Rising Above the Trauma

Traumatic experiences and how one deals with them and shapes the character is one huge theme in the Harry Potter series. While this may be an old or used topic, I still keep coming back to how scarily similar Voldemort and Harry’s lives are to each other. Both grew up without their parents living and taking care of them. While Harry wasn’t necessarily orphaned, because he still lived with family, he might as well have been. He wasn’t treated lovingly, or properly at all. There are so many times in the series, especially within the first six books, that Harry could have chosen the bad, evil side, and just given up. It says something extraordinary about his character and how he is truly a good person. Harry choosing not to kill Wormtail in Prisoner of Azkaban, for example, is just one example of rising above his dark past and trying to be a better person. 

Another character who lost a parent in the series is Luna, who we meet in book 4. Although sometimes she is indeed a bit “loony”, she remains a sweet girl who firmly sticks to her opinions and doesn’t change them just because it isn’t the way the majority thinks or acts. Because of this, she gets teased and bullied quite often at Hogwarts. She too has had many opportunities to let the bullying affect her negatively and retaliate or harm her attackers. 

Draco Malfoy is a character that proves that even if one has a “normal” upbringing with two parents and a family, that they might not always turn out to be the most kind and understanding. Malfoy is a thorn in Harry’s side at Hogwarts, as well as anyone who isn’t in Slytherin or Crabbe or Goyle. Even though Draco had both of his parents growing up, he still became a bully and rather nasty. While Rowling never comes out directly to say why, it could be that he simply was abused or neglected in a more subtle way. Or maybe he does all the bullying to receive attention from his father and mother, both who seem quite distant and cold. 

Traumatic events, especially when you experience them so early on in life, have the power to drastically change your life. How one handles and hopefully overcomes these events certainly is a huge theme in the books, and one that will pop up time and time again while we wrap up the rest of Half-Blood Prince and finally, The Deathly Hallows.