I’ve been thinking a lot about the Harry Potter book series lately.
When I was a child, the series was kind of a refuge for me - I had just moved to America
from India, I didn’t have any friends, and I was quite the social pariah - thanks to
my thick Indian accent, and very unstylish school outfits.
So Harry, Hermione, and Ron became my friends, and whenever life was a little too rough,
I used to tuck myself away into the magical world, and imagine all the great adventures
I would have.
I had to grow up eventually, and start living my real life.
So I left the books behind.
I felt like I had outgrown my need for it.
After an almost 10 year hiatus from the books, however, I reread the series last year, and
have gained a new perspective on the wizarding world.
I’ve also been watching a lot of analysis on the characters, curious to see what people
who grew up with the book now think about them as they enter their 30s.
And there’s an interesting trend I’ve noticed - people are becoming disillusioned
with Albus Dumbledore.
To the point that they hate DUMBLEDORE.
I know I know, baggage claim, why the hell do you care about that?
Well, let me explain.
Firstly, why do they hate Dumbledore?
In short, because of two reasons -
That despite Hogwarts being a school for children, it was constantly crawling with dangerous
creatures and people and Harry and other students nearly died many times.
Second reason - Dumbledore manipulated Harry and left him as a lamb for slaughter.
Fair enough arguments.
But also, they’re wrong.
Let’s discuss.
When Lily and James are killed by Voldemort, and Harry miraculously survived, Dumbledore
already knew of the prophecy.
He knew that it was Harry’s destiny to challenge Voldemort.
And he suspected that Voldemort wasn’t really gone.
So his two goals were clear - Give Harry safety until he is ready to face
Voldemort And secondly, prepare Harry for his destiny
When it came to his safety, Dumbledore placed him with his family, where his mother’s
blood would offer ultimate protection - until of course Harry was ready to come to Hogwarts.
And for those moments where Harry needed to be escorted - Dumbledore always sent Hagrid.
But why?
Why not just go himself?
Well - it’s because Hagrid didn’t draw much attention.
Well, yes, he drew attention because of his size, but in the wizarding world - Hagrid
is not considered a threat.
He isn’t a qualified Wizard, he’s a game keeper - people called him an oaf and underestimated
him.
But Hagrid was always intensely loyal to Dumbledore, absolutely loved Harry, and could not be taken
down by spells.
He’s was a one man army.
If Dumbledore had gone himself, it would have given away information - it would have given
away the fact that Dumbledore believed Harry to be in danger despite the wizarding world
believing Voldemort was gone.
It was a good tactic to keep Harry safe, but not raise the attention of people who would
want to harm Harry.
And the ultimate place of safety for Harry, of course, was at Hogwarts.
In rereading the books, I was amazed at the number of times Hogwarts is referenced as
the safest place since Voldemort has always been afraid of Dumbledore.
It made me see similarities between Hogwarts and the garden of eden.
A paradise that is safe from the outside forces, with a powerful seemingly omniscient being
watching over it, and setting the rules.
But in a paradise, there is always that possibility of it being infiltrated by snakes, and Hogwarts
is no exception - being infiltrated by figurative and literal snakes.
And it’s so fitting that Voldemort was becoming less human over time and more snake like.
The snake represents deception, destruction, poison, and death.
Another recent criticism I’ve heard of the series, is that Harry Potter was quite useless
as a hero - without of course Hermione’s insurmountable wit.
The movies really take this far, where Hermione is this ultimate perfect hero - but in the
books the heroics were divided between the trio - since each of them brought their unique
abilities to help defeat Voldemort.
But Harry’s contribution was always his ability to face up to, and take down snakes.
Even as 11 year old - he chose to challenge Quirrell to stop him from getting the sorcerer’s
stone, then faces down a Basilisk to save Ginny, faces down dementors to save Sirius,
and we’re just on the 3rd book.
Yes, people will say that he had luck on his side, and help, and he did.
But the most important part of all these heroics was that where others would and did turn a
blind eye to the snakes, Harry refused, and put his neck on the line.
Now where was Dumbledore in all this?
Usually catching up, because even though he seemed omniscient, he wasn’t, and wasn’t
always able to come to Harry’s aide.
Dumbledore instead served as Harry’s safety net - the backstop to any spill over from
Harry’s exploration outside of the safety that Hogwarts offered.
To me this sounds like the ideal role a parent should play in their child’s life - create
a safe home, where the child is free from fear, the cold, hunger, and other harsh realities
of the world.
But encourage them to slowly explore outside of their realms of safety so they can learn
to face up to the world and become strong enough to one day leave the safe confines
of their home and wrestle with the world.
And as they evolve, they will eventually learn to create safety for themselves
"Dark and difficult times lie ahead soon we must all face the choice between what is right
and what is easy.
but remember this you have friends here
you're not alone"
If Dumbledore hadn’t given Harry the opportunity to face his problems and grow with his experiences,
if Dumbledore had swept in each time and solved all his problems for him - well when Dumbledore
died in the sixth book, Harry would have been helpless after.
Dumbledore knew that Harry’s destiny was to take down Lord Voldemort.
And seeing him grow up, seeing him stand up to every dangerous situation - well Dumbledore
knew that Harry was taking on and accomplishing his destiny.
That Harry, by his own free will, would take on Voldemort because it was the right thing
to do.
Dumbledore also knew that it is was not his duty to intervene and spare him, but rather
to prepare him for everything to come.
Remember when I mentioned earlier that Dumbledore always seemed omniscient even though he really
wasn’t?
Dumbledore’s goal of preparing Harry meant sharing with him his greatest gift - which
was the ability to understand people.
The book often talked about Dumbledore’s intense gaze - when he seemed to almost see
through people.
He always observed people, understood their motivations, and most importantly saw them
as they were - and not what he expected them to be.
I can’t tell you how important this particular lesson is.
I myself have noticed instances where I expect people to behave a certain way because I’m
holding them to my standards, and not their own.
It’s this understanding that made it hard for Dumbledore to be surprised by people,
though he sometimes was - betrayed even - proving that he is after all not all knowing and omniscient
but fallible.
Dumbledore knew that the only way Harry would be able to defeat Voldemort is if he understood
him.
As his mentor, Dumbledore was not just trying to make Harry better, but really make him
better than himself.
And the 6th book is truly the hand off period - the changing of the guard.
At the beginning of the book, on the way to see Horace Slughorn, Dumbledore tells Harry
to keep his wand at the ready, just in case something happens.
But, he assures Harry that he need not worry about being attacked.
"Why not, sir?"
Harry asks.
"You are with me," Dumbledore answers.
But at the end - when Dumbledore is dying and Harry is bringing them back to Hogwarts,
he Harry says “We’re nearly there…
I can Apparate us both back….
don’t worry”
“I am not worried, Harry,” said Dumbledore, his voice a little stronger despite the freezing
water.
“I am with you.”
I think this is such a beautiful moment - since it’s a recognition of Harry’s future,
of Dumbledore’s own obsolescence.
It’s Dumbledore’s confirmation that Harry will be fine without him.
When Dumbledore dies soon after, Harry’s greatest and last protector is gone.
And Hogwarts - the paradise that Dumbledore had maintained all these years was lost.
It’s was no longer a safe place for Harry to be.
He was now ready to go out into the dangerous world with only his own abilities.
Dumbledore served his duty as a good mentor, because he prepared him for that moment.
This is a similar theme in the Black Panther movie, when T’Chala reunites with his father,
after his death.
"I am not ready to be without you."
"A man who has not prepared his children for his own death has failed as a father.
Have i ever failed you?"
"Never" To criticize Dumbledore for not creating more
safety for Harry is to not see the value of people learning to stand up on their feet
andcreate safety for themselves.
This is the crux of the cultural war that we’re embroiled in, at least in America
- there are people who believe that the world should be safe 100% of the time, and no lapse
in safety is acceptable versus people who believe that 100% safety is impossible unless
you give over all of your rights as an individual - and that is no way to live.
The better answer is to learn to create safety ourselves, and grow so we can withstand the
storms that life may throw at us.
In a future video, I will be analyzing what happens to Harry after Dumbledore’s death,
and he discovers that his perfect mentor was not so perfect after all.
T hank you for watching.
I appreciate you all being so patient while I took this hiatus.
It feels really good to be back.
I’ll see you next time.