Ten Reasons Why Percy Jackson is Better than Harry Potter

Yesterday, after explaining to a cisgenendered friend why J.K. Rowling’s transphobic remarks are horrible, I got asked an interesting question: Does JKR’s transphobia ruin Harry Potter for me, and should it ruin Harry Potter for cisgender people?

This is not what this article is about, for the pure and simple reason that there are so many other reasons why JKR’s work is absolute garbage. If you do want an answer to my friend’s question, I highly recommend this video essay by Sarah Z, which spectacularly covers all sides of the debate.

What this article is about, is some of the main things that JKR got wrong with Harry Potter and examples of what should be done instead, provided generously from the author that got it right: Rick Riordan, and his Greek mythology series: Percy Jackson and The Heroes of Olympus.

So, without further ado, let’s get started.

10. Love potions

In the Harry Potter universe, consent doesn’t seem to matter. First, we have love potions, which are commonly sold in joke shops such as the one Fred and Georgge run. Second, we have the imperious curse. This curse, when enacted correctly, makes the victim do… whatever the caster wants. This spell is demonstrated in front of children.

On the flip side, we have Uncle Rick’s work, which doesn’t have love potions - it does, however, have charmspeak, which is similar to the imperious curse (the curse which makes the subject do its willing). Only certain individuals are gifted with it and are quickly taught not to abuse the power bestowed upon them. With the correct guidance, behaviors quickly change and become more responsible.

9. Unforgivables (and other deadly sins)

We already talked about one of the three: ‘Imperious’. The other two, the killing curse and the torture curse, are also taught in school. For context: this would be like demonstrating to children in our school systems how to manipulate, torture, and kill in their fourth year of schooling (age 14). I feel like I shouldn’t have to explain why this is problematic, but I will: this is trauma. Seeing living things be manipulated, tortured, and killed, is traumatizing. This should not have happened. Granted, the teacher who was doing it turned out to be an evil death eater working for Voldemort, but the course curriculum has to go through someone, right? Or was this another oversight on Dumbledore’s part? Of course, these aren’t the only unsafe practices that happen at the school - every year, what is supposed to be the safest place for wizards on the planet turns out to put Harry, Hermione, and Ron in direct danger.

While children are taught how to kill monsters in self-defense at Camp Half-Blood, no such curses exist in the Riordan-verse. Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are in danger every year, but of their own volition – they choose to take on quests, and should they need a safe space, Camp Half-Blood remains that for them.

8. Abuse of power

A boggart, a creature that turns into One’s worst fear is shown as teacher Severus Snape

Where to start for this one? First, we have Dumbledore, who abuses his power by playing Harry like a puppet, starting with leaving him with his abusive family - but we’ll circle back to that. The main example here though is Severus Snape, a teacher who abused his students so badly that Neville Longbottom’s worst fear became his teacher.

Power dynamics in Percy Jackson are actually quite interesting - there’s the camp director, Dionysus, and the centaur Chiron, who essentially run the camp. However, those who have been at camp the longest also have a good amount of responsibility taking care of younger/newer students. While Dionysus may occasionally threaten to turn a student into a dolphin, no one takes him very seriously and these jokes/threats are understood to be false.

7. Endorsed bad parenting

Harry’s legal guardians, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon

The Harry Potter series is riddled with horrible parenting. From the Dursleys, who abuse Harry from a young age, to Harry himself, who basically stops talking to his son for who he chose to be friends with. To be fair, I do acknowledge that just because a work of fiction features something like bad parenting, it does not mean it is an endorsement. I say endorsement because it is to be assumed that Harry had to stay with his abusive aunt and uncle for his own good. As if it made him stronger; as if there is ever a plausible reason for leaving a child in the hands of abusers.

In the final Percy Jackson book, Percy stands up to the Gods and calls them out on abandoning their children. He passes up immortality to make a deal: no child of a god should ever be left unclaimed by their parents.

6. Sorting hat system

Children are sorted when they are 11-12 years old by the qualities they possess. They then associate only with like-minded people, essentially blocking them from becoming well-rounded individuals.

While there is a cabin system in Percy Jackson, it goes nowhere as far as the sorting hat system. In the cabin system, you live and eat with your half-siblings, but are free to interact with whomever you desire.

5. Segregation based on blood status

Hecate, the goddess who controls the Mist

In the wizarding world of Harry Potter, there exist a few different ‘blood purity’ types: you can either be a pureblood (having an all-magical background), a muggle-born (having only muggle, or non-magical background), or a mix of the two, otherwise known as a half-blood. If this isn’t ringing any bells, check with your history teacher, because this is a very, very close replication of United States segregation. There’s even a slur for muggle-borns, which children don’t get punished for saying at school.

Percy Jackson features a phenomenon known as the Mist, an otherworldly force that can be harnessed by some that keeps most mortals from seeing demons and deadly weapons – in short, compartmentalizing for them what they would not be able to comprehend. Other than this, though, mortals, half-bloods, and gods mingle interchangeably.

4. Slavery

There are creatures in the Harry Potter universe called house elves that enjoy their slavery. I don’t think there’s really anything else to say about that.

There are no creatures in servitude in the Riordan-verse.

3. The prison and legal system

The legal chambers in Harry Potter — The legal chambers in *Harry Potter*

The prison system in Harry Potter is appalling. Once proven guilty of a crime (without, for whatever reason, the use of truth potions) one is sent to Azkaban, the wizarding prison. The prison is guarded by dementors, soulless creatures who thrive on stealing happiness from other beings. There is never any attempt at rehabilitation, except for when Harry breaks a law, and is defended by Dumbledore himself, and ends up with a warning. This shows the massive favoritism that both Dumbledore and the legal system possess. Would Dumbledore have defended any other student? Probably not. Would that student, particularly if a Slytherin, have had their wand snapped? Most definitely.

There is no known legal system in Percy Jackson. Campers hold each other accountable.

2. Importance of blood relations over chosen family

Harry Potter is a book series that will claim to show the importance of chosen families while demonstrating the exact opposite. For example, Harry has to stay with his abusive aunt and uncle because of their blood relation to him, as decided once again by, you guessed it, Dumbledore. As the old and wise character of the books, his decision that being safe from a possible outside threat is greater than an immediate threat by blood family says a lot – that in this world, blood family is most important.

Of course, because of godly heritage, blood family is important in Percy Jackson as well, but it also shows how unhealthy a blood family could be. Percy’s mom’s boyfriend ends up being abusive, and she turns him to stone with Medusa’s head. Several campers come from equally abusive households, and a good portion are runaways. However, Percy Jackson also shows that this isn’t the only family one has. Grover and Percy share an empathy link, and while technically all campers are somehow related, they really are one big chosen family, no matter how much they get on each other’s nerves.

1. Racism

A goblin from the first Harry Potter movie

The friends in Percy Jackson — The friends in *Percy Jackson*

The list of instances of racism in Harry Potter is a long and unfortunate one, but I’m going to boil it down to one main point: stereotypes, and with it, misrepresentation. First, let’s talk about the one East-Asian character, Cho Chang. To start with, her name is a red flag: just how stereotypical can you get? A Very Potter Musical, a musical spoof of Harry Potter, does a fantastic job pointing out the stereotypes the JKR seems to endorse in her books. It’s long, and the sound quality admittedly is far from great, but in my opinion, it’s way better than the original it’s based on.

Unfortunately, we still have more to talk about, as this isn’t JKR’s first or only endorsement of stereotypes in her books. The first example of them appears in the early chapter of book one (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone if you’re American) with the appearance of goblins. “Typical features of goblins in modern fantasy includes a shorter-than-human stature, either a flat or long and hooked nose, bat-like ears, and either a mischievous or malevolent demeanor”, and according to this Reddit thread, the modern goblins are indeed based on Jewish people. So while JRK’s use of goblins is understandable, it is not condonable. When I asked one of my Jewish friends about JKR’s use of goblins and how it affected their community, they swiftly replied with the history of Jewish stereotypes that lined up with the goblins in Harry Potter, and stated “it’s a big stereotype… it’s still antisemitic.”

Enough of the racism in Harry Potter. Let’s dive into the issues with Percy Jackson. I know, I’m supposed to be endorsing Rick Riordian here, but it’s important for me to acknowledge his flaws as well. This essay explains it all well: the first Percy Jackson book is full of white supremacy. As well-intentioned as the books were (they were started for Riordian’s son with ADHD and dyslexia), they still include this passage:

“The gods move with the heart of the West. …What you call ‘Western civilization’… is a living force. A collective consciousness that has burned bright for thousands of years. The gods are part of it. You might even say they are the source of it, or at least, they are tied so tightly to it that they couldn’t possibly fade, not unless all of Western civilization were obliterated. The fire started in Greece. Then, as you well know, the heart of the fire moved to Rome, and so did the gods. … [They] moved to Germany, to France, to Spain, for a while. Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there. They spent several centuries in England. …And yes, Percy, of course they are now in your United States.… America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West. And so Olympus is here.” (The Lightning Thief 72-73).

Which is hugely problematic. Riordian basically says here that because Western civilization is the most ‘advanced’, it is where the gods lived. There’s a lot to unpack here, but that’s what it boils down to: Rick Riordian implies that Western civilization is ‘best’, and the only two characters of color in the first book are both literal monsters. If you’re interested in reading more about it, read the essay linked above, and this article.

While all that is true, even the essayist who claimed that The Lightning Thief was a book of white supremacy ended his essay with a positive note on Rick Riodian: he became a model for how to listen to your audience, listen to their feedback, and do better. This is the main difference between J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan. While JKR never added more representation to her work, Riordan made a point of adding more characters of color, more LGBTQ+ characters, and had characters with disabilities from the get-go.

Should you feel a further need to look at JKR’s mistakes, I invite you to look at this rather hilarious fan-made list of every literal mistake in the Harry Potter books, from dates to plot holes.

Harry Potter lives on in the hearts of many, including myself. It’s hard to let go of such a big part of our childhood, and you don’t necessarily have to - but before you pick them up one more time for a read, consider all of the problematic aspects of the books. Remember them as you read, and remember this world isn’t perfect. Perhaps immerse yourselves into the world of Percy Jackson instead.

By Mika Abney

Reviews, Media, OpinionMika AbneyApril 8, 20219 Comments