Percy Jackson vs Harry Potter: An Argument for Diversity
It wouldn’t be original for me to say that Harry Potter isn’t diverse and that Percy Jackson is. Even from a purely surface level, that much is obvious. The only diversity Harry Potter claims were changes added retroactively, while Percy Jackson had a diverse cast from the beginning, flourishing with character descriptions which create expansive and wondrous imagery, and leaving with the promise that the children of this world could be anything that they wanted to be.
So no, it’s no secret Harry Potter is not culturally diverse and lacking tolerance for characters along the spectrum of sexual orientation, disability, or upbringing. I would argue, however, that the problem with Harry Potter’s lack of diversity is not only with individuals, but with the family unit.
On the surface, Harry and Percy’s upbringing seems to be similar, since the both of them grew up in abusive households, but that really is where the similarities in their families stop. Harry was alone in his house, with a bitter aunt, a raging uncle, and a spoilt cousin. Percy had a loving relationship with his mother. He felt frustrated with himself that he couldn't protect her from Gabe, and was angry and confused that his beautiful and talented mother didn’t just leave his abusive step-father.
The only families we really see in Harry Potter are the Weasleys and the Malfoys. One warm and happy, and shown to accept and adore Harry, while the other is cold and calculated, shown to bully and belittle him. In Harry Potter, if a family doesn't fit this binary of perfect or evil, they are simply absent. Hermione’s barely seen or spoken of muggle parents isn’t family, and while she displays some remorse for being distant with them, they aren’t a part of her wizarding life. Perfect, evil, or absent isn’t the colours to paint a family unit.
Family is Annabeth running from her father’s new family because she feels she doesn’t belong. Family is Luke scared of his mother’s mental illness and angry at his father for failing her. Family is Clarisse lashing out for her father’s attention, is Dionysus distancing himself from the son’s who are too close, and is Nico and Bianca who start out only having each other and are torn apart to start anew.
A family unit is also our homes. We never see much of Harry’s life before he’s whisked away to Hogwarts - the quintessential fantastic boarding school - for months at a time, and never get a chance again. Each book starts with Harry spirited away to another, better world, and then dumped back into a miserable one. The magic stops when he gets home.
Percy’s life in New York with his mother is hard, and he doesn’t fit at school like he does at the Camp, but New York is as much Percy’s home as Camp Half-Blood. His life doesn’t start again at Camp and stop in New York. The gods, his family, and his friends are a part of him, and follow him wherever he goes. Camp is a break from New York, not an escape.
Harry Potter fails at creating a diverse and realistic family unit for the children of Hogwarts, which for me, means it fails as a children’s story. Percy Jackson excels as a children’s story by showing family as diverse and complicated, giving the mortal parents of the children depth and a genuine role in their lives in ways that is unseen in Harry Potter.
This was a cute little something I had a lot of fun writing. It’s my first time putting my argument into writing like this, so if this wasn’t clear enough, I recommend James Tullos’s video ‘How Rick Riordan writes perfect kids books’ as a more in-depth critique of Percy Jackson vs Harry Potter overall.
Full disclaimer, I adore Percy Jackson and am totally biased in my opinions. No one will ever convince me Harry Potter is better in any way. Also, there were so many more examples I wanted to give on the families in Percy Jackson, but I restrained myself to the first series to show that family in Percy Jackson isn't exclusive to just the main characters.
