In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, good and
evil are clearly defined until the end of the novel.
On the train to Hogwarts, Harry Potter learns that
Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Griffindor are filled with good people, while
Slytherin members are evil. When he meets Draco Malfoy, a proud wannabe
Slytherin who insults Harry Potter and his new friend Ron Weasley, this belief
is confirmed. As a result, Harry asks the Sorting hat to be placed in
Griffindor over Slytherin, demonstrating his choosing good over evil. This
simple distinction between the houses shows how easily good and evil can be
distinguished in the novel.
Harry and his friends get along with all of the houses and
their professors, except for the Slytherins. Professor Snape is especially
cruel to all non-Slytherins and Harry. Because he is the Head of Slytherin
House, the golden trio can easily confirm that he is evil. When Harry's broom
is bewitched at the Quidditch match, the first person they suspect is Professor
Snape, even though Professor Quirrell also stares unblinkingly at Harry. Later,
when Harry overhears a conversation between Professor Snape and Professor
Quirrell about the stone, Harry immediately assumes that Professor Quirell is
in danger. Because they had already characterized Professor Snape as being
evil, Professor Quirrell must be good if they were in conflict. The golden
trio's insistence that Professor Snape is evil and anyone who does not get
along with him is good demonstrates how the line between good and evil is
clearly defined.
Rowling sheds doubt that Professor Snape is evil when Hagrid
tells the golden trio that Professor Snape is working for Dumbledore, the most
certifiable "good guy." As a result, Professor Snape could not be
doing anything evil. Instead of treating the line between good and evil as
indefinite, the golden trio assumes that Hagrid must be mistaken and continue
to suspect Professor Snape.
When Professor Quirrell is revealed to be evil and that
Professor Snape was trying to thwart him, the golden trio must decide whether
they still believe that the line between good and evil is clearly defined.
Although Professor Snape did delay the evil Voldemort's rise to power, he was
still not a "good guy" for being so cruel to Harry and the
Gryffindors. At this point, the distinction between good and evil is no longer
definite but begins to blur, showing that the characters are both good and
evil.
I think you’re completely right to say that JK Rowling’s definition of good and evil are extremely black and white in the novel. She establishes these rules early on, even as early as Harry’s time with the Dursleys, and readers see this even in their descriptions. When readers see Dumbledore, he is described with light, bright blue eyes, with silver hair and beard which are long enough to tuck into his belt (8). Contrarily, Vernon Dursley is described as big and beefy and Petunia Dursley’s neck is long only for the purpose of spying on her neighbors (1). Even though there are instances of kindness among the Dursleys, such as bringing two extra people to the zoo, they are still portrayed in a negative light. Albus Dumbledore feels it necessary to bring a three-headed dog and allow a bully like Severus Snape to teach at the school, and he is still described as a wise man with twinkling eyes at the end of the novel (299). You point out that the lines between good and evil become murkier as the novel goes on, and I think that this really shows readers how hard it is to keep things black and white as time goes on. This is just another way that Rowling makes this a novel about kids who are growing up--they really do learn more about themselves and how difficult right and wrong are.
ReplyDelete