One of my focus questions is the one i stated.
So, Which Harry Potter book do you think is the most controversial and why?
I totally disagree with most people here. The question is which book is most controversial, not which book started it all. The first created the big hype around the series, but I don't think is was as controversial as some of the others.
Sure, witchcraft is nothing to joke about with strict religious groups, but I think it is more about the demonic aspect of it. Harry used to be a normal kid and then, all of the sudden, he starts hearing voices in the second book and discovers, that he and his friends (Hagrid) might be evil.
Also, the sixths and seventh book are very controversial in my opinion, and not only among religious groups, but also among parents, who were concerned about their children and didn't want them to read something like this. That would be because people started dying, torture came into play, and a war was raging.
Personally, I don't think these books are children's books because of this either, but that it develops clearly into youth books.
Also in the seventh book, the whole Horcrux idea came up - an object that contains a split part of your soul. It can only be created through murder.
Now if that's not controversial, I don't know what would be.
The first one, naturally, because it created the whole "Harry Potter is promoting Witchcraft to children!" nonsense. Everything after that was just a tired rehashing of the original controversy, with a few new minor flavors added (i.e. the increasingly adult themes and character romances as the series went on, children dying, the "dumbledore was gay" thing, etc. All minor issues)
I'd go with the first for starting it all, the fourth because of you-know-who's rebirth, and the seventh because of the horcruxes (Splitting a soul into seven pieces seems pretty controversial to me) and the whole Harry dying and coming back to life thing at the end. the third i suppose can also be pretty offensive because of the idea of werewolves and dementors (anything that sucks the soul out of people is reason for talk) Google "Harry Potter conrtoversies" for some more reasons of why people find the books "demonic" as I've so often heard them described.
I think The Goblet of Fire was the most controversial at the time, because it was a childrens book, but *gasp* a kid dies! You can't have kids dying in childrens books! Personally, the 4th book is one of my favorites and I don't think there is any reason any of the books has to be controversial. It's all entertainment, people! anyone who takes it more seriously than that has GOT to get a life!
Good question. I have to say the first one did because it introduced the whole 'witchcraft' concept. It was more of a shock to people because there wasn't any other book like that before that attracted so many readers.
Other ones that did though were The Chamber of Secrets, because of the whole hearing voices part and the fact Harry could talk to snakes.
Then The Order of the Phoenix and the Prisoner of Azkaban were too because they had the predicting of the future.
But still, the first book started it at...
I think that Goblet of Fire is the most controversial. Two main reasons.
1. "Mad Eye" Moody that can see through anything, which includes the clothes of the students. As Ms. Patel said, "that eye should not be allowed"
2. A grown man binding and torturing and young boy, in of all places a graveyard. That is a bit twisted.
Maybe the first because it started it all. I don't think you could really pick. There is nothing unique about any one book that makes it stand out as controversial. Maybe the third because of Divination or the fifth because it is a darker book.
Probably the seventh, because the idea of a Horcrux is pretty offensive to some people (like the crazy ones who've only read online summaries but are trying to ban Harry Potter in schools).