WritingSample_EversollDuggan_Cheyenna

MAGICAL BUDDIES AND BULLIES:

HOW J.K. ROWLING’S HARRY POTTER SERIES PROVIDES INSIGHT INTO THE

CHILDHOOD WORLD OF RELATIONSHIPS

Cheyenna Eversoll Duggan

Penn State College of Education

Curriculum and Instruction—Children’s Literature

May, 2012

Master’s Paper

Writing Sample for Application for George Mason University D.A. in Community College

Education, Fall 2014 admittance

Cheyenna Eversoll Duggan, Master’s Paper, May 2012

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Abstract:

J.K. Rowling’s hero, Harry Potter, is a magically ordinary hero for young adults and children.

He is a student who is surprised to discover he is a wizard and enemy number one for the most

powerful dark wizard ever known. Though he is talented and often defeats dark wizard advances,

feats far above his grade level, readers must consider the possibility that Harry could have grown

up to become another Lord Voldemort. Harry comes from an abusive home and has been socially

isolated and bullied for most of his life. He arrives at school to a new set of bullies. What

influence do his true friends have on him and how do they affect his future for the better? An

analysis of the major friend and enemy relationships in Harry’s world may give us insight into a

mysterious aspect of the childhood culture: relationships, and how these relationships impact a

child’s life, present and future.

Keywords: children’s literature, children’s social lives, Harry Potter


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In the second book of the overwhelmingly popular young adult and children’s fantasy

series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Professor Dumbledore says to Harry after he

struggles with what particular house he belongs to, that of the brave and noble Gryffindor or of

the ruthless and conniving Slytherin, “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far

more than our abilities” (Rowling, 1999, 333). It would be easy to focus on the success and

talents of the hero in this story, but one could argue that without Harry’s relationships—both

with friends and with enemies—he may have ended up asking the Sorting Hat to place him in

Slytherin, rather than in Gryffindor:

“Not Sytherin, eh?” said the [sorting hat]. “Are you sure? You could be great, you know,

it’s all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt

about that – no? Well, if you’re sure -- better be GRYFFINDOR!” (Rowling, 1997, 121).

Worries about how children fit in at school and whether or not they have friends or are

being bullied are ever present. Childhood is a tumultuous experience and with children spending

more and more time at school in increasingly more crowded classrooms and less time at home

around family, analyzing the affects of peer relationships becomes very important. Children are

being pressured at earlier ages, and more often, to make “good” choices, and frequently to make

them by themselves. It is logical then to assume that children’s relationships with their peers and

those relationships most often surrounding them will inevitably affect their choices, often

subconsciously.

Child psychologist, Michael Thompson, Ph.D. along with Catherine O’Neill-Grace, and

Lawrence J. Cohen in their book Best Friends, Worst Enemies, Understanding the Social Lives

of Children discuss “the importance of children’s social lives, the inevitable tendency of kids to

torment and reject their peers, and the redemptive power of friendship” (ix). This article sets out

to discuss this importance and how Harry’s environment sets him up to develop and how this

development coupled with some key relationships affect his choices throughout the series.

Furthermore, I will discuss the implications of these choices on young readers. How does an

“ordinary” hero like Harry, who is in many senses set up to fail, make good choices and risk his

life multiple times for his friends? How can this be explained in the terms of a childhood culture

of friends and bullies? Is the answer to this question key to understanding the extraordinary

popularity of the series and the value in reading it?


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Harry’s Early Childhood and Upbringing:

J.K. Rowling’s seven book series, Harry Potter, ends with an epilogue detailing Harry’s

happy ending in which he has married Ginny Weasley, his friends are happily married, and they

are all seeing their own children off to Hogwarts (Rowling, 2007). If we were to describe Harry

and ignore all the fantastical details that encompass his life beyond age 11, we may not expect

such an optimistic outcome as this. In fact, we might expect that Harry would turn out

emotionally disturbed or dead. It is quite obvious that Harry comes from a dysfunctional, abusive

family unit in the form of his Aunt and Uncle, the Dursleys. Up until he is 11 years old, Harry

has been living in the cupboard under their stairs, wearing hand-me-down clothes, and has been

told daily what a burden it is to have him around. After his acceptance to Hogwarts, his Aunt and

Uncle move him into his cousin’s smaller second bedroom, but this action does not grant Harry

total freedom, as it is not uncommon for his relations to lock him in his room with no relief

besides the occasional bathroom break. The abuse continues as the Dursleys present Harry as a

mentally deranged child, his Uncle’s sister going as far as to call Harry’s deceased father a “no-

account, good-for-nothing, lazy scrounger” and to describe Harry himself as a “nasty little liar”

and “insolent, ungrateful” (Rowling, 1999, 28-29). They show him no love. The first time Harry

truly sees his Aunt as his mother’s sister is in book five; Harry tells the Dursleys that Lord

Voldemort has returned and Harry’s Aunt is the only one who understands the terror in this

revelation (Rowling, 2003).

The Dursleys are described as “Muggles [non-magic people] who hated and despised

magic in any form, which meant that Harry was about as welcome in their house as dry rot” and

Harry’s relationship to them is as expected, “Harry had never been able to confide in them or tell

them anything about his life in the wizarding world” (Rowling, 2000, 19). In every respect the

Dursleys (Harry’s step-parents for our purposes) raise Harry in a manner in which a disturbed

adolescence is expected. As Thompson, O’Neill-Grace, and Cohen note, “Parents make a huge

difference in their children’s connections with others, for good or ill. Parents influence what

children’s peer relationships will be like, and those peer relationships in turn influence the kind

of people—and friends—children will become” (17). There is no mention of Harry having any

friends at school before Hogwarts and he has no social connections in the neighborhood. The


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Dursleys try to keep him out of sight as often as possible, lest someone notice his unconventional

qualities. His only peer relationship is with his cousin, Dudley.

The Dursleys treat their son, Dudley with an attitude of complete reverence, quite

opposite of how they treat Harry. Dudley, a bully in most all regards, is treated as if he is the

most perfect son and boy in every manner. He is spoiled and rotten to Harry when he should

have been like a brother to him as the boys are the same age and have lived together since

infancy. Dudley becomes the victim of some unfortunate magical consequences throughout the

series and in the end does manage to straighten up and have a mature goodbye with Harry, even

telling Harry, “I don’t think you’re a waste of space” and thanking him for saving his life from a

group of Dementors (soul sucking monsters), an event in book five of the series (Rowling, 2007,

40). Nonetheless, the majority of Harry’s years spent with the Dursleys were under constant

torment of his cousin, Aunt, and Uncle. If Thompson, O’Neill-Grace, and Cohen are correct in

saying “secure attachment helps children cope with these universal awful scenarios and helps

them maintain a sense that the world is basically a safe and nurturing place, even though they

may be going through a bad patch” (25), then as readers we should expect Harry to be an awful

friend or bully and to be very insecure in his position, fearful, and eventually even open to the

possibility of becoming a dark wizard or at the very least unable to conquer Lord Voldemort to

the dismay of the entire world. To this, John Kornfeld and Laurie Prothro add that “[the

Dursleys] denied [Harry] those essential protective factors that caring family members provide

one another” and in treating Harry as they do, “the Dursleys relinquished any right to Harry’s

loyalty or obedience, and they compelled him to seek home and family elsewhere” (197).

Kornfeld’s and Prothro’s thoughts are an intriguing solution to Thompson, O’Neill-Grace, and

Cohen’s assertion in insinuating that rather than placing Harry in an entirely insecure emotional

state, the Dursleys forced Harry to look elsewhere for family. Lucky for him, Harry chose the

right friends and became hero rather than bully, as I will discuss further on.

Though Harry is an orphan, by means of his fantastical setting he is unique in that he is

still able to have limited interaction with his parents. For Harry, his parents are an obsession and

this is completely understandable. He is constantly learning new things about their deaths and

their lives and he is always very aware of the gap in his life that has been left by their deaths.

Unlike orphans in reality, Harry is able to see his parents through various portals like the Mirror

of Erised in which he sees his greatest desire, to be with them (Rowling, 1997). He is also


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greeted by their ghosts, really just imprints of them, in book four of the series, Harry Potter and

the Goblet of Fire, and they give him instruction and aid him in getting away from a newly risen

Lord Voldemort (Rowling, 2000). In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, he is introduced

to the negative qualities in his father through the memories of Professor Snape. Up to this point,

Harry idolized his parents and never considered they could have flaws, when in fact his father

was a bully to Snape: calling him names, teasing him, and publicly humiliating him, facts that

leave Harry feeling “horrified and unhappy” (Rowling, 2003, 650).

Harry meets his parents again through various pictures and letters and one final time as

he prepares to die in the final book. In reaction to seeing his mother, “He could not speak. His

eyes feasted on her, and he thought that he would like to stand and look at her forever, and that

would be enough” (Rowling, 2007, 699). A child’s relationship with his mother is very important

and influential on his development. Unlike his father, Harry’s image of his mother was never

tainted. For him, she was absolutely flawless and she gave her life to save him, resulting in old

magic that protected Harry from Voldemort until he rose again in book four. Harry is constantly

reminded of his relation to her, being told repeatedly that he has her eyes. Though Harry lost his

parents at such a young age, they are still an ever-present influence in his life and his motivation.

Kornfeld and Prothro go as far as to label Harry’s parents’ love for him as the internal catalyst

for Harry’s choices in Hogwarts companions: “without the protective factors that the infant

Harry received from his parents, he might not have instinctively rejected Malfoy’s overtures of

friendship and instead connected with Hermione and Ron and their ethos of caring” (201).

Harry’s Surrogate Family and Relationships with Adults

It is worth discussing Harry’s other close parental relationship with his Godfather whom

he discovers in book three of the series, a figure whom Mary Pharr says “contributes repeatedly

to the growth of Harry’s emotional well-being” (61). Sirius was Harry’s father’s best friend

throughout school and early adulthood. Sirius is placed in the wizard jail, Azkaban, having been

accused of betraying Harry’s parents to Voldemort then killing a group of Muggles and Wizards.

These accusations are completely false, as Harry later learns. Harry’s relationship with his

Godfather Sirius is an emotional whirlwind as he deals with the revelation of Sirius’s innocence,

the disappointment that he cannot stay with him and the further trauma in his death all within


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three years. Harry’s first introduction to Sirius is when Harry still believes him to be a convicted

murderer intent on killing Harry himself. When he overhears Professor McGonagall and others

talking about Sirius Black at one time being James’s best friend but later betraying Harry’s father,

his reaction is described as such: “a hatred such as he had never known before was coursing

through Harry like poison” (Rowling, 1999, 213). This is a very strong emotion for a 13 year old.

Shortly thereafter, it is revealed that Black is innocent and another of the Potter’s friends, Peter

Pettigrew, is the real traitor. Harry goes from feeling immense hatred to wanting nothing more

than to live with Sirius. In future books Sirius becomes his confidant and a father figure,

chastising him for getting out of line and placing himself in harm’s way over Harry. They form a

special bond and when Sirius dies, Harry once again must deal with a traumatic loss, one that

could have pushed Harry over the edge emotionally and led to serious instability in Harry’s

development. Though Harry was not able to spend a very long time with Sirius, he was more of a

parent to him than the Dursleys ever were. Thompson, O’Neill-Grace, and Cohen say,

“children’s original love relationships with their parents teach them vital lessons about how to be

friends” (21) and Sirius’s dedication to Harry’s parents and to Harry himself teach Harry lessons

about how to be a friend. Sirius influenced Harry’s future choice to sacrifice himself for mankind

by setting a good example. In response to Peter Pettigrew’s claims that Voldemort would have

killed him for not sacrificing his friends, Sirius (who also comes from a rough family

background) adamantly responds, “THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!...DIED RATHER

THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!” (Rowling,

1999, 375). This passion for his friends sets an important example for Harry.

Though Harry’s primary trusting relationships are with his peer friends, he also has

relationships with adults that prove themselves very valuable in filling in the gap that the

Dursleys have left in his life. Because of his orphan status and lack of positive parental figures in

his home life, Harry looks to the adults in his school life for support. On this note, Thompson,

O’Neill-Grace, and Cohen offer hope for Harry’s situation: “insecurely attached children are not

doomed to a life of desperation, withdrawal, clinging, aggression, or insecurity, but they may

need some help negotiating the complex terrain of the social world” (19). The positive adult

relationships in Harry’s life help make up for this parental gap that may have otherwise had a

devastating effect on his future development.


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The Weasleys act as a surrogate family to Harry. Mrs. Weasley treats him like a son,

caring for him maternally and sending him gifts. Mr. Weasley stands up for Harry to the

Dursleys: “ ‘You aren’t going to see your nephew till next summer,’ he said to Uncle Vernon in

indignation. ‘Surely you’re going to say good-bye?’” (Rowling, 2000, 48). The Weasleys show

Harry familial love that he has never experience before. Thompson, O’Neill-Grace, and Cohen

note, “Friendship exposes children to different social norms” (69). Through the kindness and

love that the Weasleys show Harry on countless occasions, in sending him Christmas gifts,

offering him hugs, having him over to stay for long periods, and treating him as their own son,

Harry learns not all families are like the Dursleys and that he is worthy of love and acceptance.

Other significant adult relationships for Harry include relationships with teachers like

Professor McGonagall, Hagrid, Professor Lupin, and Professor Dumbledore. Thompson,

O’Neill-Grace, and Cohen point out the support given to children by teachers: “teachers, too, can

be parental stand-ins, offering children a foundation of care and responsiveness that paves the

way for future social success” (24). Hagrid befriends Harry immediately in the first book and

continues to be a source of comfort and friendship throughout the series. Professor Lupin treats

Harry with respect and is the first insight into his parents’ lives . Professor McGonagall is the

voice of discipline in Harry’s life, yet she shows affection for him and supports him in his solo

endeavors in the final book.

Harry’s relationship with Professor Dumbledore is complex. In many ways, Professor

Dumbledore is another father figure in Harry’s life as M. Katherine Grimes affirms,

“Dumbledore’s wisdom and goodness, his forgiving and understanding nature, his courage and

selflessness all make him the ideal father figure” (95). Pharr sees him more as “a grandfather

figure to the orphaned boy, indulgently allowing him more independence than a father might”

(60). At first, Dumbledore is available for wisdom and guidance, helping Harry through his

obstacles and questions in his early years at Hogwarts. Later, Harry becomes almost equal to

Dumbledore in their quest to end Voldemort. Throughout his life, Harry remains loyal to

Dumbledore despite learning of Dumbledore’s desire for power in his youth and Dumbledore

provides a secure shelter for Harry: “You will also find that help will always be given at

Hogwarts to those who ask for it” (Rowling,1999, 264) . Dumbledore is Harry’s voice of reason

and has an impact on his future choices; Pharr adds, “Dumbledore proves to be more than a wise

elder, in much the same way that Tolkien’s Gandalf is more than an old counselor” (61).


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Through Dumbledore, we see the full growth and development of Harry as he guides him

through his rites of passage. Harry starts as a naive 11-year-old boy, and by the end of the series

he has seen enough war and experienced enough brutality and life-depending choices to have

become an adult. Pharr notes, “This connection between headmaster and Harry intensifies with

each passing year, even as each fresh crisis allows Harry more autonomy as a hero, more

independence in his quest to reach his own destiny and to secure the safe destiny of untold others”

(60). Pharr goes on to conclude that Harry must become his own hero and Dumbledore can only

take him so far before “Harry the man must rely on his own strength” (61). Really, this is what

most children seek throughout childhood, to be seen as grown up. Harry admires Dumbledore

above all other wizards and when Harry meets Dumbledore for the final time after Voldemort

kills Harry, he receives the confirmation that Dumbledore does see him as an equal:

“Harry…you wonderful boy. You brave, brave man” (Rowling, 2007, 707).

Harry’s Friends

Despite Harry’s abusive and emotional upbringing, Harry still has a chance for a positive

development and in discussing this we can call upon Thompson’s expertise on childhood social

relationships “Sometimes, however, unmet attachment needs have a positive impact on future

relationships if those later friendships are experienced as second chances” (19). Harry

experiences many second chances though his friends at Hogwarts. Kornfeld and Prothro

elaborate on Hogwarts relationships: “family connections and loyalties are bound not by birth

and genetics, but by more enduring factors; the roles family members assume are determined less

by age and gender than by actions and relationships forged among individuals” (193).

Harry’s undisputed best friends are Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, but his

relationship to each of them is very different from the other. Harry and Ron hit it off right away.

They are friends on their first train to Hogwarts before Ron even realized Harry is the famous

Harry Potter. They start out schoolmates and turn into brothers throughout the series. It is

obvious how much Harry cares for Ron because whenever Ron seems to ignore Harry or not

send him letters over the Summer for whatever reason, Harry is very upset. Harry even has to

save Ron from the bottom of the lake during the Tri-Wizard Tournament in book four as Ron

becomes the object of this clue:


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And while you’re searching ponder this:

We’ve taken what you’ll sorely miss,

An hour long you’ll have to look,

And to recover what we’ve took (Rowling, 2000, 463).

Their relationships are not without their ups and downs and in this aspect readers can

relate well. Harry, Ron, and Hermione take turns fighting, being jealous of each other, and not

talking to each other. This conflict leads to greater bonds and understanding. For example, in

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Ron spends a good amount of time not talking to Harry

because he is jealous of Harry becoming a tri-wizard champion. When Ron admits that Harry did

not put himself in the cup, Harry still reacts bitterly because of Ron’s attitude before, but soon

forgives him. Harry’s inner feelings are revealed when Ron stands up for him passionately

regarding his task scores: “But Harry didn’t care, he wouldn’t have cared if Karkaroff had given

him zero; Ron’s indignation on his behalf was worth about a hundred points to him. He didn’t

tell Ron this, of course, but his heart felt lighter than air…” (Rowling, 2000, 360). Thompson,

O’Neill-Grace, and Cohen say, “One of the best things about a good friendship is the ability it

offers to air conflicts and resolve differences, which enables friends to work through problems

together” (67). In viewing the conflict and resolution that this trio of friends experiences multiple

times throughout the series, readers can take from it that friendships are not perfect and it is

acceptable to have conflict and even better to work it out.

Harry and Hermione become friends through a rockier road. Hermione is not liked much

at first because “she’s a nightmare, honestly” according to Ron (Rowling, 1997, 172) owing to

her persistence in answering all the questions and knowing more than anyone. They become

friends after the pivotal scene in which Harry and Ron feel guilty that Hermione is trapped in a

bathroom with a troll because she is in there crying in response to overhearing them. They save

her and after that become attached to each other like siblings. Hermione is different from Ron in

that she does not get jealous of Harry. Throughout the series, she never ignores or leaves Harry.

She is always on his side and makes great sacrifices, takes great risk, to support him. In book

seven, when Ron leaves the Harry and Hermione and their dangerous question to collect and

destroy horcruxes (objects containing fragments of Voldemort’s soul), Hermione stays with

Harry despite her romantic feelings for Ron.


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Thompson, O’Neill-Grace, and Cohen define the qualities that characterize a friend in

reality by noting: “it is trust and personal disclosure that distinguish a friend from an

acquaintance in adulthood, so too in adolescence” (55). William M. Bukowski affirms these

qualities in Harry’s relationship in stating, “Harry, Ron, and Hermione know each other—deeply,

not superficially” (94). Harry shares almost everything with Ron and Hermione. Ron and

Hermione even leave school for him in their seventh year to help him find and destroy horcruxes

in order to destroy Voldemort. When so many people turn against him in book five after he tells

the public that Voldemort has returned, Ron and Hermione are always by his side. Harry begins

to feel more and more ostracized by both his peers and the adult world: “He was sick of it; sick

of being the person who was stared at and talked about all the time. If any of them knew, if any

of them had the faintest idea what it felt like to be the one all these things had happened to…”

(Rowling, 2003, 217). To Thompson’s, O’Neill-Grace’s, and Cohen’s aforementioned “trust and

personal disclosure” (55,) Kornfeld and Prothro might also add selflessness as a characteristic of

a friend as they observe, “what is perhaps more significant about the encounter [regarding the

trio’s life-threatening encounter with a troll in the first book] is that each of the three friends, in

turn recognizes each other’s needs and sublimates his or her own immediate interests and needs

in order to help that person” (193). This is true of nearly all encounters in the friends’ lives.

Traumatic event after traumatic event are piled upon Harry: He is placed in the tri-

wizard tournament at the entry of an imposter working for Voldemort, he is injured and nearly

killed at Voldemort’s revival and witnesses the death of another Hogwarts student, he is labeled

a liar and attacked by the Wizarding newspaper The Daily Prophet, then his thoughts are

intermingled with Voldemort’s and his decisions lead to Sirus’s death. Not too long after, he

loses his most knowledgeable adult guidance with Professor Dumbledore’s death. Harry has no

one to rely on but himself and his friends. Drew Chappell says,

Young adult protagonists in modernist children’s literature and dramatic literature often

find themselves without adult support as they address social issues that are a consequence

of adult hegemonic institutions and ideologies. Although the child characters may seem

ill-equipped to confront these complex problems, they almost always have a special

insight that allows them to deconstruct the adult world from an “outsider” perspective

(281).


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Throughout the series, Ron and Hermione have provided this constant support and insight, in

each book helping him solve the puzzle and most often to save someone or something important.

William M. Bukowski, in his essay Friendship and the Worlds of Childhood, describes

the importance of friendship in Harry’s life. Regarding Harry, he says “He has good friends, and

that might make all the difference” (102). Pharr says, “friendship itself helps Harry grow toward

maturity” (62).

To elaborate on this notion, I draw on Thompson, O’Neill-Grace, and Cohen’s

observation:

Over time friendship takes on deeper levels of meaning than just having fun together. The

important role friends play in providing mutual respect and affirmations about their

shared life is the reason children seek each other out with such intense longing. Children

can give one another a kind of support that parents cannot give (51).

Ron’s and Hermione’s friendships are the most important relationships in Harry’s life and

without them, it is very possible Harry would not have been able to stand up to all the trauma of

his young life despite his generally good character strength.

Harry’s hero qualities really begin to shine through as he stumbles into becoming leader

of the D.A. (a group of students secretly learning how to defend themselves) in the fifth book.

Despite his feelings that he is hated by the majority of the wizarding world, he comes to learn

that he has many supporters and friends. This group proves invaluable in the fight against

Voldemort as they provide an inside connection to Hogwarts in the events leading up to the final

battle. Perry L. Glanzer says of Harry’s friends that they “exhibit loyalty in the midst of a larger

battle for good” (527). Harry’s friends are loyal to him because he has become a symbol of

subversion, a strong child figure among them. He has bested adults and gives equal chance to his

peers to be involved and knowledgeable about the war that is raging around them. Harry doesn’t

outwardly attempt to make and keep friends. It is in his natural characteristics as a leader and

hero, in his humility, and in his own example of loyalty to Hogwarts and Professor Dumbledore,

that his friends remain loyal to him.


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Harry’s Enemies

Kornfeld and Prothro ask an intriguing question in regards to Harry’s upbringing and

gifts: “without all this support [meaning his mother’s magical love protection], who knows what

kind of new family Harry might have sought when he escaped the abusive environment of the

Dursley household?” (198). Harry’s choices would have been different had he not been

influenced by the friends he did gain. However, Harry’s development was also influenced by his

enemies. Of course, Harry would not have been the same hero at all were there no villain, but in

his rivals we can also see cases of typical school bullying, and even violent bullying as is the

case with the later books. Harry faces much criticism throughout his adolescent years from

children and adults alike, whether it is through ostracizing accusations or cruel punishments. For

example, in the second book, Chamber of Secrets (Rowling, 1999,) it is widely believed that

Harry is the Heir of Slytherin and in the fourth book, Goblet of Fire (Rowling, 2000), students

call Harry names and protest against him because they believe he has deliberately entered his

name into the Goblet of Fire. In the fifth book, Order of the Phoenix (Rowling, 2003) Harry is

subjected to corporal punishment from Dolores Umbridge when he speaks the truth of

Voldemort’s return in her classroom. Throughout all the books Draco Malfoy and his gang are

constantly trying to get Harry in trouble, bullying him both emotionally and physically, and

generally creating a negative environment for him and other students. Harry is picked on and

called out by Severus Snape quite often, seemingly based on a negative childhood relationship

Snape had with Harry’s father and only occasionally based on Harry’s own mischief. Harry is

hunted and loathed by the villain Voldemort simply for being an obstacle to Voldemort’s

attempts for tyrannical power. Needless to say, Harry has many enemies all with varying

motivations and backgrounds. Drew Chappell says “While these characters’ [Voldemort’s and

Snape’s specifically] methodologies may be harmful, the simple binary of good/evil does not

fully explain their motivations” (284). As is with all bullies, they have a back story, though their

motivations remain different. The revelation of such stories supports Harry’s eventual heroic

actions/reactions.

Draco Malfoy: School Bully

Harry’s nemesis throughout the series is Draco Malfoy, a member of Slytherin house.

Draco is actually Harry’s first contact with a Hogwarts student after discovering he is a wizard


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and he quickly dislikes Draco owing to Draco’s arrogant attitude toward Hagrid. Later in the first

book, Draco offers his hand in friendship, inviting Harry to become a part of his group of

misdoers:

“You’ll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You

don’t want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there.”

He held out his hand to shake Harry’s , but Harry didn’t take it.

“I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks,” he said coolly.

Draco Malfoy didn’t go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks.

“I’d be careful if I were you Potter,’ he said slowly. ‘Unless you’re a bit politer you’ll go

the same way as your parents. They didn’t know what was good for them either. You

hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it’ll rub off on you.”

(Rowling, 1997, 108-109)

Throughout the series, Draco is a bully concerned with power. Draco is the leader of his

Slytherin gang and Thompson, O’Neill-Grace, and Cohen discuss the importance of a group in

encouraging a bully’s behavior: “it is the group that licenses the bully to act the way he does”

(121). With the help of other Slytherin thugs likes Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy Parkinson, etc., Malfoy

frequently participates in bully behavior like name-calling, rejection and exclusion, and

eventually violence, and hazing, three behaviors of which Thompson, O’Neill-Grace, and Cohen

label, “painful practices” that “children [suffer from] at the hands of groups” (105). He further

explains that the laws of group life are key to understanding childhood cruelty (79), and “all of

us hunger for group identity and closeness” (82). Draco’s attitude towards children not in his

group is the product of his parents’ involvement with and belief in supremacy of pure-blood

Magical people as well as their active participation in Voldemort’s Death Eater group. Harry’s

fame and subsequent power from being named “the boy who lived,” threatens Draco’s power at

the school and he becomes a target. Luckily for Harry, he has a group of likeminded friends and

supporters.

Harry owes a great deal of his character development to the actions of and his reactions to

Draco Malfoy. At first, their relationship begins as simple childhood rivalry. Name calling,

teasing, and tattle telling ensues, but no real harm is done to either individual. As the books

continue and the development deepens, Draco finds himself involved in very dangerous practices,

even taking on the task of killing Professor Dumbledore for Voldemort with complete fear of his


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family’s safety. At this point in the series, Draco’s quest for power has turned into violence being

performed out of sheer terror, including deeds like nearly killing Katie Bell and Ron Weasley in

an attempt to get to Dumbledore. He is a scared child who has gotten himself in too deep: “’I

haven’t got any options!’ said Malfoy, and he was suddenly white as Dumbledore. ‘I’ve got to do

it! He’ll kill me! He’ll kill my whole family!’” (Rowling, 2005, 591). Draco was not the only

person guilty of violent acts in their relationship, however, as Harry not only participated in

name calling throughout their school career, but he also performed a spell against Draco which

nearly killed Draco in their sixth year.

Harry’s relationship with Malfoy has a direct influence on his development. Had Harry

not made friends with Hagrid and Ron right away and eventually Hermione, he may have been

persuaded to be friends with Malfoy and the end to the series could have gone another direction.

But, more importantly Malfoy forced Harry’s true hero character to grow. In the final novel, as

Draco and his friends are facing certain death via fire in the room of requirement (a magical

room that has anything a wizard desires), Harry makes the noble decision to go back and rescue

them, despite his differences with Malfoy, regarding Harry: “He swooped as low as he dared

over the marauding monsters of flame to try to find them, but there was nothing but fire: what a

terrible way to die…He had never wanted this…” (Rowling, 2007, 632). In the end, Malfoy and

he exchange courteous nods as they see their children off to school. Would Malfoy have done the

same for Harry? Hard to say, but the important factor is that Harry’s choice to save Malfoy at his

own risk was rooted in his own love for his friends and the influence his friendships had on him

as well as his outstanding hero character. His ability to risk his life for an enemy made it possible

for him to sacrifice his life for everyone, the only way to defeat Voldemort.

Professor Snape: Secret Protector

Perhaps the most interesting relationship of Harry’s is with Professor Severus Snape.

Snape is known to bully Harry in his classes at school, constantly calling him names and

accusing him of being lazy and arrogant: “you’ll know he’s so arrogant that criticism simply

bounces off him” (Rowling, 2003, 520) and “—mediocre, arrogant, as his father, a determined

rule-breaker, delighted to find himself famous, attention-seeking and impertinent—“ (Rowling,

2007, 679). He repeatedly removes house points from Harry or gives him detention on the


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smallest of whims and treats his own house’s students, including Draco Malfoy, with the

complete opposite attitude, watches them under a blind eye. Harry and his friends suspect Snape

of being in league with Voldemort or being out to get Harry from the beginning. They believe it

is he who is after the sorcerer’s stone, at one point they think he put Harry’s name in the tri-

wizard cup, and then eventually they believe he is a traitor. In reality, Snape was never the

enemy as revealed in his memories and true allegiance in book seven. Peter Appelbaum goes as

far as to insinuate that none of Snape’s actions were ever to harm Harry and really it was Snape’s

actions that orchestrated some of Harry’s better choices, that “Snape’s actions are at the heart of

the pedagogical paradoxes” (89). He elaborates:

Looking back on the Harry Potter series from Snape’s perspective we see how hard

Snape’s job was: no matter how hard he tried to keep Potter safe, Harry kept making

those “wrong” decisions that put him in the midst of the most serious dangers. The

paradox is, of course that these were the “right” decisions, and Harry made them thinking

they were of his own free will. A teacher’s job is hard indeed. (88-89)

This seems to place an air of perfection upon Snape, however Appelbaum does admit that Snape

truly did hate Harry’s father and love Harry’s mother, an act that led him to switch from

Voldemort’s side out of desperation not loyalty, but he concludes by saying, “I maintain that

[Snape’s] later actions are more carefully designed to enable Harry’s apprenticeship than to

perpetuate the relationship with Harry’s mother” (90).

When Harry learns of Snape’s true motivation, of his love for Lily Potter and his absolute

allegiance to Dumbledore all for the purpose of protecting her son, Harry, his perspective

changes. The man he had always seen as nothing but a bully who hated his father and was

constantly trying to make his life miserable, was in fact the man who was protecting him and

providing him with guidance and support on his journey to destroy the horcruxes. This turning

point allows Harry to see that people are more than they appear to be and even bullies have hurt.

Again, the death of Snape gives Harry more strength through his own sacrifice and their

conflicted relationship is resolved, shown through Harry’s son’s name, Albus Severus Potter.

Voldemort: Pursuer of Tyrannical Power

Discussion of Harry’s enemies cannot go far without bringing up Tom Riddle also known

as Voldemort. Voldemort is the central villain in the series. He killed Harry’s parents, massacred


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thousands, and brought about an evil war. He haunts Harry in dreams, through different

representations of his former self, and threatens to destroy the entire world. Yet, he and Harry are

remarkably alike. Even Riddle sees it himself, noting:

“There are strange likenesses between us, Harry Potter. Even you must have noticed.

Both half-bloods, orphans, raised by Muggles. Probably the only two Parselmouths to

come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin himself. We even look something alike....”

(Rowling, 1998, 317)

Harry is more visually and physically connected to a version of himself that could have been

when he connected mentally to Lord Voldemort in the fifth book (Rowling, 2003). His anger and

frustration, natural emotions in a teenage boy, grow stronger as he is pummeled with more and

more adult stress and responsibility. He feels the anger and evil that Voldemort feels and it takes

a toll on his relationships, especially with Dumbledore:

Dumbledore’s clear blue gaze moved from the Portkey to Harry’s face.

At once, Harry’s scar burned white-hot, as though the old wound had burst open again—

and unbidden, unwanted, but terrifyingly strong, there rose within Harry a hatred so

powerful he felt, for that instant, that he would like nothing better than to strike—to

bite—to sink his fangs into the man before him—

Rowling, 2003, 474-475

Through this connection, Harry is able to feel Voldemort’s hatred and emotion, so much so that

he himself often feels moved to hurt Dumbledore. The difference is, Harry in his love for his

friends and surrogate family, is able to conquer these feelings of fear and hatred. Unlike almost

everyone else he comes in contact with, he is not selfish and there is little evidence that he really

ever has been. Voldemort remains a child, craving power and fearing death, just like the

repulsive child in the train station in the final book that represents Voldemort’s soul: “it had the

form of a small, naked child, curled on the ground, its skin raw and rough, flayed-looking, and it

lay shuddering under a seat where it had been left, unwanted, stuffed out of sight, struggling for

breath” (Rowling, 2007, 707). Harry, in his compassion tries to help it, but he is informed by

Dumbledore that it is beyond help and later couples this with more advice for Harry: “Do not

pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love” (Rowling, 2007,

722). Voldemort never experienced love. Harry experienced unconditional love in his friendships

and through this love he was able to grow up, accept death, and fulfill prophecy.


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Conclusions and Interpretations

As John Granger details in his book, Harry Potter’s Bookshelf, Harry is a typical literary

orphan, and in his isolation and lack of strong relationships we can relate to him (17-21).

Melanie Kimball says, “Orphans are at once pitiable and noble. They are a manifestation of

loneliness, but they also represent the possibility for humans to reinvent themselves” (559) and

“the continuing use of orphan characters in literature for children indicates that they still hold

great fascination for authors and have great meaning for readers” (567). Despite his living

familial relations, their treatment of him places Harry in the continued position of being a literary

orphan. We can also see Harry’s position not only as an orphan, but as “the boy who lived” as a

metaphor for the everyday child who feels isolated from his peers and without anyone to truly

understand his plight. This orphan status, the isolation Harry feels in being so famous for an

event that occurred in his infancy, and the pressure in being the only person who can stop

Voldemort pervades all of Harry’s relationships. The fact that he even survived such a situation

and was able to continue to fight for hope, love, and the greater good makes him a hero. Kimball

says, “In a coming of age tale with an orphan hero or heroine, the protagonist seeks a sense of

belonging, of finding an appropriate place in the world, of coming home” (563). Throughout the

series, Harry seeks to define himself and to find his own identity, just as he struggles to

understand what house he belongs to, Gryffindor or Slytherin. Through his choices and actions,

he comes to know himself.

This leads us to the questions: how are Harry’s choices affected by his relationships? Is

there a possibility that Harry could have become a dark wizard or could his future have been

non-existent had he not had his friendly relationships? It is very possible that had no one

befriended Harry, he could have become the bully. Voldemort became what he was out of fear

and desire for power. He never experienced the love Harry felt with his friends. This love

affected Harry’s choices for the better. At one point, Harry could have chosen to take the life of

Peter Pettigrew, the man who betrayed his parents to the demise. He chooses not to and in the

end this action serves him well as Pettigrew shows one momentary bit of mercy in the final book

unwittingly, allowing Harry and Ron to escape. Later, Harry also chooses to save the life of

Draco Malfoy. What impact does Harry’s relationships have on these choices? Chappell says,


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“Although [Harry] is bodily facing off with the forces of evil, his persona is a collective one,

filled with knowledges and abilities that cannot be considered his alone” (291). Pharr supports

Chappell’s observation in noting, “[Dumbledore, Sirius, Hagrid, Hermione, Ron, and the

Weasleys] too, contribute to [Harry’s] development, giving him their collective integrity” (62).

Harry has absorbed all the knowledge and emotion that his friends have placed upon him and in

so doing, his choices naturally are made to the benefit of others and not for their destruction,

choices that save his life and others in the end. It should also be noted, as Thompson, O’Neill-

Grace, and Cohen state, “The motivation to conform comes from within each child; it doesn’t

have to be imposed from outside” (80). Though Harry’s relationships most certainly have an

impact on how he develops and the choices he makes, in the end he must rely on his own hero

qualities. The will and heart of a hero lies within him. His friendships support this will and allow

it to flourish. “The ongoing paradox is that some children experience intense pain and grow from

it, while other kids are crushed by their peers” (Thompson, xiii). Harry grew from his pain with

the help of his friends. Hopefully child readers will choose to be friend rather than foe.

William Bukowski asserts that “If there is an element of fantasy for children in the Harry

Potter books, it is the fantasy of having friendships like the ones Harry has with Ron and

Hermione” (Bukowski, 94). This is a valid point to make. Thinking back on our childhoods, it

may be safe to assume that not many of us still have contact with friends of the same caliber as

Harry’s. Sharon Black, a university professor, interprets it this way: “Shifting staircases are

unreal but change and resiliency are true” (541) and “Once we find our way in imaginary

corridors, we’re ready to encounter people who seem unreal but, on deeper reflection, are

marvelously true” (542). As readers, we must look beyond the fantastical details that entertain us

and draw us in and within the pages find real characters and real relationships to look up to.

Grimes describes Harry as being a character that is “larger than life. But he also has a life as a

schoolboy, a life that can be overwhelming to him. If he can face it, so can his readers, and they

attain vicariously the strength to face their own world” (106). Bukowski does also note, however,

that “The center of this world is very real, very familiar, and very important. Beyond all the

wizardry and fantasy, these books are about the life of a youngster as he makes his way through

school in the company of his friends” (93).

Children’s social lives are complex and complicated things. The rules by which children

make and lose friends and enemies are often hard for adults to understand and worrisome, though


[19]

the same kinds of behavior are exhibited in the adult world, as Chappell notes “The events and

structures in the Harry Potter novels prepare children for life as adults by teaching them about

the systems inside which both children and adults function” (292). For children readers, the

Harry Potter series may serve as a mirror. It is a way to look at their childhood culture from a

completely different perspective, while being entertained at the same time. For children, though

the fantastical elements are exciting and entrancing, the real magic lies in understanding their

own relationships and learning how to love and treat each other with support. Black aptly

describes it as this:

I have noticed consistently that Potter books have a wonderful capacity to draw us in

through the power of imagination. Then, paradoxically, just as we think we have escaped

from the world, they help us find the power to live in it. The places and characters we

imagine sustain us as we struggle with places and people who trouble us—including

ourselves (540-541).

Children can read about Harry’s friends and enemies and decide for themselves which

relationships are more beneficial and warming. Who wins in the end? Though this is not a

magical solution to the issues of bullying and isolation in school, the Harry Potter series can

serve as bibliotherapy. Children can relate to Harry and his friends in their emotional journey

through childhood. Rarely do we have the joy of appreciating a series that details adolescence in

such length and with such accurate empathy. Allison Lurie says, “From the point of view of an

imaginative child, the world is full of Muggles: people who don’t understand you, make stupid

rules, and want nothing to do with the unexpected or the unseen” (115). Children can find solace

in the novels and appreciate that they are not alone in feeling the ways that they do. Thompson,

O’Neill-Grace, and Cohen urge us to remember that “To conclude that kids live in a dog-eat-dog

world and there is no hope for them would be incomplete and cynical” (138). Harry’s upbringing

and constant trauma and subsequent victory and happiness give children hope that things can get

better.

The Harry Potter series is well known to be an incredibly well crafted world of

characters that not only relate to children in their ordinary coming and goings but also turn the

often tedious and sometimes challenging milestones of adolescence into something brightened

with fantastical details. Children relate to Harry in his ordinary abilities and in his relationships

with friends and bullies. Just as Harry sees similarities in himself to his enemies, children can


[20]

also find themselves relating to his enemies and subsequently to bullies. Draco, Snape, and

Voldemort all have differing backgrounds and reasons for acting the way they do. Some make

bad choices based on selfish reasons. From this, we can take that childhood bullies are not

simply born evil. As adults, we can attempt to discover why bullies act as they do and continue

to encourage children to befriend other children as Harry’s friends did with him. Some children

wish they had more friends like Harry’s and some children already have bullies like his. All

children can be inspired by the obstacles Harry overcomes throughout the series and in his

abilities to make hard, but good choices for the sake of his friends. In the end, Harry is not a hero

because of any super power or unique skill, he is a hero because of his love for his friends and in

his ability to be a good friend despite all the odds stacked against him and all the excuses that

could be made for him. As adults, we can only hope that children will take heed from this

popular series and choose to be friend rather than foe in the tumultuous time that is childhood.


[21]

Works Cited:

Appelbaum, Peter. “The Great Snape Debate.” Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter. Ed.

Elizabeth E. Heilman. New York: Routledge, 2009. 83-100.

Black, Sharon. “Harry Potter: A Magical Prescription for Just About Anyone.” Journal of

Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 46.7, (2003), 540-544.

Bukowski, W. M. “Friendship and the worlds of childhood.” New Directions for Child and

Adolescent Development, 91, (2001), 93-105.

Chappel, Drew. “Sneaking Out After Dark: Resistance, Agency, and the Postmodern Child in JK

Rowling’s Harry Potter Series” Children’s Literature in Education, 39, (2008), 281-293.

Glanzer, P. L. “Harry potter's provocative moral world: Is there a place for good and evil in

moral education?” Phi Delta Kappan, 89.7, (2008), 525-528.

Granger, John. Harry Potter’s Bookshelf: The Great Books Behind the Hogwarts Adventures.

New York: Berkley Books, 2009.

Grimes, M. Katherine. “Harry Potter: Fairy Tale Prince, Real Boy, and Archetypal Hero.” The

Ivory Tower and Harry Potter: Perspectives on a Literary Phenomenon. Ed. Lana A.

Whited. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2002. 89-122.

Kimball, Melanie A. “From Folktale to Fiction: Orphan Characters in Children’s Literature.”

Library Trends. 47.3, (1998), 558-578.

Kornfeld, John and Laurie Prothro. “Comedy, Conflict, and Community: Home and Family in

Harry Potter.” Harry Potter’s World: Multidisciplinary Critical Perspectives. Ed.

Elizabeth E. Heilman. New York: Routledge, 2003. 187-202.

Lurie, Allison. Boys and Girls Forever; Children’s Classics from Cinderella to Harry Potter.

New York: Penguin Books, 2003.

Pharr, Mary. “In Medias Res: Harry Potter as Hero-in-Progress.” The Ivory Tower and Harry

Potter: Perspectives on a Literary Phenomenon. Ed. Lana A. Whited. Columbia:

University of Missouri Press, 2002. 53-66.


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Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 2007.

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 2005.

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 2003.

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 2000.

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 1999.

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 1999.

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 1997.

Thompson Ph.D., Michael, Catherine O’Neill-Grace, and Lawrence J. Cohen. Best Friends,

Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Lives of Children. New York: The Random

House Publishing Group, 2001.

Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit; or There and Back Again. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1938.

Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1954-1956.

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