has repeatedly admitted in an interview that this image is an allusion to Hitler and the Nazis. And recently, research has shown that the ideals of the magical world can make us kinder and fairer *.
In the first study, 34 Italian schoolchildren studied the Harry Potter books for six weeks and then read passages from the book aloud and discussed what they read in extracurricular lessons. Those who identified with the main character began to treat migrants better.
The second study involved 117 high school students from Italy. Those who considered Harry Potter as a role model also showed tolerance towards homosexuals and the LGBT movement in general.
The third study was conducted among students from Britain. His results showed roughly the same picture: those who opposed themselves to Voldemort were also tolerant of migrants and representatives of other cultures.
In each case, the discussion of books with peers and teachers played an important role. The students had to read the books consciously in order for the allegory to be understood, emphasize the psychologists who conducted the research. In their opinion, literary samples carry great potential for moral education, but it is necessary that children correctly understand what the author wanted to say.
Read more:
- Different but equal or why do we need tolerance
* Journal of Applied Social Psychology, online publication dated June 3, 2014.