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.