Death and How to Deal with It in the Harry Potter Series
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Abstract
Death is one of the most important themes in the Harry Potter universe, and the way it is accentuated throughout the series and in the Potterverse brings about conversations about one of the most controversial and taboo themes in the context of Western children’s culture, even when children’s stories have always had death woven into their plots. The young wizard’s series highlights the fascination humans have, at any age, with the uncertainty of death. This article was inspired by the comments of a Spanish teenager who used the last book in the series as a tool to help him cope with the trauma of his mother’s death weeks after its publication. In children’s studies, this intergenerational dialogue about books and fiction has generated fascinating research initiated and guided by young readers and scholars working in this emerging study area. The main objective of this article is to examine death in the Harry Potter novels, its images, language, and the typology of its deaths, as well as the models offered to cope with the numerous and frequently violent deaths of several characters. This article analyzes how Rowling portrays grief and the strategies used by different characters to cope with death. This analysis will also establish connections with other well-known “children’s” books and map the territory defined by death in the imagination of contemporary childhood.
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