Since my last posts about the conflicts in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry's problems have gotten even more serious. Harry learns through looking into the thoughts of Proffessor Snape that he will one day need to be killed by Lord Voldemort since part of the dark lord is bound to Harry. Not only is Harry demotivated by this realization, but he also gets angry with the late Proffesor Dumbledore. He believes Dumbledore used him to get to Voldemort and was planning to sacfrifice Harry when the need would arrise. But when Harry is struck in a duel by Voldemort, he does not die. Only the part of Voldemort that remained in Harry died. Through this, Harry learns to trust others and not to fear death, but accept it as a part of life. Another struggle Harry has is with himself. While defending the Hogwarts castle from Voldemort's army, several of Harry's friends perish. When Harry enters the Great Hall he sees Voldemort's many victims and the Harry's reaction is described as, "He could not draw breath. He could not bear to look at any of the other bodies, to see who else had died for him,"(662). Getting through these conflicts, Harry realizes that it is up to him alone to defeat Lord Voldemort and he must stop at nothing to complete his task so that others to not suffer the same fate as his friends.
Conflicts also interfere in the lives of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. When Harry escapes from the Malfoy manor (where he was supposed to be held prisonner until Voldemort arrived), Lucius Malfoy is punished by the dark lord. He gets beaten up severely for not carrying out his task of holding Harry. This experience is what starts to turn the Malfoy's against Voldemort, and they learn that perhaps such an cruel tyrant is not worth devoting their lives to helping. Another conflict arises for the Malfoy's when their son, Draco, is missing inside Hogwarts castle. They are worried that Draco may have been killed in the battle and author J.K. Rowling descibes their franticness as, "Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy running through the crowd, not even attempting to fight, screaming for their son," (735). In the end of the novel, when they have finally been reunited with Draco, the parents learn that working for Voldemort wasn't worth it in the end because he put their family through so much violence and fright. These and other events lead the reader to see how the characters in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows face many hardships, but learn and benefit from them and in the end.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
New Characters in Harry Potter
Since my last post about the main characters in the novel Harry Potter and the Dealthy Hallows, several new people have been introduced into the story, and others have been better developed by the author. One new character is Luna Lovegood, who comes into the story when she meets Harry and his friends in the cellar of the Malfoy Mansion. Luna is very kind to everyone around her. She is very concerned about leaving the cellar without Harry and when he suggests that she flees to safety without him, Luna responds, "Harry, we want to help you!" (468). Luna is also very unique. She is different from most other witches her age and is fascinated by bizarre creatures and objects. Luna seems to be motivated by her hope of helping Harry defeat Lord Voldemort so that the world can once again be a peaceful place to live for wizards.
Luna is stuck in the Malfoy's cellar with another key character, the goblin Griphook. He has a grumpy disposition towards those around him and seems to prefer being alone rather than with wizards. He id very offended that wizards and witches pass goblin-made goods amongst themselves and is motivated by his hope of obtaining these goods one day. For instance, Griphook only agrees to help Harry gain access to a goblin bank vault if he will award him with a valueable goblin-made weapon in exchange. The goblin insists, "I want the sword. The sword of Godric Gryffindor," (505). Griphook's eye is also caught by a gem-encrusted tiarra which is owned by Ron's aunt.
Griphook's greed is nothing compared to that of another character, Lord Voldemort. The dark lord (whose former name is Tom Riddle) is cruel and vengeful. He will turn on even his allies when he is upset. Peter Pettigrew, a follower of Voldemort, is attacking Harry Potter when he is overcome with sympathy for the boy. Instead of strangling Harry with the artificial hand given to him by Voldemort, Pettigrew releases him. However, Pettegrew is strangled by the hand and the scene is described as, " The silver tool that Vodemort had given his most cowardly servant had turned upon its disarmed and useless owner; Pettigrew was reaping his reward for his hesitation, his moment of pity; he was being strangled before their eyes," (470). This cruel deed of the dark Lord reveals his anger and hunger for revenge. Voldemort is motivated by power, and he hopes to one day have control of the entire world, both of wizards and non-wizards. All of the new characters in the novel are quite different and play big roles in the novel.
Luna is stuck in the Malfoy's cellar with another key character, the goblin Griphook. He has a grumpy disposition towards those around him and seems to prefer being alone rather than with wizards. He id very offended that wizards and witches pass goblin-made goods amongst themselves and is motivated by his hope of obtaining these goods one day. For instance, Griphook only agrees to help Harry gain access to a goblin bank vault if he will award him with a valueable goblin-made weapon in exchange. The goblin insists, "I want the sword. The sword of Godric Gryffindor," (505). Griphook's eye is also caught by a gem-encrusted tiarra which is owned by Ron's aunt.
Griphook's greed is nothing compared to that of another character, Lord Voldemort. The dark lord (whose former name is Tom Riddle) is cruel and vengeful. He will turn on even his allies when he is upset. Peter Pettigrew, a follower of Voldemort, is attacking Harry Potter when he is overcome with sympathy for the boy. Instead of strangling Harry with the artificial hand given to him by Voldemort, Pettigrew releases him. However, Pettegrew is strangled by the hand and the scene is described as, " The silver tool that Vodemort had given his most cowardly servant had turned upon its disarmed and useless owner; Pettigrew was reaping his reward for his hesitation, his moment of pity; he was being strangled before their eyes," (470). This cruel deed of the dark Lord reveals his anger and hunger for revenge. Voldemort is motivated by power, and he hopes to one day have control of the entire world, both of wizards and non-wizards. All of the new characters in the novel are quite different and play big roles in the novel.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Harry Potter Compared to Other Literature
The novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is quite similar to other novels we have read in Ms. Froehlich's class. Harry Potter's chracter reminds me a lot of Oskar Schell from our summer reding book, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Both these young men have had their fathers killed while they were still at a very young age. Oskar's father perished in the September 11th attacks, and Harry's was murdered by the Lord Voldemort. Harry visits his parents' grave much like Oskar went to the graveyard to find his father's grave. When Harry enters the cemetary, he sees a memorial and the author describrs, " Harry drew closer, gazing up into his parents' faces. He had never imagined there would be a statue..." (324). Harry and Oskar both suffer similar problems: having lost their fathers.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows also reflects some of the same principles as Richard Wright's memoir, Black Boy. Just as Richard longed to be on his own and away from his family, Harry desperately wants to leave His aunt and uncle's home and go off into the wizarding world. Richard also has a very awkward relationship with his Aunt after he misbehaved in her class, and as a result the two do not get along very well. Harry and his Aunt Petunia aren't very close, either. Since Harry was left at her house after he was orphaned as a young child, Petunia does not treat him with the loving care a guardian should. When she says goodbye to Harry for the last time, the author describes, "She gave him an odd, tremulous look and seemed to teeter on the edge of speech, but then, with a little jerk of her head, she bustled out of the room with her husband and son" (42). The similarities of Harry's character to those of Oskar and Richard reflect how the three books share some of the same ideas.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows also reflects some of the same principles as Richard Wright's memoir, Black Boy. Just as Richard longed to be on his own and away from his family, Harry desperately wants to leave His aunt and uncle's home and go off into the wizarding world. Richard also has a very awkward relationship with his Aunt after he misbehaved in her class, and as a result the two do not get along very well. Harry and his Aunt Petunia aren't very close, either. Since Harry was left at her house after he was orphaned as a young child, Petunia does not treat him with the loving care a guardian should. When she says goodbye to Harry for the last time, the author describes, "She gave him an odd, tremulous look and seemed to teeter on the edge of speech, but then, with a little jerk of her head, she bustled out of the room with her husband and son" (42). The similarities of Harry's character to those of Oskar and Richard reflect how the three books share some of the same ideas.
Harry Potter Conflicts
The chracters in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows face struggles and conflicts throughout the story. Harry, for instance, is dealing with Lord Voldemort's servants pursuing him and his friends and trying to capture them. When Harry is hiding in a tent with Ron and Hermione, the three are discovered by Death Eaters who order, "'Come out of there with your hands up...we know you're in there!'" (445). Consequently, Harry and his friends are captured. Harry is able to free himself of his numerous captures, however, and in the process he learns how to be more cautious so he can try to avoid problems like this in the future, but he also gains some self confidence when he is able to escape his enemies.
Ron Weasely also has his fair share of hardships throughout the novel. He gets into disagreements with Harry regarding their quest to defeat Voldemort, and eventually gets so fed up that he goes off on his own. When Ron decides to forgive Harry and join him again, he can't find him in the wilderness. Ron recounts to Harry after they are reunited, "'Well, I stayed on that hill all day...I kept hoping you'd appear. But when it started to get dark I knew I must have missed you'" (385). Through this experience, Ron learns that he must learn to control his temper and think more deeply about things before reacts so strongly or runs away. The character in the story face struggles and conflicts almost every day, yet somehow they are able to learn from them and find out more about themselves.
Ron Weasely also has his fair share of hardships throughout the novel. He gets into disagreements with Harry regarding their quest to defeat Voldemort, and eventually gets so fed up that he goes off on his own. When Ron decides to forgive Harry and join him again, he can't find him in the wilderness. Ron recounts to Harry after they are reunited, "'Well, I stayed on that hill all day...I kept hoping you'd appear. But when it started to get dark I knew I must have missed you'" (385). Through this experience, Ron learns that he must learn to control his temper and think more deeply about things before reacts so strongly or runs away. The character in the story face struggles and conflicts almost every day, yet somehow they are able to learn from them and find out more about themselves.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Memoirs
I believe that people write memoirs for a variety of reasons. Memoirs help people express their feelings about events in their past and after writing the memoir, the author seems more aware of their feelings and has a clearer picture in their mind of what happened and how they reacted to it. If the story involves a sad event from their life, they are more easily able to ponder it and figure out what made them feel this way once they have their ideas down on paper. If it is a happy story, the author can remeber experiencing joy and figure out what to do to have more times like these. Overall, the author can look back and reflect about their life.
People tell memoirs not only for their own benefit, but also for that of others. Readers can learn valuable life skills and lessons once they've heard about someone else's experiences first hand. After reading the memoir of Richard Wright, I had a better understanding of the hardships African Amricans faced in the early part of the 20th century. I saw how resilient and hardworking Richard was, and through this I feel as though my outlook on certain aspects of my own life have improved. When I remember how Richard was deprived of food, I remeber how fortunate I am to have enough money for food and try not to complain to my mother about what she makes for dinner.
There is also a certain power that comes with writing our own stories. A person can describe the event as how they remember it as opposed to trying to write about something they did not experience. People can write their memoir to convey a certain message or theme to the audience, and I believe that this is a very influencial tool. They can include all aspects of the story that they believe are important, and omit less interesting parts. I think memoirs are a very fun and beneficial way to write stories.
People tell memoirs not only for their own benefit, but also for that of others. Readers can learn valuable life skills and lessons once they've heard about someone else's experiences first hand. After reading the memoir of Richard Wright, I had a better understanding of the hardships African Amricans faced in the early part of the 20th century. I saw how resilient and hardworking Richard was, and through this I feel as though my outlook on certain aspects of my own life have improved. When I remember how Richard was deprived of food, I remeber how fortunate I am to have enough money for food and try not to complain to my mother about what she makes for dinner.
There is also a certain power that comes with writing our own stories. A person can describe the event as how they remember it as opposed to trying to write about something they did not experience. People can write their memoir to convey a certain message or theme to the audience, and I believe that this is a very influencial tool. They can include all aspects of the story that they believe are important, and omit less interesting parts. I think memoirs are a very fun and beneficial way to write stories.
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