Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2 by David Yates

With the last Harry Potter movie released to theaters, it seems that this saga has finally reached its end.  For the biggest Potter fans (me included), a feeling of loss surrounds the last film, much like a dear friend has passed away.  Having read the books though, we die-hard fans have learned not to recoil from talk of death after having so many beloved characters killed off throughout the years.

In fact, that might be J.K. Rowling’s literary trademark—her unflinching ability to eliminate fan favorites.  While many would argue over her literary talents, I’d be shocked to find anyone to vehemently deny her fresh outlook on death.  Death seems to ground her work.  No matter how fantastical any situation may seem (flying cars and talking arachnids are just the beginning), death is the only inevitability that no spell or potion can correct.

Rowling approaches death in a way that children can understand and absorb.  While nearly every age bracket has picked up her books at some point, they were originally intended for nine- to eleven-year-olds, and nevertheless tackle death with as much force as a Joseph Conrad novel.  Rowling herself has said in an article for The Telegraph that her “books are largely about death.”  The fact that they are also written with a younger audience in mind gives some credit to the topic, allowing for acceptance instead of fear.

Although death seems to take the forefront in the series, one could easily argue Rowling’s “deathly” angle actually serves to cast a spotlight on life.  In an article from Obit Mag, freelance writer Kevin Nance points out that “the real subject of the Potter books is the fact of aging, a theme reinforced by our having watched the actors in the films grow from children to adults before our eyes.”

Indeed, readers of my generation (the original nine to eleven target) grew up with the books and pivotal characters.  As Harry was navigating moments of insecurity, so were we.  When Ron felt the pangs of teenage angst, so did we.  Likewise, as the plots continued to get darker, our understanding of life and death matured.  For that reason alone, J.K. Rowling has done young readers a service by providing a series with which they can grow.  Life, death, and beyond intersect in the concluding chapters in ways that mimic real life, where the line between finality and infinity is often blurred.  In a world where we can rarely define absolute beginnings and ends, Harry Potter makes sense of it all without ever underestimating the wonder of it.