Choices, Redemption, and Morality
For the seventh and final installment of the Harry Potter series, Harry, Hermione, and Ron—all now adults in the Wizarding world—set off on their own to follow through with the mission that Dumbledore gave Harry: to discover and destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes (bits of his soul contained in physical objects) and, in doing so, to destroy Voldemort himself. At the heart of the story is a question that the series has already spent…
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Grief and Coming of Age
More so than any of the previous installments of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is intensely focused on death, especially in terms of how the living coexist with and make sense of their memories of the dead. For Harry, who is still reeling after the death of Dumbledore at the end of the series' previous installment, coming to terms with who Dumbledore was in life is Harry's final step…
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Knowledge and Power
Since Voldemort's return to his body three years ago, Harry, Ron, and Hermione have gradually been forced to learn that an effective resistance movement is less about showy acts of heroism and more about sustained labor, planning, and the acquisition or protection of valuable information. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows takes this idea to its final conclusion: though Harry and his friends do engage in several heroic acts, and though the…
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Mortality and Sacrifice
The final installment of the Harry Potter series is filled with death. A number of favorite characters meet their end in this novel, including Harry himself—though Harry's return to life raises even more questions about what death truly means, particularly in terms of Dark magic and sacrifice. By looking at how people consider death and, specifically, how and when people fear death, the novel suggests that it's futile to fear it—and that through accepting one's…
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Friendship, Community, and Resistance
The Wizarding world that Harry and the reader return to at the start of the novel is in a state of panic: the Order of the Phoenix believes (correctly) that the Death Eaters have infiltrated the Ministry. This situation means that most people feel unable to trust each other or their government—something that, in previous installments, Dumbledore has suggested is actually a help to Voldemort, who thrives on fear and suspicion. In this landscape…
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