Blog Post #1: Expectations

The Harry Potter series is based on several small mysteries within a larger mystery. And with mystery comes misconceptions. A lot of what Harry perceives tends to be inaccurate until he puts all of the pieces together at the end. I believe this has a lot to do with Rowling’s style of writing. However, I think it is also characteristic of the young adolescent mind. Adolescents are still trying to figure out the world they live in, a world where many things are not as they seem. In Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry believes that Snape is the bad guy. This is because Snape seems to have a grudge against Harry, which is because Snape and James Potter didn’t get along when they were at Hogwarts. Also, Harry walks into situations where Snape and Quirrell were talking about the stone. Harry continually misinterprets the context of these conversations. This is probably because he was biased, and truly believed that Snape was up to no good. Of course, in the end, it is Professor Quirrell that broke into the third floor corridor in hopes of stealing the stone for Voldemort. In Chamber of Secrets, Harry has false expectations for Tom Riddle. He believes that Riddle is a nice guy, based on many clues. Riddle was head boy, received an award for special services for the school, and seemed friendly. Harry learns to trust Riddle by writing to him in an old diary. However, after entering the chamber of secrets, Harry is confused when he sees Tom Riddle waiting for him. Harry even asks for Tom’s help without realizing that Tom was indeed the heir of Slytherin. Harry also didn’t expect to find out that Tom Riddle was to become the most dangerous wizard in the world Lord Voldemort. Harry believed that the heir of Slytherin was Draco Malfoy. In the first two novels, Harry chooses the wrong person as his suspect. But, he finds out the truth at the end of each book.