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“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” vs “The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe”

In the age of swiftly developing media, video games and internet, persuading children

to read a book becomes a challenging task. However, there are a number of literary

phenomena that can persuade almost every child to leave its computer and fall asleep with a

book. Among such popular tales that usually belong to the “fantasy” genre because of the

popularity of magic and adventure with children, is “The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe”, a

first novel from one of the most famous fantasy series in literature, “The Chronicles of

Narnia” by C. S. Lewis. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”, a first part of the later Harry

Potter series, followed the success and became a major children’s bestseller. Nevertheless, it

is always essential that books that children read offer them the right message, which is why it

is worthwhile to define it in both cases.

“Harry Potter” tells a story of an orphaned boy who discovered supernatural abilities

in himself and leaves his unpleasant relatives to study at the Hogwarts school of witchcraft.

He finds new friends and discovers that the main antagonist of the series, Voldemort, who

killed his parents, is alive and plans to come back to power. The underlying message of the

book is quite educational and pedagogical. It teaches young readers that friendship is

important not only for fitting in new society (Harry befriends Ron, who is a pureblood

wizard, integrates into a foreign world and finds a suitable position in social group), but also

for overcoming difficulties. At the end of the book, Harry is able to stand against his enemy

face to face only because his friends, all with specific capabilities necessary to deal with

certain obstacles, were by his side (Rowling, pp.61-63). Another moral of the book is the

importance of love and its crucial role in life. According to Dumbledor, motherly love of Lily

Potter protected her son from Voldemort; it was a reason he stayed alive after the killing

curse 11 years before the events of the book, and it was also the reason why Quirell,

Voldemort’s temporary host, was not able to even touch the boy: “Professor Quirrell couldn't

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bear to have you touch him?...It was because of your mother. She sacrificed herself for you.

And that kind of act leaves a mark” (Rowling, p.65). Ability to feel and understand love is the

main strong characteristic and the main difference between Harry and Voldemort, who is

claimed to be unable to feel or understand love.

“The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe” has a slightly different message, although it

promotes friendship and courage as well. Siblings Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy arrive in

the magical world of Narnia, which is ruled by an evil witch. According to the prophecy, they

are destined to end her governing, as well as eternal winter, established by her powers.

However, Edmund is seduced by her charms after eating Turkish delight – this scene

represents gluttony as one of the seven deadly sins, topic raised in each part of series (Lewis,

p. 17). In general, the book is full of Christian symbolism that plays essential role both in the

plot and moral of the story. For example, Aslan is a reference to Jesus Christ, which is

especially evident after he sacrifices himself, is publically humiliated before his death and is

resurrected to defeat the witch (Lewis, pp. 71-76). As soon as the witch, who represents Satan

in the story, is gone, Narnia awakens from the long winter that is a symbol of death. All in

all, it can be said that “The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe” uses fantasy setting and

adventurous plot in order to introduce young readers to the basic understanding of good and

evil and make Bible more accessible for them.

Both books, while international bestsellers, are a great instrument of educating the

children that read them, as they bear significant meaning, promote universal values and set

examples of friendship, love and courage through the main characters that readers can easily

relate to.

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Works Cited:

Lewis, Clive Staples. The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe. Onread.com. n.d. 12.09.2012

Rowling, Joanne. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Readanybook.com. n.d. 12.09.2012.