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| Religious Symbols of Good and Evil In Harry Potter |
| Despite the fact that the theme of Good Vs. Evil is very prominent within Christian teachings, such a theme on its own within the Harry Potter series could be argued to be no more religious than your average James Bond or Die Hard good vs. evil battle. Because of this, the use of religious symbols of good and evil becomes very important, as they place religious significance on characters that may not have been present or as obvious before. Through the use of these symbols, J.K Rowling was also able to symbolically associate certain characters with either being good or evil before the reader learns anything about the characters themselves, such as how students from Slytherin are automatically evil, while students from Gryffindor are automatically good. The following are a number of religious symbols or symbolic associations that are present within the Potter novels that serve to separate the good guys from the bad guys, and emphasize the fact that the good vs. evil struggle in these novels is one of religious significance. |
| Symbols of Good |
| Symbols of Evil |
| -- The Griffin: a symbol of Christ, as it is half lion and half eagle, the king of heaven and earth. In the Harry Potter Series, Harry's house is Gryffindor. - The Phoenix: a symbol of Christ, as it dies and rises again for the ashes, like reincarnation. It is Fawkes the Phoenix that saves Harry from Voldemort in The Chamber of Secrets. Also, the opposition to Voldemort and the Death Eaters was the Order of the Phoenix. - The Lion: a symbol of Christ, as it is viewed as the king of the earth. Although Harry's house is called Gryffindor, the animal on the flag is a lion. - Other Christ symbols include Hippogriffs, and a Stag, which rescue Sirus Black and Harry in The Prisoner of Azkaban, and Unicorns, which are said to be the epitome of innocence. |
| - The Snake: a symbol of Satan and sin, as in the Bible, it was a snake that tricked Eve and caused mankind to be forced from the garden of Eden. A Snake is the house animal for Slytherin, and Voldemort was a parsel tongue who controlled the killer Basilisk. - The Death Eaters: a symbol of the souls of the dead being "eaten" into hell, and also as the opposite of Christian "Life Eaters", who thrive on life. Death Eaters on the other hand thrive on death and therefore kill in order to survive. In the Harry Potter Series, the Death Eaters were the followers of Voldemort. - The Dark Mark: a symbol of the "mark of the Beast" (being 666),referring to an entity controlled by the Antichrist. In the Harry Potter series the Death Eaters all bare the Dark Mark, which is a snake and a skull, as a symbol of their allegiance to Voldemort. - The Color Black: a symbol of evil and the devil, as black and darkness are used to portray the Devil and connote evil. In the Harry Potter Series, characters such as Snape, Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy are always wearing black, and all evil places (the forbidden forest, the Chamber of Secrets, etc) are described as being in darkness. |
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