According to Research… Who Reads Harry Potter Lives Better.
INTRODUCTION: if you are one of the unlucky people who have never read the ups and downs of ‘The Boy Who Lived’, stop immediately reading this article and run to the nearest bookshop to buy the entire Harry Potter collection.
In effect, according to a research published on a paper in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, people who read Harry Potter are open-minded, have a deeper identity, and are more respectful towards other people.
So, here are 5 facts that characterise the books and that have been shown to shape the identity of the readers. They create a distinction between the Harry Potter’s readers and those who have never read the books or saw the films… If you are among the disciples of the little wizard, you can surely recognise yourself in all of these features.
1- THEY TEACH TOLERANCE
Experts say that in the Harry Potter’s stories we can find stigmatised characters who are rejected by the society. For example, trolls and ogres are marginalised species in the magic world since they are ugly and dangerous. However, Harry and his friends show compassion and comprehension towards these creatures and they are able to accept them. The three friends, therefore, teach the readers not to have prejudices against different cultures, to be open-minded, and to be always open to the dialogue.
2- FRIENDS ARE IMPORTANT
Harry is an unlucky boy: he is an orphan and he has to live with some dreadful relatives who treat him like a dog. He has a lot of enemies too! His life would have never been easy if he hadn’t have his friends by his side! He could have never defeated Voldemort without his friends’ aid and support. Harry has taught us that friends can be as our family and we have to be honest with them. They will always be there to help us and to show us the right way. But the most important thing that we can learn from the Harry Potter’s books is that, in the end, friendship and love can beat even the most terrible enemy.
3- BE DETERMINED
If Harry has become one of the most powerful wizards of all times is because he never stopped believing in himself, even at the most difficult times. He has always been aware of his qualities and his virtues, and he has overcome every difficulty thanks to his optimism and self-confidence. Reading the books, we learn that we should face our problems just like Harry did, and never give up even when it seems that we would never do it. The key to success is being faithful to yourself and never stop believing in our dreams.
4- SCHOOL IS NECESSARY
According to a lot of young people, going to school and studying may sound boring and useless. In reality, knowledge and culture are essentials. As a matter of fact, Harry and his friends would have never been able to defeat all the wicked creatures they encountered if they hadn’t know the spells and how to fight them. Furthermore, the school is important for Harry because here not only he increase his knowledge of magic, but also because here he finds safety and protection. Hogwarts is a safe place and it’s like a real shelter to all his students. Furthermore, this school is not only a place where to learn charms or potions, but it also teaches you to evaluate feelings and human relationships. Here, Harry learned about real love and friendship thanks to his schoolmates, but he also had a lot of friends among his professors. He showed us the importance to listen to the professor’s advices since their wisdom and experience can be useful to us. If we follow their wisdom we can learn how to deal with difficulties and troubles of life.
5- OVERCOME YOUR FEARS
Ron was afraid of spiders, Harry was afraid of being alone, Neville Longbottom was afraid of… everything! As in the books, also in real life we all fear something or someone, but Harry and his friends showed us that nothing can defeat us if we live our life with courage. In order to overcome our weaknesses we have to believe in ourselves and we have to trust our qualities and our talent. Furthermore, we have to rely also on our friends’ advices and help because they can show us the right way to follow. Reading the books, we have learned that, most of the time, our biggest fears and anxieties are generated especially by our own mind. For this reason, it is important that we listen to our heart and to follow our dreams, because they will bring us to the success.
Finally, on behalf of all Harry Potter’s readers, I would like to thank Harry and his friends because they taught us how to face difficulties and they showed us the strength of friendship and love… and, apparently according to research, they made us better people!
With thanks to Naomi Gilad
