Surprised!

When I first read the books, I didn’t foresee the ending at all. I was totally thrown by every twist and turn in the series. For someone, like me, who reads but doesn’t overanalyze books, I think J.K. Rowling did an excellent job of keeping the suspense. The part about Harry being a horcrux was a shock to me. I knew there was a connection between Harry and Voldemort, but I didn’t realize it was as deep as that. Once I found out he was, it definitely made sense though and I could see all the connections from book one all the way to the end. I had to keep rereading the part about the Elder wand. I couldn’t understand how Voldemort couldn’t be the master of the wand and how his spell backfired on himself. I am happy that Harry essentially out witted Voldemort, instead of having to kill him.

I think Snape surprised me the most. I really didn’t like him at all throughout the series, but at the end, I could really appreciate all the sacrifices he made just to save the son of the love of his life. I feel like he was almost the true hero of the entire story. I don’t mean to dismiss what Harry does. Harry’s acceptance of death at the end is somewhat similar to Snape’s. Snape has to know he is going to die at the end, so he has accepted death. By the end of the series, I ended up liking Snape, though it is really hard for me to admit it!

Towards the end, however, I started to dislike Dumbledore. Seeing all the webs he weaved and all the people he put into danger made me not like him. I know that without him, Voldemort probably wouldn’t have been defeated, but I feel like there had to be a better way for him to coach Harry or he should have at least offered more information. This is all being said considering he was one of my favorite characters in the beginning. I felt like as long as he was there, nothing could happen, exactly the way Harry probably felt. I was sad when he died, but after reading book 7, I realized how much information he left out.

I guess I just see the entire series as a big war, which is what it describes itself as. It is a war where a dictator rises up and somebody else in the world has to step up and take them down. That is the best I can do to relate it to the “real world” because, for me, the world of Harry Potter is so special and magical that I don’t want to relate it to our world’s problems or issues. (I know that really doesn’t answer that question, but I just can’t bring myself to think about it too much because it will ruin the books for me!)

Blog Post #3

I had previously read the first four novels of the series. I stopped reading them because I was about twenty by then, and they did not catch my interest. I always hoped to finish the rest of the series just to say I had read them, but my time was spent writing papers and reading required materials for my classes. I took this class with the goal of finishing the series. Now that I've finished the series, I may just be a little obsessed (This is an understatement). I am so happy to have finally read the fifth, sixth and seventh books because they really do dramatically differ from the first half of the series. I really enjoyed the twist of the tone in The Order of the Phoenix. The tone of the books mature with Harry as he comes closer and closer to his final meeting with Voldemort.

I also really enjoyed how the characters developed in the span of seven books. In the first half, Dumbledore seemed eccentric but powerful and loving. Later my warm feelings for him changed, just as Harry's changed, when I found out about his past from characters such as Aberforth. Dumbledore really became a round character during the seventh book after his death--we learned about his flaws and his priorities.

Although I like Dumbledore's development, Snape actually became my favorite character because of his complexity. In the first part of my final, I wrote about sacrificial love and how Snape became intertwined with the major theme of the series. For me, the ambiguity of his loyalty is what kept me reading. He really was the "spinner" of the web.

Rowling is absolutely ingenious for the ending of the series. I was nervous that I wouldn't be impressed, but the complexity of the finale has kept me thinking about it for about a week now. The intricacy of the Elder Wand and its master confused me, but after reading the final chapters over and over, I was very much impressed.

I look forward to watching the movies now that I've completed the series. I might even enroll at Hogwarts in the fall.

Blog Post #3, The End of Something Great

This wasn’t my first time reading the series. Actually, it wasn’t even my second time. I’ve read this series multiple times; though this was the first time doing it for an academic setting. I’ve always loved Harry Potter. I would try to recall my reactions from when I first finished the series, but those reactions get jumbled with my more recent reactions. In some ways the ending is bittersweet because of it being the end of an amazing series. I have so much respect for Rowling as an author though. She constructed an amazing series. From book to book we have great plotlines, complex characters, and so much going on that reading them is always interesting. She continues to surprise us about the characters even in the last book. Though I knew she would be killing off a lot of characters in the final novel, there was no way she couldn’t, I was still very upset about some of the characters she chose to kill. It only makes sense, since she’s such a good author that I became very attached to a lot of characters. I was particularly heartbroken about Lupin, Tonks, Dobby, and Fred. She made me cry when Sirius died. She made me cry when Dumbledore died. Then she kills off even more characters I like and I just sob. It’s really quite sad. She does such an excellent job of fleshing out these characters and making them so real that I get attached even though I know they’re fictional. The whole seventh book just tugs at your heartstrings as well as puts you on edge with the stress of the plot, particularly when we know Voldemort has discovered Harry’s knowledge of the Horcruxes and is on his way to Hogwarts after checking each one.

I love that we see more of the side characters develop as well. The whole DA, the resistance at Hogwarts, Neville becoming more of a leader and then his heroic moment when he kills Nagini with the sword, Dobby saving the group from the Malfoy manor, Ginny stubbornly staying to join the fight, Mrs. Weasley fighting against Bellatrix, etc. There are so many great moments with characters other than Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Rowling created such a well-rounded world and cast of characters that we see these other people grow and develop in the series. I love that so many of them get awesome moments in the final book and the final fight. We see everything come together for an epic resolution.

I wasn’t extremely surprised by Dumbledore or by Snape. Even in my first reading I remember reading it and accepting it. I knew she would have something up her sleeve, since she had written in a number of surprises in the previous books. Part of me had always held out hope for Snape to be good. I just didn’t want to believe he was entirely evil and of course it turned out he wasn’t. He’s a brilliantly complex character. The one thing I remember that surprised me about Snape wasn’t him being good, it was his love and devotion for Lily. I knew they were friends and that they knew each other while at Hogwarts, but Rowling extended the connection between the two all the way back to when they were kids. That changes Snape and lets us see more of his motivation for his actions. It also does show a real human side of him. Just like with Riddle and Dumbledore, the background of a person is needed to understand just who they are and why they made the decisions they did. By showing us more of Snape’s past, we’re able to better understand him and what he went through. In the end he made his decisions because of love and loyalty.

Dumbledore always pulled the strings throughout the series, manipulating those around him. He would do it for the greater good of course, but he was the master puppeteer. I think that’s why I wasn’t surprised not only about the tasks he left for the trio, but also that he shows up in the end to talk to Harry when Harry is struck down by Voldemort. Even though Dumbledore was dead physically there was that small part of me that knew he couldn’t be gone completely. He was too important of a figure and too much a part of what was happening to not come back in some way. I wasn’t exactly sure how Rowling would bring him back, but I did have the sneaking suspicion he would show up again in some way.

I definitely think this is a series that teaches a lot and is so much more than just a child’s story or a fantasy series. Rowling confronts a lot of issues such as death, love, sacrifice, friendship, good and evil, growing up, prejudice, etc. Even though it is presented as a fun and interesting story she brings up these issues and comments on them. By reading this series the issues can be addressed without just bluntly bringing them up. Parents and children can read the series and then talk about the Holocaust or bullying or puberty or even just what is right and wrong. Kids can even just relate to the characters in the story as they mature and grow through their experiences. I was about the same age as the characters when I first read it and I remember feeling like I was growing and changing with them. The series opens the doors to some of these difficult topics because everything is woven into the story and plot. I think she does a brilliant job with making it more than just a story. It’s entertaining, yes, and fun to read, but it can also teach a lot of lessons.

A Change in ourselves through the Changing Story

When Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out, I, like everyone else I knew, stayed up all night to read the book and finish it before everyone else. With this information hungry read through, I was very shocked by many poignant things. Ron abandoning Harry and Hermione. Harry saving Draco’s life. Hermione and Ron’s dramatic kiss. Dumbledore’s history. Snape, Dobby, Lupin, Tonks, Fred, Collin, countless other deaths. Neville’s badassery. Narcissa saving Harry. Just to name a few.

But one of the most shocking things that I think everyone can agree on is finally learning the truth about Severus Snape. After spending six consecutive books learning to hate Snape beyond ourselves, it was incredibly shocking, and almost problematic, to learn the Snape was good all along. The chapter “The Prince’s Tale” reveals the Snape we never got to meet. We readers learn through Harry and Snape’s memories that Snape was on “our side” the entire time. He was acting as Voldemort’s right hand man under the orders of Dumbledore himself. The complexity of Snape’s character is thrown in our face with such force that we feel guilty for hating him, especially when you reread the series with this knowledge. This knowledge, however, becomes problematic because it is difficult to hate the bad guy when you know how complex he is.

Learning about Dumbledore is also problematic. All the time we spent hating Snape, we have been trusting Albus Dumbledore with everything we have. Finding out how much vital information he kept from Harry is truly unsettling and dramatically changes our view of Dumbledore.

I also think that Neville and Ron’s character development is worth mentioning. Although not as ground shaking, they both transform into quite, not as vital characters to integral, plot determining characters. Ron, playing the role of ‘sidekick,’ was always a quite supporter of Harry and his actions. When Harry gets into the Triwizard Tournament, tensions begin to rise, but nothing breaks until Deathly Hallows when Ron calls Harry out on not knowing what he’s doing. When Ron finally returns, he picks up a leadership role that puts him more in the spotlight. Similarly, Neville was another quite supporter who began to shine slightly in Order of the Phoenix. In Deathly Hallows, Neville kills Nagini, the last Horcurx, making Lord Voldemort mortal once more.

I also want to share a quick tidbit on the emotional pulls of the final chapter of Rowling’s epic. I was touched at every major death, but what really got me was the third to last chapter, “The Forest Again.” When Harry began walking to his death, encouraged by those who loved him- his parents, Sirius, Remus- I remember crying my eyes out. It was 3am, I was sitting up on my bed, crying so hard I had to physically put the book down. This chapter was so poignant for me because it is such an emotional and touching chapter. It is this sort of relatable, empathetic emotion that brings the series to multiple generations.

This groundbreaking series defines our generation. It has integrated itself into our lives through not only through books, but in our cinema. We were raised with the story of the every-day boy turned hero that inspired us all to believe in magic again.

Blog Post #3 Revisionist thinking on the series

Like other's this was my first time reading the series. My biggest complaint about the final book is that Harry didn't die. I know everyone wants him to live, but I like to think that he was willing to give his life for the better of the wizarding world.  Also, I didn't like that Harry was immune from dyeing in his battle with Voldermort.

My fillings towards Dumbledore didn't change very much throughout the series. However, my love hate relationship with Snape was a rollercoaster. I felt the whole time that Snape could be a bad guy, then when it was confirmed in the Order of the Phoenix, I was almost happy. Then it was turned around, when he was shown to be good after all. It makes for good suspense, but I would have like him to just be bad. I was happier hating him after the order of the Phoenix.

Reflecting back on Harry, I felt that Harry always seemed to get out of things. Sure you can be lucky a few times, but seven times? I liked the character of Harry, I just didn't like the way he always ended up triumphing over everything. Sure, he suffered, by the loss of hiss family (Sirius, Mom & Dad, and Dumbledore), but I wanted him to suffer a little more as an individual (ie: die). I guess I just like darker books and this series was dark, but it still ended a little clean for me.

As far as Ron and Hermione go. I liked their characters for the series. I wish they would have rebelled against Harry a little more than they did. Sure they had their disagreements, but they always ended up back together. In the real world, all of your friends don't make it through four years of high school with you, let alone seven years of wizard school.  I don't think one of them should have died, but it would have been nice if one fell out of the group for a a year or two and showed up in the end. I guess I'm a revisionist.

I'm not really sure where all of this fits in a social context. 

Blog Post #3

My first time reading the series was in the 5th grade and I only read the first three books.  This was my first time actually reading the whole series and discussing the theories of H.P in depth.  I have to say that my whole attitude toward the whole series has dramatically changed.  Definitely once you start reading the series and invest yourself in them, you start to form some sort of attachment to these characters as if they were real people. There were a lot of unexpected twists and shock that happened and I think I would need to read the series again and more thoroughly to  fully enjoy/understand the plot twists and changes. I found it hard to read the entire series in the shortest amount of time possible, I am a student in daap therefore my schedule is always packed with hours upon hours of different projects so I found it hard to read the entire book in the allotted time.

   My perceptions of the characters definitely changed throughout the series. Of course Harry is the most popular character but I always like to root for the least likely.  Ron became more of a front runner for me because his confidence and individuality started to shine through over Harry.  Harry became less and less likable for me because he is so angry and stubborn, although I cannot imagine all he has gone through at such a young age.  I think his trials and tribulations definitely justify his anger at times but I also don't appreciate how he would treat Ron and Hermione and all the people who were willingly to risk their life to help Harry.  At times it seems he took their help for granite and almost preferred to stand alone.

blog prompt 3: Final Thoughts

I was one of the few people that had never read the Harry Potter series before this course began. I’ll be honest, I did not expect to like the Harry Potter series in the slightest bit, but I needed a Literature course credit in order to graduate after this quarter. I figured it would have been more fun to read the Harry Potter series more than any other literature course’s assigned readings. After reading the first couple of books, I wasn’t sold on the fact that I would begin to like the series. However, after reading the Prisoner of Azkaban and the Goblet of Fire, I really started to get into reading the series. I found myself reading the books that weren’t even due until the next week of class because I wanted to find out what was next for Harry and the gang. With seven longer books with the same characters, you really start to feel like you know the characters and you want to see what is in store for them next.

It’s no wonder that the books and movies have become vastly popular in our society. I can remember taking my sister to Barnes and Noble to buy of the one new book when it first came out at midnight. I can remember thinking, I would never go buy a book at midnight and then spend all night reading it. However, this course has broadened my view and I can honestly say that I loved the series. I wish that I had not seen the movies before reading the books because I knew important facts (Dumbledor dying, Snape being the half-blood prince, and Sirius and Mad Eye Moody dying, etc.) about the series before I had even read the books. Because of this, I wasn’t surprised when some larger events occurred but it was definitely worth reading the books because it explains far more about the series and definitely add to the characters development throughout the series. After reading all seven books and watching seven out of the eight movies now, I feel like I know more about these characters than any other movie I have watched or book I have read. I’m honestly sad that this is the end of the entire series because I feel like if Rowling would have wanted to see could have continued to write novels about Harry and his friends after they had defeated Voldemort. The epilogue of the Deathly Hallows did sum up the lives of the main characters but I’m still hoping that Rowling surprises everyone and writes a few more books about the magical world of witchcraft and wizardry.

Blog Post #3: Final Thoughts

This quarter I accomplished something I always wanted to do but never had the time to do before. This is the first time that I have read the Harry Potter series and I am just perplexed by how well the Harry Potter series was constructed by J.K Rowling.

Since, I have been saying this in just about every response and paper I have written, I'll say it again. I saw the movies before I ever read any of the books and throughout the series I was expecting that the movies would cut out a lot of parts in the books, which they did, and when I got to parts in the book that were not like the movie, I was really mad about what scenes and characters the producers decided cut out of the movie. Winky is probably one of my favorite characters and I would have never known about her if I wouldn't have read the book. So lesson learned you should ALWAYS read the books before watching the movie.

Since the second part of Deathly Hallows hasn't came out yet the seventh book is one movie that I actually had the experience of not knowing anything that was about to happen. I can honestly say that I wasn't surprised that Harry defeated Voldemort in the end because I didn't think people would have loved the series as much as they did if J.K Rowling decided to kill off Harry instead. But, I was surprised by all the events leading up to the final show down with Harry and Voldemort. When I read the part about Dumblebore knowing that Harry would have to sacrifice himself before anyone else would be able to kill Voldemort I was shocked. It amazes me how Dumbledore and Snape could help Harry all along the way and then when it came to the end knowing that he would have to die to save everyone else, had to be one of the hardest things either man had to do. Dumbledore loved Harry and Snape was connected to Harry becuase of his love for Lily, I just can't imagine the amount of courage it takes to know all along that you have to prepare someone to sacrifice themselves to help the "greater good". In my opinion I respect Snape and Dumbledore for their role in the series. Both Dumbledore and Snape made mistakes in their lives, but that makes them only human so I don't think anyone can fault Snape for what he did as a Death Eater he felt remorse and repented for what he had done.

To me this series portrays a very biblical tale; good triumphing over evil in the end, repenting of your sins for forgiveness (Snape returning to the good side), the power of love and forgiveness, and most importantly self-sacrifice for others. I'm not sure that I can be convinced that this series is not based upon religious ideals.

Analysis of Ending

The ending was fantastic. The best chapter of the entire series by far is The Prince’s Tale. Now it may be fairly obvious that Snape is tied for my favorite character along with Kreacher, but this chapter was just brilliant. I loved how it showed all of the difficult tasks that Dumbledore set for Snape. I would argue that Snape had the worst job of the order along with Harry. Harry didn’t have as much of an option in his matter if Voldemort was to die he must die, but Snape on the other hand had the option to betray the one he loathed and chose to sacrifice his life for him.
Snape really got the raw deal. He had to kill his mentor and arguably his best friend in Dumbledore. Work alongside Lupin and Sirius who absolutely loathed him. Then after abiding by Dumbledore’s request was under constant scrutiny of being dubbed a traitor. He had to spy on the most evil wizard in the world that in its self could be proof enough to be the worst deal. Then to cap it off he had to sacrifice himself for James Potter’s kid. For all of these reasons Snape is my hero, and it negates any petty mistreating of Harry whom was not entirely innocent.
I was surprised by the how many people got killed. I prediction was that far more people would die. The guarantees I had were Dumbledore, Harry, and Sirius. I had Hagrid and Lupin down for almost certain to die, because of how much the trio loved Hagrid and because Lupin was the last connection to Harry’s parents nuclear friends. I also thought that Ron and Neville would die. I guess that I just overestimated the power of the death eaters. (or maybe underestimated the strength of the order)
However, one major issue I had with the ending was Harry’s ability to come back because of his blood being inside Voldemort. I’m happy that Harry got to live in the end and am aware that Harry must die in order to kill Voldemort, but this was too farfetched. The idea that one can be brought back because another’s blood is inside them is too far. Why don’t people who die that have donated blood come back to life when the recipient is still alive? She could have at least explained this detail a little bit better.
Overall, the series was brilliant. The last book was the best with the significant exception to the lack of clarity how Harry was able to come back to life. I really enjoyed the epilogue and the fact that Harry named one of his sons after Severus. It would have been better if he would have also named one of his son’s Kreacher.

Blog Post #3 Ending

There were certain parts that the end of the series had that I enjoyed, while there were many I thought were lackluster as well. I thought the series ended well with a dramatic ending that lasted a while and kept me entertained throughout. The epilogue was also a nice addition; it allowed closure for a lot of the characters that were extremely important for the story. That being said, there were several moments at the conclusion of the story that I really didn’t care for.

The last two books in particular really built up Snape’s character. I felt that it was fairly obvious that Snape was not truly on Voldemort’s side. The way Rowling wrote his character throughout the series never really lead me to believe that he was a generic, flat, evil character. Due to this, I felt there was going to be a major revelation with his character. This revelation happened after his death when Harry viewed his memories through the pensieve after Voldemort had killed him. His death in particular, I felt was very weak. He went in a room with Voldemort and was killed. There wasn’t any really dramatic scene or anything, Rowling just killed him off. This was, in my opinion, one of the scenes in the book that had a lot of importance, but was poorly executed.

Another issue I had with the ending was the magic and explanation behind the ownership of wands; more specifically, the ownership issue with the elder wand. Suddenly the entire series boils down to how important it was that Harry stole Malfoy’s wand. It was by chance that Harry fought with Malfoy to disarm him and become the owner of the elder wand, and I feel it was a weak explanation for him to own the wand and be able to defeat Voldemort. There were many times throughout the series that wands were disarmed from people and this ownership issue never came up. Finally, above all, just because Harry owned the elder wand, I don’t see how this let Voldemort be killed, especially when Harry just used a disarming spell. Wands were taken and used against their owners multiple times in the series. I didn’t really appreciate the wand ownership ordeal, but despite this, I still felt that the climactic ending sequence at the castle was really the high point of the series; and I’m fine with how it ended.

Blog post 3

This is just the latest of many re-reads of the Harry Potter series for me, yet my original thoughts and opinions remain roughly the same now as they did the first time I read the series. The series is no great work of literature, metaphor is not layered subtlety throughout the series, but the series was certainly, and most importantly a good story and enjoyable read, which is what all authors should aim for when writing a book. My biggest quibble with the whole series is that it is obvious to me that (even though Rowling denies it) it is obvious to me that while Rowling had a very limited idea of where the story was going, she had no idea about the sub-plots, side characters or the journey that the story would take. There are far too many continuity errors in the series for the story to have been well thought out before each book was written. The example that is most fresh in my mind is the whole wand lore idea that was created for book 7. Throughout the whole series Harry disarms many witches and wizards and yet the wands never changed allegiance and every one could use their wands fine. In earlier books character use other characters wands without noticing any difference in ability. For each book you can always predict what components are going to be important for the conclusion simply by looking at small details which are suddenly thrust into the books. The Harry Potter series lacks the cohesion of the true epics. It is always easy to tell when a author has the whole story thought out, or if they are simply writing book by book, in this case I think it is the latter.

As far as the characters go, all of the characters pretty much followed the paths I thought they would. Dumbledore was still dead, but continued to influence events (also he was made into a real person that makes mistakes, which I liked). Snape was on the side I thought he was (the circumstances of why were a pleasant surprise however). Harry’s forgiveness of Snape was heart touching. However I did not like the fact that Harry survived. I was really expecting Harry to die, and follow the ultimate sacrifice story line. I really felt like the circumstances at the end of the book were a little childish. The conversation with Dumbledore was intended to tie up loose ends and everything that wasn’t explained was explained by “we are delving into depths of magic we cannot understand”. Overall impression- fun read, good story, no great work of literature, not an epic on the scale of LOTR, Game of Thrones, the epics of Brandon Sanderson, or Brent Weeks. By far they are not the best books I have read. But I will continue to revisit the series in the years to come.

Blog 3

This is not my first time reading the series, but I found that I didn’t remember much of the sixth and seventh books. I knew the ending, but I didn’t remember many of the scenes and small details. I really enjoyed the end of the series, especially the second time I read them because I paid more attention to detail. Originally, I was very surprised with how Snape turned out. I was sure he was one of Voldemort’s followers and not to be trusted. I also found the connection between Snape and Lily extremely interesting. I hadn’t caught the foreshadowing when Harry was watching Lily stand up for Snape in the pensive. I thought the foreshadowing was a subtle detail that was well written. I wasn’t as surprised about how Dumbledore turned out. Although Harry had many doubts towards the end of the series, Dumbledore had seemed a character that had been built upon trust. He was never direct or blunt and that became clear when Harry began to realize he didn’t truly know where to go to find the horcruxes. My feelings towards Ron, Harry, and Hermoine changed slightly though I didn’t quite realize it until reflecting on the series. I always liked Ron’s character and he grew even more likeable towards the end. He became independent and confident, but it was interesting to watch him grow throughout the series. My feelings for Harry changed even more than they did for Ron. There were points in which I felt Harry was too angry and I was ready to finish the book. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was one of my least favorite books in the series. Harry was constantly angry and resentful, which is understandable in his situation, but I felt it was drawn out. There weren’t many times I felt like Harry tried to understand the other point of view and why they were withholding information from him. It seemed to me that often Harry wasn’t told information because of the connection between his mind and Voldemort’s mind, but Harry never thought of this. Once Hermione warned Harry that the image of Sirius’ death could be a trap, Harry still didn’t believe her even though I felt it seemed obvious that Hermione was right. However, Harry’s character seemed more rounded in the sixth and seventh book. By the end I still enjoyed his character, though he was not my favorite. Hermione changed dramatically from the first to the seventh book, but it was very gradual. I suddenly remembered that in the first book she never broke a rule. By the seventh, she wasn’t even in school. J. K. Rowling wrote Hermione’s character well so that this change was only noticeable upon reflecting all the way back to book one.

I think that without taking this class I would not have thought of Harry Potter in terms of a social or cultural context. I was younger when I first read the series and it was simply a fantasy world. However, I think if you read the series while thinking about these larger contexts there are many similarities. Rowling incorporates historical events into the series with her use of Voldemort’s reign of fear. Voldemort’s reign of fear could be compared to Hitler’s rule in Nazi Germany. There is acknowledgement of abuse and PTSD. Harry grew up with the Dursley’s who neglected him and ignored Dudley’s taunts of Harry. As Harry goes through school he experiences symptoms of PTSD. There is also a connection between the pureblood/muggle classes and the socioeconomic classes seen in today’s society. There are also completely different cultures between muggles and purebloods. Cultural differences exist between many communities in today's society as well.

Blog #3: Final Thoughts.

The end of this series was a bit of a let down for me. Having never read the books I thoroughly enjoyed the first four books, yet found the last three painfully boring- despite whatever interesting secrets were revealed. Order of the Pheonix and The Halfblood Prince were too long for their own good. I can remember reading them and wishing that every time I turned the page it was to the last. The editor could have slashed half the content from each book and combined the two. With all that Rowling skips over, do we really need to know every question and answer on the OWLS or have another lengthy conversation that goes nowhere?

I always liked Snape. I wasn’t one of the diehard fans but I always thought him a practical man who had his own purposes for his actions, just as Harry did. Maybe its because I liked his portrayal in the movies or because Harry wasn’t the type of kid I’d have been friends with. Once it became obvious that Dumbledore was running the show and pulling the strings it was not too far off that Snape was part of his plan, especially after what Harry caught a glimpse of on the astronomy tower. I don’t know how pleasurable of a person Snape really is to be around, but based on his CHOICES he his a good man. He played the role that no one else would take and did his best to limit the damage done by Voldemort from within.

Dumbledore, however…I mean, really? If this were real life I feel that someone like Dumbledore would have just taken care of it on his own as fast as he could for the greater good. Though, as someone said in class, it’d make a much less interesting series- and shorter. I really feel that the loss that occurred in this series is a direct result of Dumbledore sitting, waiting, and playing games rather than taking action- even if it was just acting on hunches. I really wish, though, that Rowling had used all those pages for Dumbledores horcrux hunts rather than boring stuff about the kids at Hogwarts. That would’ve been interesting!

My feelings still are the same for the main three. I never really found myself particularly drawn to them. Always to other characters, wanting to know more about these people that had longer, deeper histories and who had made their decisions (both good and bad); Like Snape, Dumbledore, Sirius, Lupin, Mr Malfoy. the Peveralls. I feel the series would have been 100x better if the story stayed in the same universe but concentrated on what happened in the time of Dumbledore’s youth through James and Lily’s deaths rather than a bunch of kids running around.

As far as social/cultural context, I feel that it’s too dumbed down (being for children) to be taken too serious. While there are SERIOUS social issues at hand, they’re not really explained or thoroughly addressed. If you’re trying to teach kids lessons about such things you need to be a bit more graphic or up front with your depictions. I think that most of the social/cultural themes we discussed would have gone completely over the heads of most young readers until an adult pointed them out or that child re-read the series as an adult. Again, I feel if this series was written for adults it would have been amazing and these issues would have been properly addressed.

A Brilliant End

After reading the entire series the first time, I both loved and hated the end of the book. I hated it because Rowling quite literally killed just about all of my favorite characters by the end: Lupin, Sirius, Dumbledore, Fred and Hedwig. I was also really disappointed with Snape’s “redemption”. However, that is what my final paper is on, so I could obviously write an entirely new blog post on that subject alone. In short, I still don’t think Snape had the right to treat Harry so terribly throughout his time at Hogwarts, even after all we see in the pensieve. Other than those minor details however, I absolutely loved the end of the series. The seventh book has forever gone down in History as my favorite book of all time.

In this book we really get to see the brilliance of Rowling’s plot. All of the ah-ha moments in Harry, Ron and Hermione’s journey are so pivotal and quite intricate. Who knew that all along the Hog’s Head barman was Aberforth, or that we’d have to remember from the very first book that Harry caught his first snitch in his mouth? The intricacy of Rowling’s plot is truly revealed in the seventh book and it is amazing that she was able to put together a series so beautifully.

Harry being the last horcrux: absolutely brilliant. His march to the forbidden forest under the invisibility cloak makes me absolutely ball my eyes out every time I read it. That is a pretty deep scene (talk about coming of age) to imagine your last thoughts as you are marching to your death.  What a true sign of Harry’s bravery and maturity. No one I know would be able to face death in such a way. And then to give him two of the Hallows so that he can face death rather than defeat it is once again amazing. Not to mention, the gifts that Dumbledore left Harry, Ron and Hermione all worked out so perfectly. I never would have guess Ron would have left the group and would have suspected even less that the deluminator would have led him back. I did suspect that Hermione would uncover something very important in her book because it was written in runes.  And  as I mentioned earlier, Harry, the snitch and the resurrection stone was unexpected (to me anyway) but so important to Harry’s character.

There is one shining moment in the seventh book that I think is one of the most important in the seires. All throughout the series Harry’s signature spell has been Expelliarmus. Each time he has faced Voldemort he has used Expelliarmus and it has worked to his advantage. When it came down to the final duel, I was so worried because I didn’t want Harry to become a killer, especially on Voldemort’s account. So when he yelled Expelliarmus instead of Avada Kedavra I cheered out loud. How is that for emphasizing good versus evil? Harry used a relatively friendly spell to force the most evil of spells back on his opponent, who really rebounded it on himself. (The path of the Elder wand’s possession through Draco Malfoy and to Harry was also quite remarkable).

Because I don’t want this post to get too long, I’ll sum up my thoughts on characters briefly. My opinion of Dumbledore never changed. I always knew he was human and probably had some skeletons in his closet but I never questioned his plan for Harry, while I was surprised and upset for a moment to find out he was sending Harry to his death, I knew there had to be a catch. As far as Snape is concerned, I’m still conflicted. I can forgive him for Dumbledore’s death and recognize his amazing bravery, but I’m still caught up on how terribly he always treated Harry especially considering his background.  I discussed Harry through most of the post but I think his character development is brilliant, you see him grow up so much. Ron is the same way. He finally confronts his worst fears when he kills the first horcrux and his transformation into a confident young man is awesome. I particularly loved Neville. I’m so glad that Neville became such a hero, even before he killed the snake. He had always been Harry’s foil and when Harry left Hogwarts, Neville stepped up. I love Neville.

As far as placing the series into a larger social/cultural text, I think that first of all, it is a great series for anyone to read. It highlights so many of the problems in today’s culture and shows how impossible our lives can seem but also emphasizes doing the right thing, no matter what the consequences. I think Rowling’s experience at Amnesty International really shines through the series and the series is easily applicable to any of the cases that she came into contact with in her position there. The struggle of the oppressed is a constant underlying theme in the series as is equality. There is also the historical context in which the series can be compared to Hitler’s Reich.