Post #3

How did you feel about the end of the series? What moments did you find particularly poignant, or problematic, and why? How did your feelings towards Dumbledore and Snape change? About Harry, Ron, and Hermione? Why did they change in this way?

In addition, now that you have finished the series, how would you place it in a larger social/cultural context?

I feel slightly sad now that the series is over. The moment where Ron finally killed that awful horcrux and he and Harry were reconciled was great. It seemed as if those thoughts had been plaguing him for the majority of their friendship. Ron has a lot of junk going on and this was a turning point in their friendship, and even in his relationship with Hermione. I was not surprised to learn that there was a layer of Snape we did not know about. I always knew deep down there had to be more to it that him just being a traitor. It made me feel sorry for him even more I think, and it made sense that he was so desperate to go and find Harry when he was with Voldemort. He wanted to fulfill Dumbledore's last wish and tell Harry what he needed to know. Snape is a sad character in a way, his whole life is devoted to someone who reminds him of the woman he loved and could never have, and the man that he hated most. He dies believing that all his work to protect Harry was for Harry to die in the end.

Blog #3

I had read this series before, but I still get goosebumps when thinking about Dobby dying. Here is an innocent creature whose true love for Harry ended in his demise saving him. He was a very innocent symbol in the book, and kind of an omen that things were about to go down after he was killed. My feelings for Dumbledore remained the same; he is very honorable. He did, however, show us how he too was still just a human. Sometimes I found myself holding him on a pedestal, but his story about Ariana and the rest of his family, followed by how he tried on the ring and was selfish with the Hallows brought me back to reality; he, too, is just a person. Snape, on the other hand, changed my feelings drastically. I went through a roller coaster of emotions with his character throughout the series. I wanted to trust him so badly because Dumbledore did, but he did not act the part at all. Hearing about his undying love for Lily was heart wrenching. You really saw the good inside of him and he, in the end, died for her and Harry just as she died for Harry. He went from being a distasteful professor to being incredibly honorable. Harry, Ron, and Hermione grew up a lot in the 7th book. We see them truly transform into adults. Their problems become more real, too. We go through this journey with them and understand how each of them are feeling throughout the book. This is where I think Rowling is a genius. She has a way of getting you to feel like you are part of their group of friends, or part of the family. Your emotions change with theirs as you read.
I don't think I would change a thing about these books. I've read the series through and through a number of times and still love it.

Blog Prompt #3: The Deathly Hallows: The Alpha and the Omega

The end of the series was simultaneously euphoric, enigmatic, and evincing. I had heard that at least one of the major characters dies in the last book and I was worried that it could be Ron, Hermoine, or even Harry (although I figured that it was highly unlikely and would upset too many people).With the deaths of Severus Snape, Fred Weasley and Remus Lupin I was saddened and relieved. I was saddened after Snape’s revelation of fidelity to and protection of Harry as few, perhaps only Harry, would understand the sacrifices and commitment that he made to do so. Likewise I was saddened by the death of Fred Weasley as the closeness of the Weasley twins is evident throughout the book and together they are greater than the sum of their parts. Lastly, I was saddened by the death of Remus, perhaps one of the last two father figures (the other being Arthur Weasley), and probably his last major connection to his parents past. At the same time, this severing of ties to his past, although traumatic, could also be beneficial and therapeutic as it would allow Harry to move on and not swell on the past. While these three deaths made me sad, it also allowed me to enjoy Harry, Ron, and Hermoine triumph over death and Voldemort. Additionally, I felt that the beheading of Nagini by Neville was very poignant and symbolic. As with the defense of “The Prophesy” in book 5 where Neville and Harry are the last two standing, this moment reflects the capacity that both he and Harry had to defeat Voldemort but arguably only Voldemort’s choice and impartation of power into Harry is what sets them apart.

In a larger social and cultural context the finale of the series I feel can be summed up in the phrase: “the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” This phrase has multiple meanings and representations in relation to the series. First and foremost, the parallel between Christ and his resurrection and the Christ-like resurrection of Harry both to overcome death and Satan/Voldemort is evident. With his treatment as a savior before and after the death of Voldemort, Harry’s character, actions, and thoughts are continually shaped and altered by what he perceives society wants him to be. Additionally, the death of Voldemort represents the final chapter in the saga of Harry Potter and his school years at Hogwarts but the Deathly Hallows also represents the first exploration of Rowlings diegetic beyond the chronology of Harry’s youth. Similarly it represents the end of an old era and the beginning of a new era of tolerance and can be viewed as paralleling the acceptance of half-bloods and muggles with the social debate about race and ethnicity that our societies are exploring today.

Blog Post 3

I’ve been an avid reader of the Harry Potter series since elementary school. When the final book came out, it was a very bittersweet experience – I was excited for things to finally be answered (I was a believer in the theory that Harry’s scar was a horcrux, that R.A.B. was Regulus, and that Severus was always on the good side) and to be validated in my beliefs. At the same time, I would have sacrificed that certainty and righteous arrogance for the series to keep on. There has never been a literary series, or a movie, television series, video game, or anything that affected me as much as Harry Potter, or that I’ve been obsessed with for such a long time.

My favorite moments in the Deathly Hallows were those that proved that Snape and Lily were at least somewhat canon. I had always liked the idea of it, even believed that it was a distinct possibility, but I didn’t actually expect it to be blatantly out there. Also, I was very excited that they had known each other even before Hogwarts. I also enjoyed getting to know Regulus a bit more, being a fan of the Black family and minor death eaters. Overall, I enjoyed the very dark atmosphere that hasn’t quite been achieved in preceding books.

My feelings about Severus never changed – he has always been one of my favorites, I always believed he was on the good side, and I always felt bad for him having such a crappy life. My feelings on Dumbledore, did, however, change! I always liked the idea of Grindelwald and Albus, but as some sort of crackship that I never expected to actually have happened. When we found out that Dumbledore was gay and in love with Grindelwald, I was so excited. In the Deathly Hallows, we learn that Dumbledore had quite the dark side, that his past was quite troubled, and these imperfections (along with his relationship with Gellert) made me much more invested in his character. Before, I liked him as an eccentric old wizard cliché, but once his imperfections came to light I was much more able to relate to him and appreciate him more as a character.

My feelings on the trio haven’t changed too much. I’ve had periods in which I hated Harry, but I think I’ve largely gotten over it and sort of like him now. Ron has always irritated me, and the Deathly Hallows didn’t change that. Of the three, Hermione has always been my favorite, and pretty awesome.

I believe the Harry Potter series is going to be one that is remembered and considered one of the best fantasy literary series. Although there are contemporaries who disagree at this point, in a few generations it’s likely to be a series that is remembered fondly and endures in its popularity, ala Lord of the Rings. It will not be a series that will fade into obscurity due to later generations being unable to relate, as the themes of Harry Potter are those that are eternal.

Final Countdown

I found the final Harry Potter book to be the most traumatic. Rowling throws death in left and right. She starts off with the rough hit of Hedwig's death followed shortly by George's missing ear and then the death of Mad Eye Moody. Not long after all of that, Harry's world is sent catapulting into a new disaster. By turning Harry against his memories of Dumbledore, Rowling also turns the audience against the memory of Dumbledore. Both Harry and the reader struggles with how to feel about the previous hero. The tone of the book does not improve as the chapters progress. Around the middle of the book, Rowling kills off the long loved Dobby. Right after this the book takes a pretend upturn with the birth of Teddy, the child of Lupin and Tonx. By the end of the battle of Hogwarts Fred, Lupin, Tonx, and many others have all died. Who does Rowling not kill? HARRY. I know that it sounds awful but a large part of me wishes that he had been one of the many. I had spent 6 books being irritated at how incompetent Harry was and how he only seemed to have come thus far by pure luck and the help of others.
I do regret that there was not a book, even a short one, about what happened with all of them after the fall of Voldemort.

Final Thoughts

Since this was my first time reading the Harry Potter series I feel like I may have missed some information since there is so much that takes place, especially in the final book. I’m sure going back and rereading, I would find a lot of information I missed the first time. I was not expecting Snape to work for the order of the phoenix. I was also surprised by the real reason he seemed to not like Harry. How he was in love with Harry’s mother Lily. You could tell that he was hurt that Harry was the son of James Potter and Lily. We later learn that Snape really just cares about Harry. I think this changed a lot of reader’s feelings about Snape. It definitely changed mine.

What I found problematic was some of the characters who were killed off. I was not expecting Dobby to be killed because he represented one of the good guys in the series.  

There is also a big change in Harry since the beginning of the series. Since he is much older than when he first went to Hogwarts, he seems a lot more independent. He doesn’t need the help of Ron and Hermione as much in the seventh book. For example, he does not want their help finding the Horcruxes and is determined to do it on his own. Also, the fact that he was willing to sacrifice his life for other people shows that he is a good person. I was glad that J.K Rowling made Harry live at the end of the series. I think it would be a huge disappointment for all the fans if he died.  

Final Thoughts

After turning the last page of Deathly Hallows and closing the cover my first thoughts were "that's it?" It seems like this whole series is full of so much intensity and drama and its gets to the climax, and then... that's it, Voldemort is dead, you can go home now. I would have liked to see a lot more from the epilogue or even a few more chapter before the epilogue just to recapture the grandiose of the entire series. I think there should have been a chapter entitled "Obituary" where they honor the faithful departed in a kind of mass funeral sort of thing. Much like the emphasis on Dumbledore's funeral and its significance.

The most poignant of moments for me was the princes tale. The very very complex character of snape is finally revealed for what he is: probably the most important supporting character in the books. We finally learn what his motivation is toward the greater good, and even then, it is still pretty childish. Why all the unspoken feelings and motivations? I think it would have been much more poignant for everyone to sit down and have a share your feelings hour so we can all be on the same page as we approach the final battle. Did Dumbledore know of Snape's affection toward Lily Potter? I do understand that it was important for Harry to accept Death at the final hour, and that certain knowledge might have changed his feelings at that time, but all of the things he didn't know before the princes tale, he does when he goes to face his death. Why couldn't someone have told him something a long time ago? These are the things that I find problematic. With something as important as the fate of the world, and as intelligent as certain characters seem to be, there were certainly many opportunities to approach this situation in much more ideal and logical fashion. Though, low and behold, world saved, Harry has some kids, the end.

Throughout this series i always viewed Dumbledore as kind of an arrogant philosopher. Sure, he's got some good ideas, but theory is much easier than practice. Though he does acknowledge that he makes mistakes, to what extent does he acknowledge them? Not very much.. I think his only mistake was having too much confidence in himself. For instance, I certainly don't think there was any sort of contingency plan. I admire Snape, but again, if he is doing all of this for the greater good, then he realizes that some thing are more important than pride or self righteousness and there were certainly better ways to go about it than being a very non outspoken ass hole until he's on his death floor. And to say that Snape was always on the good side is crazy to me. Sure, one action at the end of it all landed him on the good side, but in my eyes, Snape was never on the good or the bad side. I think he enjoyed the comfort of knowing he could play both sides all the time, and in the end, which ever one came out on top, he was assured acceptance. Ultimately, I think he was in it for himself the whole way because in no way does Severus Snape come off as selfless at any point in the series, not even at the end.

All in all, I just feel bad for the trio. They had to endure a chess game of some crazy wizards in which they were the pieces. Sure, the ending is happy, but things fell into place in such a way that the margin for error was terribly excessive. I suppose that that is the moral of the story, and that for good to prevail over evil, anyone that has a sense of it must always be persistent and perseverant, knowing that the struggle is never ending, and that peace and happiness is few and far between, but it is also that fact that allows us know what the most important things in our lives are, and that living and loving for the moment will always be the best thing we can do.

Goodbye Harry Potter

I was reading the Harry Potter series for the first time and for me the end of the series was kind of like a break up.  I was so terribly sad that the books were over and that I would no longer have this fantasy world to come to.  My favorite part about the end of the series was that it was a fairly happy ending.  Mostly everyone was able to make it out alive; expect for Dobby and Fred.  I liked the fact that she ended the series with Harry still being alive. I think that if she were to kill Harry it would be killing the hope that maybe someday she will write another book.  Maybe a series about Harry’s kids going to Hogwarts?  What was problematic to me was that she killed Dobby.  Dobby represented innocence to me and it was kind of like killing a child.  My feeling toward Snape differently changed at the end.  I was one of those people that were always rooting for him and to find out that he was a good guy because of his love for lily was extremely shocking to me.  I was hoping that he would be a good guy because he wanted to protect Harry, not to avenge lily.  Dumbledore also had some shocking twists and turns at the end.  But at the same time he was doing what he was always doing asking too much of Harry.  If I were to place the series in a larger social context I would say that the series reflect growing up of almost everyone. Even though there were fantasy elements in the book they still reflected the normal trials that kids go through growing up. Voldermort could be the bully in a high school and Snape could be that chemistry teacher that is so mean.  Harry could be the awkward new kid, and Dumbledore could be the role model that everyone needed.  The series was interesting with all of the twists, turns, and magic, but at the same time it read as a tale of adolescents. 

Blog Post #3- Final Thoughts

“Finishing the Harry Potter series is like destroying the final Horcrux of my childhood”- an old Facebook group, which pretty much sums up how I feel about the end of the Potter series. The Deathly Hallows is a harrowing tale in which Harry is forced to choose between Horcruxes and Hallows and learns secrets about his mentor and nemesis professor. The story about Dumbledore proves that even the best people are human. Dumbledore was almost as bad as Voldemort, as he himself, pointed out when Harry was in limbo between life and death. Harry’s mentor played him like a pawn in a giant chess game, which is incredibly symbolic of the chess game in the Sorcerer’s Stone. While I was always a supporter of Snape (thanks to fanfiction,) to see how tragic Snape’s life proves that he too, was a pawn for Dumbledore’s overall plan. It was clear that Snape loved Lily. When Harry viewed his [Snape’s] memories, it became clear that he cared about Harry as well (even though it was never explicitly stated, but merely inferred by Dumbledore.)

The relationship between Harry, Ron, and Hermione was critical to the success or failure of Dumbledore’s plan. While the story is told through Harry’s eyes, the entire series follows a sequence of events that Dumbledore, through Snape, carried out. Whether it were Snape directly, or Harry, or one of his friends, they were all pawns in Dumbledore’s plan. Harry’s friendship with Ron and Hermione arguably kept him alive. Without Hermione’s intellect or Ron’s strategic ability, Harry would have not been as successful.

In terms of a social/cultural context, the series is about good versus evil on civil war scale. While the movies depict it as a world war (in particular, references to World War II), the series is more of a civil war in England, because there is little mention of the international community joining in the fight in England. In the American Civil War, it was a battle between the North and South on the purposes of emancipation. The series follows good versus evil on similar basis. When Voldemort assumed he won, he demanded all those who were supporters of Harry to bow down to him and swear allegiance or die, which means everyone would become slaves to Voldemort. His Death Eaters did his biding and were punished for not obeying orders, much like slaves.

Blog Post 3: Final Thoughts on the Matter

I was sorry to see so many of those closest to Harry fall in the Battle of Hogwarts. It is ironic that George ends up with a hole in his ear from a Curse and that Fred ends up dying in the foray. Both were admirable and Fred made the most admirable sacrifice of all. Although, that is not so surprising since it was clear that the entire Weasley clan adopted Harry as another sibling/son anyway. I found it problematic that both Lupin and Tonks die. Now Harry, a young wizard who has just saved the world and must put his life back together, is virtually left to care for this young child as his god-father. Harry, who has no parenting experience whatsoever, is now Teddy’s only friend in this world (at least temporarily). The scene in which Remus rushes into Shell Cottage to alert all of those present to Teddy’s birth is poignant, but in a way foreshadows the importance that all of those characters will play in his eventual growing-up.

I was shocked to find out that Snape was really working for the Order of the Phoenix. His two-faced nature was very deceptive and he was a very well-written character. It was touching to know that Severus really did have an emotional plane and that he was very attached to a young Lily Potter. I think part of his hatred for Harry stemmed from the reality that he was James’ and Lily’s son and not his and Lily’s son. At that moment, I felt like his distaste for Harry was very misplaced. When he exposes those highly coveted memories of his youth and his love affair with Lily Evans, we learn that he had cared deeply for Harry as a debt to his unrequited love. However, his abilities to expose that care were, suffice it to say, somewhat impaired. I found that side of Snape very human and found it show that his intentions were always good, if at times shrouded in distrust and mystery. I also found this problematic that Snape held off those memories until the very last and that he and Harry could never form any sort of proper relationship. Perhaps Harry would have never hated Severus so much if he had known that he was not as unmoving or cruel as he initially believed.

The fact that Dumbledore once wanted to strive toward the “Greater Good” in the wizarding world was not surprising to me. Ambitious and talented people tend to strive towards ridiculous and unattainable goals. Harry was wrong to be so taken aback at Dumbledore’s early history. As youths, we all have lofty goals which might come at the expense of others (or Muggles in this case.) Harry eventually casts many and numerous Unforgiveable Curses, and yet crucifies Dumbledore for having some stupid ideas about a better world, with Muggles in their rightful place. How different are the two then, really? Harry also holds off many secrets from Ron and Hermione and instead prefers to keep them to himself, something also very similar to Dumbledore’s behavior. I lost no respect for Dumbledore and instead gained more respect for him because he shows a side to him that is more easily moved by local opinion and proves that he is not impervious to lustful wants. Dumbledore and Harry now become more obviously similar.

I found Harry to be a little more than self-righteous. He does not want Ron or Hermione’s help in searching out and destroying the Horcruxes at the very beginning of the Book 7, even though he desperately needs it. He had deluded himself into thinking that this entire war against the Darkness is entirely and wholly about him. And at the very end of Book 7, when handing himself over to Voldemort would stop the Blood Bath at Hogwarts, he instead chooses to continue the search for the Horcruxes. Harry becomes so easily blinded by Dumbledore’s instructions that he blocks out the destruction coming about because of him. Harry acts more immaturely than I think he does at any other part in the series. I was impressed when he decides to enter the Forbidden Forest, although it seems to be with much disdain and trepidation. Where has the brave youth of Book 2 gone and hidden away? The brave youth has become a selfish teenager who cannot extricate himself from the greater action and suffering of the plot.

J.K. Rowling has managed to insert her name amongst some of the best in the literary world with this series. I feel that it was as successful as it was because every reader, no matter education, ethnicity, nationality, or age, could relate to at least one character in the text. Harry is enduring the same growing pains that every seventeen year old young man must endure. His relationships with his friends are suffering, as each of them is attempting to find him or herself in the growing world. Even though the plot is set abroad, American students can certainly relate to going away to school for the first time and being thrown in a world which is much more exciting and confusing than the one from which they came. Hogwarts could be easily compared to UC in many ways: a mix of students from various backgrounds and with various upbringings and subsequent perspectives. All of the characters possess some qualities to which we can readers can attach.

Blog Post 3: Some Last Thoughts

I remember the first time I read the end of the series, particularly the last book, I closed the book and the first thing I thought was “Well, I need to go back, because I’ve missed something, or missed a lot of things.” The end of the series is so packed with information that it’s a little hard to keep track of the characters and the events they’re involved in. Once I re-read the end of the series and got it all figured out, I thought it was wonderful. I thought Rowling really tied up all the loose ends and pulled everything together. There were lots of moments that I found to be particularly problematic, the biggest being when Voldemort thought he had killed Harry, but Harry wasn’t really dead. I just didn’t think that Harry coming back to life would go over well with Voldemort, and even further, the fact that one of his followers (Narcissa) lied to him when she told him that Harry was dead even though she knew very well that he wasn’t. The most poignant moment to me was Dobby’s burial, because he’s such a loveable character, and even though he had jeopardized Harry’s multiple times in the past, we know that Harry really loved him and really regretted his death. My feelings toward Dumbledore and Snape both changed. I was kind of angry with Dumbledore by the end of the series for keeping so much information from Harry that could have made a much quicker job of destroying the horcruxes and Voldemort. I could tell throughout the book, too, that Harry was even a little frustrated with how little Dumbledore told him. My feelings towards Snape didn’t really change much, I had always thought that he would end up on the good side, he was just really bad at acting like it. I did think it was a bit creepy how obsessed Snape is with Lily. I hadn’t really thought that Snape was capable of having that much emotion towards someone. I liked Harry more as the book went on, I think that with the big responsibilities he was left with he became more mature and less of a stupid teenager, which made me respect him a little bit more. My feelings towards Ron didn’t change, but I hadn’t expected him to walk out on Harry and Hermione for his own good, which I thought was a bit selfish of him. I lost a bit of respect for Hermione during the book when she kept denying the existence of the Deathly Hallows. I would think that in a dire situation where you don’t have a lot of information to go off of, that you would try anything and everything to solve the problem, not just ignore big chunks of information you’ve received. I think that all of these characters changed in the way they did to kind of teach lessons about life. In the case of Dumbledore, the lesson is to always tell people what they need to know before it’s too late. I think Snape teaches the “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover” lesson. I think Harry changed because he showed that sometimes people have to become more mature earlier than anyone should ever have to, but to take it in stride. Hermione didn’t really change, but shows us that we shouldn’t overlook things, and Ron’s part of the story shows that you should never abandon your friends in a time of extreme need. I would place this series in a larger social/cultural context by saying that the series is all about good and evil. There will always be the good guys and the bad guys, as there always is in society, and that to overcome the evil, everyone must ban together, cooperate, and do what must be done to bring down the evil powers. Personally, I have learned a lot of life lessons from the series, and I’m completely guilty of looking for advice and solutions to my problems within the books and take the information in the books and apply it to real life. This is a series I will read over and over again.

Blog Post #3

How did you feel about the end of the series? What moments did you find particularly poignant, or problematic, and why? How did your feelings towards Dumbledore and Snape change? About Harry, Ron, and Hermione? Why did they change in this way?

In addition, now that you have finished the series, how would you place it in a larger social/cultural context?

Natalie Barker, Blog #2

From the first book in the series we see a fixation on death. Harry is a character who is formed by the murder of his parents. Voldemort, whose name in Latin literally means “flight from death” murders Harry’s parents, taking their lives in an attempt to save his own. We see of all the emotions that have fueled Voldemort’s dark ambition: lust for power, revenge, greed; the foremost of these is his fear of death. The irony is that in his desire to achieve immortality, he sets in motion the chain of events that leads to his eventual demise. Throughout the books we see Harry struggle to accept the deaths of his loved ones. He is, of course, angered by his their murder and is driven by desire to avenge their deaths. Gradually we see Him realize that it is his capacity to love and be loved that differentiates him from his enemies. He goes from someone driven by grief and vengeance to someone motivated by love and sacrifice. In the climax of the series we see Harry willingly lays down his life for his friends. In so doing, he is able to do what his antagonist could not; he defeats death, rising from the ashes like the phoenix for which the resistance is named. A clearly Biblical parallel is evident here in the words of Christ mentioned in some form in all four Gospels: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it” (Luke 9:24 NIV). I think that Harry can be viewed here as a Christ figure. He dies and is resurrected leading to the defeat of Voldemort and the salvation of his world. The inscription on his parent’s tombstone is a quote from I Corinthians 15:26: “the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” It is also noteworthy that his parents lived and were buried in King’s Cross, a possible allusion to Christ’s cross. We see throughout the series that, while Harry has lost people he loves; like his parents, Sirius, and Dumbledore, they still live on in Harry's mind. We see that the love they gave and have been given enables them to achieve a different kind of immortality than Voldemort could ever imagine. This is poignantly illustrated by the names of Harry’s children: James Sirius, Albus Severus, Lily Luna. The characters that die, live on in the hearts and memories of those whose lives they have touched.

Jaclyn Saylor: Prompt #2

Voldemort began as the stereotypical villain, a monstrous entity that was out for power and to destroy the young, heroic protagonist. This began to change during the second book, when the reader learns a little about the life of Tom Riddle, the person that Voldemort was in his youth. It changes even more during the sixth book, in which we have many more in depth glances into Tom Riddle’s life. It allows us to view Voldemort, the main antagonist, in a more sympathetic and realistic light – he became such a monstrous being due to his traumatic past that is quite similar to Harry’s.

Both Riddle and Potter lived a life without their parents. The primary difference lies in the love that the children did or did not receive. Potter was saved by the love of his mother, who sacrificed her own life for his. Riddle, however, did not have any sort of experience. His very existence came from an illicit, forced love affair of Merope, a pureblood, and Tom Riddle Sr., a muggle, brought about with the help of a love potion. Riddle never had his father in his life, unlike Harry, and his mother died as soon as he was born, with no love or connection shared between the two. The lack of love led to Tom Riddle despising his muggle father, who made him ashamed of who he was.

Both Riddle and Potter were wizards with no knowledge of the wizarding world, but the way their powers manifested highlights the differences within them. Potter’s childish wizarding powers would come about to protect himself, whereas Riddle’s powers were able to be honed in and used to hurt those around him. Thus, the lack of love in Tom Riddle’s life caused him to live with hatred for those around him, which nurtured his budding sociopathy.

Draco’s Growing Pains

Draco Malfoy was first introduced to Harry in Madame Malkin’s robe shop as a young, stuck up and slightly rude boy. Harry didn’t think much of him at first but as his character developed further he said and did things that only seemed to get worse in each series until he continuously tries to kill Dumbledore in the Half Blood Prince. But deeper than Malfoy practically becoming a killer, he struggles with his “darkness.” His father being a Death Eater cannot leave Voldemort’s side or cross him in anyway. His mother being related to Bellatrix and married to a Death Eater brings her into the “dark” world. Malfoy is surrounded by evil and unfortunately that’s all he has ever known. He was raised to believe that his pureblood meant more in Wizarding society, he was raised to believe that the Dark Lord should be in power, so can the audience really blame him for calling his peers Mudbloods? He has been clearly pressured into this lifestyle and the audience is shown how much pressure he is under in the Half Blood Prince when he struggles to kill Dumbledore to please his family and the Dark Lord. Him trying to kill Dumbledore was the equivalent of students trying to get straight A’s. He doesn’t feel strong enough and he is scared to be in that position of responsibility. His health even begins to suffer because of how distraught he is over his position. It is shown that he doesn’t want to be a killer and couldn’t kill Dumbledore even with an advantage. His heart wouldn’t let him because he knew it was wrong and that Dumbledore was a good man. Harry suspects Draco of so much throughout the series and yes, he is guilty of a lot. But most of his evil can be traced back to his roots. Sure, it appears that Draco is all for a darkness takeover, but is he really??

Blog Post #2

As the series progresses there are significant changes to many of the characters. One character in particular is Neville Longbottom. Neville is first introduced as a clumsy forgetful boy who is not very talented in magic. He is constantly made fun of and has very little self-confidence. We learn that he has a lot of pressure put on to him by his family who expects him to live up to his parents’ legacy of being great Aurors. We see him though out the series constantly struggling with magic but is gifted in the subject of herbology. While we do not find out much about him in the first three books we see in Goblet of Fire what has happened to his parents and we begin to learn the similarities of Harry and Neville. During the fifth book we then realize that Neville could have just as well been in Harry’s shoes. If Voldemort had chosen to attack the Longbottoms he would have made Neville his equal. But his change in character does not just come from learning from his past. He begins to improve his magic though the DA. As the series continues he shows tremendous maturity and talent when he fights along with other members of the DA in the ministry of magic against the Death Eaters. This being a turning point for Neville he gains confidence and really begins to show turn into a leader. In The Deathly Hallows we find out that he has been co-leading the DA against the new Death Eater teachers while Harry, Ron and Hermione are away from Hogwarts looking for the Horcruxes. Finally Neville become a hero in this coming of age story when he is the one to destroy the final Horcrux by severing the head of the snake Nargini. He has finally been made a hero and does live up to his family name that his grandmother so desparatly hoped for.

Blog Prompt #2 Trust and Fear; Love and Hate – the juxtaposition of Voldemort and Dumbledore

Throughout the series we have seen the development of Lord Voldemort and Albus Dumbledore as the leaders of two opposing factions, the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix. Their positions and their characters are reflected in the values they cultivate in their followers as well as the reasons their opponents despise them. For both Dumbledore and Voldemort the cultivation of trust and fear are evident from the beginning of the series while the manifestation of love and hate develop later. In a conversation with McGonagall in Chapter 1 of the Sorcerer’s Stone both the issue of Dumbledore’s trust as well as Voldemort’s fear is fleshed out as Dumbledore would trust Hagrid with his life and McGonagall notes that Voldemort is afraid of Dumbledore. The key concept here is the basis of Voldemort’s and Dumbledore’s relationships; Voldemort’s are based upon fear while Dumbldore’s are based upon trust. Voldemort cultivated this fear, essentially making everyone unable to speak it. However, in the Sorcerer’s Stone Dumbledore reassures harry to call Voldemort as such because “fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself,” (pg. 298).This is evidenced again when Voldemort returns to power in the Goblet of Fire as he notes Wormtail returned to him out of fear not loyalty, trust, or concern.

Likewise, the slower development of love and hate reflect the guidance of Dumbledore in building Harry’s nature and morality. In discussing with Harry the prophecy in the Half-Blood Prince Dumbledore notes the importance of the phrase “power the Dark Lord knows not,” referencing the capacity for love Harry has which has protected and will allow him to defeat Voldemort (pg. 509). We see the evidence of Voldemort’s hatred beginning with the hatred of his Muggle father, Tom Riddle, Sr. before expanding to include the hatred of Muggles in general, Mugbloods, and blood traitors.

Perhaps the biggest and most difficult example of trust and love that Dumbledore has, is his unquestionable trust of Severus Snape. It is this unwavering and steadfast trust even in the face of death that shakes and shapes this series. In the Half-Blood Prince, Dumbledore, in response to Harry about Snape’s loyalty to Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix, states, “I am sure. I trust Severus Snape completely.” (pg. 549) Knowing Snape’s actions as well as his repeated contempt (and removal of house points) for Harry, it is understandable how Harry cannot comprehend why Dumbledore trusts Snape and knowing what we do at the end of book 6 it is hard to question Harry’s hatred and continued mistrust of Snape. ’s hatred and continued mistrust of Snape. Only the last book will hold the answer to whether or not Dumbledore’s faith and trust are sound as Lupin says, “It comes down to whether or not you trust Dumbledoré judgment. I do; therefore I trust Severus.”

Draco Malfoy

In the first few books Malfoy is shown as a flat character. He's Harry's enemy because he hates mudbloods and picks on him and his friends. Malfoy acts as the upper class, snooty wizard who comes off as no more than an annoying jerk with a mean streak. He represents the wizards (Lucius Malfoy) who think they are better than others and the wizarding law because they are rich purebloods. It is decided by readers and Harry that Draco is a bad guy and evil to the core when really he's mostly a product of his environment. It's learned in The Goblet of Fire that Draco's family truly is part of the dark side as Lucius is revealed to be a death eater. Instead of Draco being a jerk with a mean streak, he's shown as being in cahoots with Voldemort and this provides greater depth to his character and a darker side. However, this new side of Draco as being an evil friend and servant to Voldemort is examined further in The Half Blood Prince. Draco is no longer displayed as a deeply evil, one faced character, but he is both afraid of what he has been asked to do by Voldemort and begins to question it. There is a sympathy drawn from the reader at the moment when Draco fights Harry in book six because he fights more from fear than hatred or vindictiveness. He has terrible and important choices to make in this book and finds neither appealing. He could murder Dumbledore or lose the love and respect of his father in which he's been pining after the entire series. This is shown in book two when Lucius jibes that a mudblood is top of the class instead of him and Draco is hurt by the comment. His decision to join the Voldemort is more an attempt to gain his father's love and acceptance rather than being a purely evil guy. This is shown when he is unable to kill Dumbledore because consciously he knows this is or wrong and or possibly he is to scared and weak.
The new dimensions to Draco's character work on the theme that not everyone is characterized so black and white and who may seem evil may not be. It also plays on the importance of fatherhood in the novel and what it means to characters like Harry and Draco and how the two understand and assess it. Would you murder for your father's sake? Harry's father died for his son, would Lucius do the same? At the end of the day, Draco and Harry are not their father's and have different choices that could both please and upset them. This struggle within Draco between loving his father and doing what he feels is ok within himself allows readers to see a new side that isn't just evil. It shows a more loving side that has a conscious.

Blog Post #2 Ginny and Harry

One of the main themes of the Harry Potter novels is the coming of age story that is within the series. Throughout the novels we get to watch the characters grow up from the age of 11 to roughly 17 or 18. The relationship between Harry and Ginny is a good example of this, and well as each of them individually. When we first meet Ginny she is an extremely quiet and shy 10 year old girl. She immediately has a crush on Harry, but she can’t talk to him and avoids him most of the time. Harry doesn’t do anything about this but just pretty much ignores it at first. As the books go on they become good friends and Ginny loses her awkwardness as she gets older and explores other relationships. When she and Harry start dating in the sixth book we begin to see both of them a little differently. We realize they are older now and are capable of having a mature relationship.

Ginny and Harry’s relationship changing over the course of the books made me, as a reader, realize that these two were not the same characters that we met in the first book. They have grown and matured and, even though they were still pretty young the reader realizes that they can handle this immense responsibility that has been handed to them. In the earlier books, when Harry as a young boy, defeated Voldemort and many other terrors I thought he was pretty lucky. But once they are older it becomes skill and dedication rather than luck. And that is also reflected in the characters’ dedication to each other.

Even though Ginny is younger than Harry she pushes him to do what is right. In many ways she was more responsible and level headed than he ever was. Without his growing and changing relationship with Ginny, Harry might now have had the courage he did by the end of the series. As he fights he thinks about all his friends, the family he has lost, and he thinks a lot about Ginny. He realizes that he needs to do this for not only himself, but for all of them.

Blog Post 2. Coming of age

A major theme in the Harry Potter series is coming of age. The main character we see this in is Harry Potter. At such a young age, Harry went from living with muggles to being in a completely different world at Hogwarts. You can see a major change in the way he acted with the Dursleys before he found out about the wizarding world and after he spent some time at Hogwarts. He no longer lived an isolated life. He had friends and was able to go out and explore. Although Harry had help from Hagrid when he was getting ready to attend his first year at the new school, he also had to figure out a lot on his own and in some ways, become an adult. He had dealt with a lot more trauma than most kids his age have had to deal with which made him develop throughout the books.

Another character that has shown coming of age is Neville. In the beginning of the series, Neville is very shy and often makes mistakes in class, seeming to not be as good as all the other students. He is always being put down by Professor Snape. Snape even told Professor Lupin not to trust him with anything important in his class. Then there are times when he succeeds. In the third book, Neville is able to destroy the boggart after Lupin told him to picture Snape in his grandmothers clothes. Throughout the books, he grows to where he is able to speak up when he needs to. A time that stands out for me is when he blocked the portrait hole and was willing to fight Ron, Hermione, and Harry to stop them from sneaking out.

Blog Post #2 Snape

I think at the start of the Harry Potter series I personally viewed Professor Snape as a threat and someone who was going to bring Harry down. I think that he is an important character and someone who is misunderstood at first. He is someone who is built up as a villain and its not until you end the series where you see who he really is. You start to see that the trauma that Snape has been through when he helps Harry try and block his memories from Voldemort, and you see how Harry’s dad use to bully Snape around when they attended Hogwarts. In the Half Blood Prince, Snape starts off on a bad note when he is visited by Bellatrix and Mrs. Malfoy and makes Snape take the unbreakable vow to help protect Draco in his task that Voldemort has asked him to carry out which ultimately leads to Snape killing Dumbledore, and begins a very important relationship with Harry. I think that Harry and Snape’s relationship throughout this series is very important part of this series because Harry really does learn from Snape even if he doesn’t realize it and if Snape thinks he has never taught Harry anything. In the Half Blood Prince, Harry uses his book to make a lot of potions, as well as a lot of unknown hex and jinx that were written in this copy of his book, that Snape later reveals was his. There are a lot of similarities between these too, almost as much as Harry has with Lord Voldemort. We don’t see Snape’s loyalty to Harry until the last book when Nagini bite’s Snape leading to his death and Snape releasing his memoires for Harry to see. I think this is the most important part of Harry and Snape’s relationship because Harry gets to see Snapes relationship with his mom, and that Snape befriended her during their years at Hogwarts, as well as the fact he was originally placed in Gryffindor with his parents. Harry sees how in love Snape was with Lilly and went to Dumbledore to try and protect his parents from Voldemort even admitting that he was in love with Harry’s mom Lilly. You see that Snape really did try and protect the Potters and did not have bad intentions, and even when it came to killing Dumbledore it was for his own good, because he was cursed and that would eventually had killed him. Harry and Snape’s relationship is a rocky one and I think that Snape was probably the most underestimated character in this series because he is looked at like the bad guy when really he seemed to turn out a kind of hero and mentor to Harry.

Blog Post # 2: Character Development

Blog prompt # 2: Harry and Ron

Understanding Harry’s development is essential to understanding the themes of the Harry Potter series. The Series’ central focus is on his coming of age and development of a very profound empathetic nature. We can see this development played out most distinctively through Harry’s development of friendship with Ron. Ron’s background of coming from a very large wizarding family is the exact contrast of Harry. For Harry, Ron is what Harry comes to envy once he learns all about the wizarding world (a great deal of which is from Ron directly). Harry grew up without parents, and the only thing that is close to a sibling in Dudley can hardly take the place of a proper brother. When Harry and Ron first meet, their relationship is completely innocent. At a time in life for Harry when the entire wizarding world is thrust upon him and his fame is introduced to him, Ron gives Harry a sense of normality, and we see their bond begin to grow. We see it grow to the point of seriously harmful conflict in the Goblet of Fire when Ron and Harry are at odds because Harry’s name came out of the cup. Their ability to eventually forgive, forget, and laugh the situation off shows us a great deal about both their comings of age.

From the first time Harry steps in front of the mirror of Erised we see his empathetic nature come to fruition. His unconditional support of “the right thing to do” is quite admirable. We see this in times such as in the Goblet of Fire when Harry saves Fleur’s sister from the lake as well as Ron. He later curses himself realizing that he did not have to do it because her life was not really in danger, but this is also a reflection of his coming of age, and realizing that he does hold these values, and they can sometimes get him into trouble. One of the explicit examples of Harry’s empathy to me is his relationship with Hagrid. Even though it is obvious that Hagrid is not always the brightest of characters or might do things a little unorthodox, Harry will always support him, and offer him any kind of positive feeling because of Hagrid’s impact on his own life.

There is a very noticeable change in attitude when the order of the phoenix is introduced to Harry and Ron. We begin to see the development of ties to the past and previous generation. This gets the characters involved with the adults of the series in pursuing the same goal. There is an interesting moment between Harry, Ron, and Hermione when Harry first arrives at number 12 Grimmauld Place where Harry discovers that information has been being withheld from him. This is an example of Ron’s coming of age as the begin to understand the importance of knowing who to trust, and realizing that the world is not all fun and games, especially with the return of Voldemort.

Through the development of certain characters, we see the themes of the novel played out, especially with Harry, and his development of a major friendship with Ron. Having read the series in its entirety it is safe to say that we will certainly see the strength of the bond between Harry and Ron tested before the end, and at that time, the empathetic nature of Harry as he has come of age, and all events of his past will be reflected on his decisions at that time.

Blog Post #2 Response Albus Dumbledore and Death

Looking back at the Harry Potter books it's easy to see how the teenage characters changed physically, and matured mentally, and how the adults changed in reaction to the politics, and losing or regaining influence, and loved ones, in the war. However one character I never thought would change to great extents was Professor Albus Dumbledore. He starts out as a wise old man; he's a celebrity who appears on the collectible pictures in the chocolate frogs. He’s a sort of madman who even the dark lord himself won’t confront. He doesn’t seek out conflicts or get involved in most affairs. He is distant from most other characters and seems to not have that many close attachments to others, remaining calm in every situation. He serves in most of the books as a sort of narrator who simply appears at the very end to explain how he knew about and planned for everything and simply allowed the students to learn things as they went along. But as the books continue and the danger increases Dumbledore starts to question himself and seems to lack his all knowing quality. He becomes attached to Harry and starts to make mistakes and admit that he has made them. He starts explaining less and less to the students, and starts to investigate and explore like only the students had previously. He loses his once god-like status as he gets fooled, injuried, and misled. Dumbledore becomes a sorcerer with an apprentice who he is desperate to pass along his all knowing and all powerful nature to before he meets his demise. He had once been the place where the buck stopped, but as the books continue he lets more and more go on under his nose. The series major theme of death seems most explored in Dumbledore’s death then any others. It seems to affect everyone. He had been there at the very beginning, and in life had served as the protector of Hogwarts, Harry, and countless other Wizzards and Muggles. The Ministers of Magic had sought him out for advice. But Alas, he had to die so that Harry could complete his mission and stand on his own to feet. Without returning he revealed how those we love can leave behind a legacy and a mission instilled in others (his army) that will help them overcome death without the use of dark magic.

Looney Lovegood or Latent Heroine?

Luna Lovegood really suffers throughout the first five books of the series. She is never taken seriously and is instead grouped into the same mold as her father, who is similarly mocked in the adult wizarding world. Hermione, a true lover of literature and one with great respect for academia, disregards the Quibbler as nonsense and nothing compared to the honest and good Daily Prophet, for what that’s worth. Even she, who is probably the least judgmental of all the characters, does not believe Luna and instead refers to her as “Looney Luna Lovegood.” Harry is easily sucked into this mentality of disbelieving Luna and disdains the thought that the two of them might have anything in common. When Luna mentions what thestrals are and confirms their existence, Harry is thoroughly put-off by this shared experience.
However, Luna begins to gain more general respect beginning with her agreement that Lord Voldemort had returned. She is one of the first Hogwarts students outside of the Weasley family and Hermione to believe Harry’s account of the grave-yard scene and take at face value Cedric Diggory’s death. She is ready and excited to join Dumbledore’s Army and help in any way possible to fight the new rules established by Dolores Umbridge. Though depicted as an airy, flighty sort of girl, Luna puts all of her efforts in learning defensive spells from Harry. She genuinely trusts Harry and seems to know his heart better than he does at times. Though Hermione is his best female friend, Luna possesses a certain air about her that sometimes allows her to better access and temper his feelings without being condescending or judgmental. The fact that Luna lost her mother tragically joins the two in an odd sort of friendship. Luna plays a pivotal role in the battle against the Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries, right alongside Harry, Ron, and Hermione (and Neville) in the fifth book. She is no longer the punch-line of their jokes but has joined their circle of friends.
The way in which Luna’s relationship both to and with Harry and his friends underscores the theme of friendship and personal stigma which Rowling explores in the series. Initially, Luna is treated very unfairly and Harry lets public perception cloud his own image of Luna. However, once he realizes that her façade is true to her personality, an idea which does not hold true for most other characters in the series, he realizes how much of an asset she really is. Luna’s plight as the girl no one likes is not an uncommon one and reflects an ugly aspect of both teenage life and growing up. I personally struggled to take Luna seriously until I noticed subtle changes in her character which exposed a side to her that is otherwise unexpected.

Blog Post #2-Harry Potter

To nobody’s surprise, it can be said that Harry Potter is a character that has been developing throughout the series. Having essentially grown up with Harry as each new book was released, and looking back at the end, I can see where a major theme in the series is coming of age. I never would have thought much about coming of age being a main theme in the series at the beginning, when I thought the theme would really just be good vs evil. Harry seems to have his most prominent developmental points as a character at age markers throughout the series. The very first being when the Hogwarts letters begin to arrive at Privet Drive. The first few chapters of the series we saw Harry essentially as a slave to the Dursley family, and he may also have been a bit passive in that he just did what any Dursley told him to do and did not argue it. However, as the letters from Hogwarts arrive, Harry changes to be determined to get his hands on a letter to find out what it is by trying to sneak downstairs in the night to grab one or to evade the hands of his aunt and uncle to get one when they are shooting through the house. Once Harry is retrieved by Hagrid and is re-introduced into the wizarding world, Harry had to develop to become responsible for his behavior, his money, and his academics. Upon arriving at Hogwarts and beginning classes, Harry develops even more to change from a scrawny, picked on boy that he was on Privet Drive, to a boy who has friends, a social life, and is in a place where people are not ashamed of him. Just through his first year at Hogwarts, he develops to become very brave, relatively intelligent, and maybe even a little sassy. As the years go on and Harry gets older, he develops to be able to face more and more difficult things, and in these situations he has to use his intelligence to wiggle out of increasingly complex problems. Harry developed in the series the most, I think, when at the end of the 5^th book, when Dumbledore reveals to Harry all of the information Harry needs to know about his past and about Voldemort. At this point, I think that Harry has developed from being a boy to being a man and having to understand such complex ideas and situations that someone at the age of 15 wouldn’t normally have to. Dumbledore thought that at this point, Harry was old enough to be responsible for helping solve the problem and old enough to understand what happened that created the situations he has been placed in. We can see from Harry’s character in the series that there is an appropriate age for everything, and as humans we must take responsibility for certain events, ideas, and situations at certain ages. With the coming of age comes responsibility and understanding, as Harry very much found out throughout the series.

Nevil Gets Sexy

As the series progresses, the readers get to watch the characters become more complex and (eventually) more grown up. Neville Longbottom is certainly one of the characters whom grows the most. When he is first introduced in the books, he is a slow and forgetful child with hardly any friends. By the fourth book it is revealed that he is partially an orphan because his parents are in the wizarding hospital because of tourture from Voldemort’s last reign. By the fifth book Neville has developed an aptitude for herbology and an odd group of friends. Events in the book (such as Cedric’s death in the fourt book, Umbridge in the fifth, and Dumbledor’s death in the sixth) ensure that the students come together and form tight bonds.

In the seventh book, Rowling reveals how much Neville has developed throughout the series. Harry gives Neville the important task of destroying the final horcrux if Harry were to die. When the crowd at Hogwarts believes Harry has been killed, Neville not only fights the curse laid by Voldemort but he musters up the courage to find the sword of Gryffindor and slaughter the final horcrux- Nagini. This is the point when the readers can see just how much Neville has developed. In the first book he had been a quiet boy who had to muster up the courage to stand against his peers. By the seventh book Neville stands up against the darkest wizard to exist. It could be said that his actions were to gain revenge for his parents and for the presumed death of a friend. After years he gains some closure for the state of his parents and he also helped to “save the world.” By the end of the series, Neville is no longer the shy and slow boy whom is easily scared by the simplest of things. He is an herbology at Hogwarts and has shown his true colors as a Gryffindor.

Neville Longbottom

The character that I will be looking at is Neville. When we first meet Neville, he is a shy, unconfident child who lost his toad in Sorcerer’s Stone. As the series progresses, we start to see small acts of bravery: the first time being Neville standing up against Harry, Ron and Hermione in the Sorcerer’s Stone telling them not to get Gryffindor in trouble again. By the end of Half-Blood Prince, we see Neville in a lieutenant role, leading members of the DA against the Death Eater attack within Hogwarts while Harry was with Dumbledore. Neville’s character is much like Harry. While Neville isn’t really an orphan, it may be easier for Harry to be an orphan to not know his parents, rather than having to visit living parents who are only shells of who they once were. Neville’s parents were tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange, so Neville’s bravery doesn’t begin to really show itself until Neville can come to terms with his parents’ injuries which we see in Order of the Phoenix when Harry meets Neville at St. Mungo’s. Another problem for Neville is his shyness which really hinders his ability to stand up for himself and succeed. Some of this is due to his grandmother’s unreasonably high expectations for him because of the comparisons to his parents. His parents were extremely talented witches and wizards so it was a disappointment for Neville’s grandmother to have to raise a clumsy grandson. This shyness affects Neville in terrible ways, especially in Snape’s potions classes where Snape chooses to unfairly pick on Neville which causes him to perform much more poorly. However, when given the chance, Neville clearly belongs in Gryffindor because he is brave; he just takes a majority of the series to develop that bravery and understand just how talented he really is.

Voldemort...born evil?

Over the course of the Harry Potter series thus far, we have seen significant development of the character Voldemort. We learn about Voldemort’s mother, Merope, a witch and muggle father, Tom Riddle. Merope is abandoned by Tom Riddle, once she stopped bewitching him to be in love with her, and then she has no will to live. We see a glimmer of empathy from Harry when he asks, “She wouldn’t even stay alive for her own son?” after he learns about Voldemort’s parents in the pensive with Dumbledore.

It is pretty clear from the beginning that Tom Riddle, (Voldemort) has evil tendancies.He steals from children in the orphanage and uses his magic to torture other kids. Even Dumbledore when he visits Tom Riddle to tell him about Hogwarts, recognizes some unusual and almost frightening tendencies in Riddle.

Learning more about Voldemort’s past makes him less scary in some sense. His hunger and lust for power, and his tendency to work alone and to depend on no one is a weakness. When reading, I can understand Harry’s empathy for him because he has no one. Voldemort is so power hungry that he has even gone to the lengths of dividing his soul into seven parts. This very action speaks volumes about his disregard for the sacredness of the soul and for his complete lack of conscience or fear of evil.

Voldemort did not have a great childhood, similarly to Harry, however the way that Harry deals with adversity, his humility, and ability to empathize with others are his strengths. I would even say that Harry had an even worse childhood than Voldemort, and Voldemort even shows evil tendancies before he knows of his family’s history so can we blame Voldemort’s character on his experiences?

On one hand, Rowling seems to show through character’s like Snape, that people are often the way that they are because of things they have experienced in their past. According to Snape’s memories in the pensive, he did not have such a great childhood either. I think that even Dudley Dursley could have turned out differently had he not had such a smothering, enabling childhood, because he shows some promise when he says goodbye to Harry in the beginning of the Deathly Hallows.

Voldemort’s character compared to Harry’s suggests that there are other factors that go into a person’s character since one turned out so evil, and the other remained good.

Blog#2: Ginny & Neville

Two characters that are not necessarily “main” characters come to my mind when I think of characters whose “Coming of Age” broadened my interpretation of the Harry Potter series. Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom both enhanced my interpretations of the storyline. Both Ginny and Neville shed light onto what it’s like for a normal kid growing up during those tumultuous times. Obviously Harry, Ron, and Hermione are tainted; they know absolutely everything. Ginny and Neville are exceptionally ordinary students at Hogwarts, and their world was drastically changed.

We don’t get a lot of background information on Ginny, but we do know the basics: she grew up amongst rowdy brothers and was often overshadowed, but at the same time expected to stand out as much. Ginny went from a shy little girl who would cower in the presence of Harry, to an outspoken girl whose presence is known by everyone. Through her years at Hogwarts, she created a name for herself, and not just by being part of the Chamber of Secrets. I think it is in the beginning of the 6^th book where this transformation really stands out. Ginny is dating frequently and has reached the age where she is equal friends with Harry, Ron, Hermione and the gang. She can hold her own. She was part of the debacles at the Ministry and has been seized by Lord Voldemort before in her time. To Ginny, it was a time to step up. The Wizarding World isn’t as fun and games as we start the series out thinking. Even through book 4, the Lord Voldemort thing is an issue and puts an ominous glow about things, but it is still thoroughly enjoyable being a student at Hogwarts and learning witchcraft.

Neville starts out the series as a shy, awkward boy with no hugely promising talent of wizardry. He continues on with the shy and awkward, but sheds his hermit shell when it’s time to step up to what’s important to him. Throughout the series, we are shown random brave moments where Neville takes a stand for what he believes in, no matter what the consequences might be. Whether it’s stopping Harry and Ron from sneaking out of the portrait hole, or fighting a man’s fight at the Ministry, Neville came a long way from book 1. Ginny and Neville open up the view of a more ordinary wizard’s life to help the readers understand the magnitude of the situation Voldemort has placed upon the Wizarding world. Their points of view prove helpful to a reader and feed into Rowlings “magic realism”. She is very good at working in the “realistic” aspects of Wizardry, which is why readers are so hooked on this series. Coming of age journeys such as Neville and Ginny’s help readers understand what it would be like if they were part of the world, which is no doubt what most readers ponder.

Harry VS. Tom Riddle

As discussed last week in class, Tom Riddle and Potter both had experienced traumatic beginnings. Early in each of their lives, both parents were gone and both were raised in environments where they felt unloved and a nuisance. Rowling has many themes throughout the Harry Potter series but I feel that the most prevalent theme is the jealousy and pure hatred between Harry Potter and Voldamort. This theme drives the series and the twisted plots intertwine to reveal the true beginnings of the desire to kill Harry Potter. Tom Riddle was born of a muggle and ironically he is “racist” against such individuals. Having his father abandon him and his mother laying down her own life was the start of young Riddles life. As we discover later within the series, Toms mother did not die for him but died from a broken heart with the abandonment from Tom Sr. Having powers in which he himself could not understand, Tom was raised within an orphanage and was distant from the other children. He only found comfort once he reached Hogwarts. Harry was also without his parents at a young age. Also born a muggle, Harry’s mother and Father were both killed by Voldamort. Raised within a household where he was treated without dignity or human respect, Harry too felt alone and unloved. Like Tom, Harry felt more at home at Hogwarts than he ever did at the Dursleys. Volamorts personal attack upon Harry’s parent was, I believe of pure jealousy. Being born a muggle is looked down upon and comes with disgust and impurity. Voldamort saw how must the Potters loved their muggle son and was truly enraged. Why should a muggle have a better life than himself? He even gave Lilly Potter a chance to live by stepping aside and letting him destroy the baby Harry. When she refused, Voldamort was mortified. How could someone love something to the extent that they would rather die than live without? Even worse, why hadn’t he had this kind of love from his mother? Filled with rage and jealousy, Voldamort killed Lilly and attempted to do the same to Harry. I believe the only thing that saved Harry that night was the immense love shown by Harry’s mother and the lack of love Tom Riddle’s mother had shown him. Love is one of the major themes within the series, how Dumbledore loves Harry, Harry loves Black, Hermione and Ron’s puppy love! Love is one of the strongest emotions an individual can posses. You always hear of people doing crazy and irrational things in the name of love. The directly opposite emotion of love is hatred, another major theme within the series. Although Harry goes through “false hatred,” he does display this emotion to various characters, Sirius Black, Draco, even Hermione and Ron (under false pretences mind you). Revealing information and looks into past events has changed Harry’s perception of the characters within the series. Although he does go back and forth with his love and hatred toward people introduced in his life, this is a major theme throughout the book.