Harry's Survival

Recently, J.K. Rowling commented on her decision to not kill Harry off in the final book and why she decided instead to focus on Harry’s survival. Here is what she said:

"In many ways it would have been a neater ending to kill him. For sure, I knew that all along. I felt that the books' overriding message was that love is the most powerful force in this world. My model with Harry really was war veterans, who have seen horrors and are asked to go home and rebuild, and go back to ordinary life and care for a family, be a father - particularly be a father - [it is] a difficult job, in troubled times. I felt it would be a betrayal of my character if I did anything other than show him doing that. And I think it's an absolutely heroic thing to do, to go home after that, not to become a mercenary, not to live forever frozen in a time of excitement and danger, but to be mentally strong enough, to an extent physically strong enough, to return from war and to raise a new generation with values that you hope will not lead to another war. That's massive. Of course you can say, yes, to an extent, as ever in life, that's the eternal paradox. What's is most worthwhile may well be seen as slightly dull, but God knows without those people who were prepared to come home and raise the family and rebuild, help rebuild... rebuilding is much more difficult than destroying. So, I felt it was almost a cop-out, morally, to kill him. I wanted to show a man who, yeah, he went back and got his hands dirty and tried to rebuild. I liked that. And again, it made a lot of people were livid, but God knows by that time I was used to that by then!"

Two things that JKR says here are really interesting. First, that she models Harry’s survival after war veterans and, second, that she thinks killing Harry would have been a “cop-out,” when really, most fans thought it was cop-out not kill him.

The issue of Harry’s survival goes back to one of the fundamental truths at the center of this series and it has to do with choices. More specifically, that the right choices aren’t always the easiests ones to make. As Albus Dumbledore once put it, “We must all face the choice, between what is right and what is easy” (GOF). The easier choice for Harry, once he won the war and destroyed Voldemort would have been to not return to the same world that brought him such pain, fear, and loss. But, he does. He comes back and rebuilds his life. He begins a career at the Ministry of Magic where he attempts to reform the system that was once corrupted and monopolized by a few, i.e. Fudge, Umbridge, and Malfoy, and works for change at a rather calm and patient pace. He leaves the glory of the battlefield and proudly takes up the mundane tasks of a working wizard. Further, he becomes a husband and father, living to ensure that his family does not face the same pain and loss that he did as a child. He has dedicated his adult life to ensuring a wizarding world that is safe and bright for his children, and Hermonie and Ron’s children, to grow up in. Further, they all instill in their children the very traits they embodied in their past – courage, bravery, strength; the traits central to a true Gryffindor. In the end, however, his return to the magical world as a simple boy who grew up into a simple man was far more brave and courageous than what he so wonderfully accomplished in the war and that message is so incredibly beautiful.

Had Harry died at the end of Deathly Hallows, it would not have changed our fundamental belief and faith in his character. The way he faced Voldemort in the final chapter solidifies that; no one but him could have done what he did in those final moments. But, what would have killing him then really achieve? We saw what happened once he died – in Chapter 34. He dies, visits with Dumbeldore, and then returns, and, in that time, he mastered death. He became confident in his abilities and power, he had a clear vision of the mission and who he must destroy. There was no doubt whatsoever and he wasn’t afraid. More importantly, he knew what the right choice was at that very moment. He needed to face this death to know what he ultimately needed to do, not just to destroy Voldemort, but for him and his world to survive. This was his “final lesson” of sorts. So, in the end, what would killing him again accomplish?