Final Blog

When the series was coming out, I was very excited for the next books, and was very avid about reading them. When I was gone to a Boy Scout camp, I was reading the Half Blood Prince, and this kid from my troop decided to ruin the book, not only for me, but for everyone else at the camp. I grew to hate this kid, and couldn't read the book, knowing the ending. By time the Deathly Hallows came out, the ending for that had been ruined for me as well. I was not very happy with this. Therefore, I did not read the books again, until this class.

In reading the books, I could have predicted a happy ending despite the endings being ruined. Happy endings tie everything together, and the fact that JK had written such great books before, she wouldn't write a bad ending. At the same time, an unhappy ending would have been good, because now I wouldn't be expecting/wanting more books. Now I want books about their kids lives, who have some really weird names. I did not like how JK made all of their kids have meshed together names like that. But then again, idk. I do like that she did include the part about their futures into the ending. I thought this tied everything together well. But like I said before, I now want more books.

Harry was going to live the whole time, I mean come one, he is the boy who lived. There was no way he was going to die. The fact that he was able to defeat Voldemort, makes him in fact the most powerful wizard alive. I thought this would have come anyway, plus it is the biggest theme in any story, good overcomes bad. That's just how it works. But endings where the bad guy wins are not common, but I think throughout the series, both good and bad have won, but good came out on top. I liked the mix. I feel this was strong, and it ended the series well. I might have also liked to have seen Harry maybe struggle with internal evil a bit more. It seems like it affected him a tiny bit, but nothing to a major scale. I think that would have been interesting to see. But all in all, I liked the books and the series, I just wished it had been tweeked in minor ways and maybe like one or two more books inbetween.

The Ending of the Series

This was my first time reading Book 7 ... and I feel like I could read it about 10 more times and still feel the victory and loss as my beloved fictional friends as they come to the end of their adventure.

I have mixed feelings about the epilogue. In some ways, it set my heart at ease to know that everybody was okay. In other ways, I felt like it may have been too "Happily-Ever-After." I am CERTAINLY not saying I didn't want a happy ending! After you go through all of that, the ending HAS to be at least somewhat happy. I really expected Harry to die, though. But I'm kind of glad he didn't. I read an interview that JK Rowling gave where she said that she had Harry lie because she wanted to exemplify war veterans who come home and rebuild after the war. She says that is the most heroic thing she can think of.

The only reason I didn't think Harry should live is because I worry for his quality-of-life. Think about it. Ever since he found out he was a wizard, the whole point of his life was to destroy Voldemort. After that has been accomplished, it will be very difficult for Harry to find a sense of purpose in his life. After all the action and battle, after the loss and pain, how is he supposed to just adjust to everyday life? This is an issue we deal with here in the US when our soldiers come back from combat. They are not the same person they were before. Their values and views have all changed. Most struggle with PTSD, causing them to be almost dysfunctional in normal life. This is not the existence I want for Harry. To me, he deserves more than that.

Rowling seemed to avoid this problem, somehow. Maybe it was because of how far forward we skipped into the future, but Harry seemed perfectly well-adjusted. Maybe his years of learning to live a normal life were all in the past. It's hard to say. I just know from experience that those who have survived war do not have an easy time getting back into the ritual of everyday living.

My perceptions of Snape didn't change all that much. (Dr. Heller, please do not fail me for not loving your favorite! LOL) In my opinion, he never became who he could have become. He never became the bigger man. Everything he did was for Lily and Lily alone, not for moral reasons not for the sake of humanity. Yes, he protected Harry. But he didn't give a shit about Harry. He wouldn't have even been protecting Harry if Dumbledore hadn't talked him into it! There is no justification for the cruelty Snape showed a little boy who had known nothing but abuse his whole life. Shame on him.

My perception of Dumbledore didn't really change either. No one is all good. No one is all bad. Dumbledore is a manipulator, yes. But he also is incredibly wise and noble. He knows his own weakness for power and intentionally put himself in a position where his power would always be held accountable and limited. He COULD have become the next Voldemort, he was certainly gifted enough to. He didn't though. His ability to turn down the very thing he desired (the Deathly Hallows) shows his depth of character. The lies he told, the things he kept hidden, and all of his manipulations were for the sake of mankind in the end.

I think what surprised me about book 7 was the amount of Unforgiveable Curses used by the "good guys." I was shocked and appalled, but at the same time, desperate times call for desperate measures. Still, just because someone else is doing the wrong thing, does it make it ok for us? I think not.It is good that Rowling had her good guys doing some of the same things that the bad guys were doing. That is what happens in real life after all. Also, no one is all good. The squeaky clean image needed to be shattered.

I will probably read Book 7 again before the movie comes out. It was wonderfully writted and full of heart-wrenching scenes. (Dobby's funeral, anyone?) It was a beautiful ending to a series that felt like home.

Final Blog

Every time I reread The Deathly Hallows, I drag through most of the content of the novel and then am reminded how well written the final scenes are. I am not at all suggesting that the beginning two-thirds of the book are poorly written, but it is a slow part of the story that is intentional. I have heard many voicing their contempt for the epilogue. It is well written in the sense that the overwhelming normality of their lives is clear compared to previous experiences of the characters. I am not sure what is expected from the epilogue by those who dislike it. The only thing I would prefer is that there was information about some of the other characters.

One moment that never settled in my mind, is that Ron was able to open the Chamber of Secrets. I hate that this is the one thing that I cannot accept because it is one of Ron’s few moments of recognition, but this cannot go unnoticed. How can he just suddenly speak Parseltongue? Why was he able to open the Chamber of Secrets when only the descendants of Salazar Slytherin are supposed to be able to open it? It is possible that any Parselmouth is able to open the Chamber, but it is assumed that the person seeking entrance would be related to Slytherin since most Parselmouths descended from him. I am thrilled that Ron has a stroke of brilliance and is able to miraculously open the Chamber, but that chain of events and the background of Parseltongue laid out in the novels do not support each other.

I absolutely hate that Fred dies. For some reason, Tonks and Lupin’s deaths do not upset me nearly as much as Fred’s. It just seems cruel to take away someone so full of life. It was always expected that some adults and teachers would die, but I suppose a young character had to die. Since there are so many Weasleys, it would only be fair. After the loss of one, they are still much larger than a normal family! On a serious note though, the page that kills Fred is wrinkled with my dried tearsL

There were two really big surprises in the ending for me. One: Hagrid does not die. I could have sworn that he was eventually going to be eaten by one of his misunderstood creatures. Two: Snape is capable of love. The love Snape has for Lily is not an ordinary love. That kind of love is something that renders a person incapable of being happy if their love is unhappy. His happiness depends on her happiness. Somewhat. It is all fine and fuzzy to find out that Snape is actually human, and not a bat, but he still sends off a bad vibe. It is clear that the only reason Snape protects Harry is because he is Lily’s son. He does not seem to have the kind of love that a friend has for another friend’s child. This is somewhat understandable since it is pretty obvious that Snape would prefer Lily to have borne his children, but he still is not as heroic in my eyes as he is in many of those I have spoken with.

My feelings about Dumbledore, Harry, Ron, and Hermione stay unchanged. Like always, Dumbledore has some confusing reason for doing what he does that ends up making sense in the end. I will admit that in The Deathly Hallows, Ron really makes me angry. He has always been my favorite character, but he acts completely out of line in this book. Of course, his true allegiance is always to Harry and Hermione, but his betrayal is heart-breaking. As far as placing this story into a larger social/ cultural context: All I can say is that I know many British words that I did not know before.

P.s.

Sorry this is late:/

Blog Entry Three

When the final book came out, I was one of those fans standing in line at Midnight. It was a sort of bittersweet moment: I could barely wait to read the final book, but I didn’t want the series to be over. I started reading the series when I was seven years old and finished the last book when I was seventeen. Spending an entire decade emotional invested in Rowling characters, I felt satisfied that she did them justice in the last book. All these characters that seemed such caricatures in the first book came to life in this book: Petunia, Snape, and even Hermione. I remember crying during Snape’s memories not only for Snape but Petunia as well. Most all of her characters, even the smaller ones, were so fleshed out.

Dumbledore’s back story surprised me immensely. I couldn’t believe that this man who loved muggle candy and always knew exactly what to say to people. He seemed so humble that I couldn’t imagine him as wanting to build a world where wizards ruled over muggles. This complete reversal gave me whiplash. After Snape’s memories, I wanted to hate him for using Harry as his puppet but the scene at King’s Cross left me unable to. It was obvious how much the choices that he had made during his life weighed him down. In the epilogue when I found out that Harry named his son Albus Severus, it became obvious that Harry had forgiven him and if Harry could I could as well.

And then there was Snape. The end of Half-Blood Prince blew my mind because I truly thought that Snape was on Dumbledore’s side. Dumbledore trusted him completely and then he just killed him. I honestly couldn’t believe it. I never really like Snape but I never thought it was capable of that. In Deathly Hallows during the chapter of Snape’s memories, I cried. Honest to God balled like there was no tomorrow. It was the wee hours of the morning and I couldn’t have been more grateful that my parents were still asleep because of how much this book made me cry. It really says something about an author that can make one the least liked characters in a series become one of your favorite character’s in the span of one chapter.

The Golden Trio really grew into themselves during this book, Ron especially. When he left Harry and Ron by themselves, I wanted nothing more than to shout at him. I also wanted to shout at Harry because he didn’t do much to comfort Hermione during that very tough period of time. When he came back and destroyed the Horcrux, I wanted to scream: Yes! Character Development. Hermione started out the series as caricature of the smart, bossy girl but through the series Rowling expanded her character. In this last book, Hermione really showed that it wasn’t her intelligence that was her most defining feature but her loyalty and her bravery. Harry became much rash in this book. Thinking his decisions through instead of rushing head first into a situation without thinking. These three really rubbed off on each other.

On a side note: Team Neville forever.

            What makes this series so successful is the sheer fact that even though none of its readers have every ridden a broom or used a wand or fought a dark wizard, the themes and messages that Rowling establishes in her books are universal. Everyone has experienced the death of a loved one or the betrayal of a friend. Rowling’s world building is beyond interesting but the familiarity of her characters and their experiences is what kept the readers coming back.

Blog Post 3

After rereading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this quarter I have determined this is my favorite book. The first time I read it I avoided rereading it because it was the end. I had grown up with Harry Potter and this was it. There would be no more midnight trips to Kroger(Barnes and Nobles was too far away) to purchase the books, no more adventures of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I didn't like the finality that the books had. Yes this was the final book of Rowling's series, but she didn't leave any hanging business. I knew that this was the case going in, as she had said so in numerous interviews, but I hoped that it would not truly be the end. Rereading them this quarter gave me some acceptance of this end, and reading them all at once really built up the anticipation for the final battle of Harry and Voldemort.

One thing that I was convinced of was that Snape was bad. Dumbledore always talked about an old man's follies and he talked about how he saw the good in people, but I wanted him to be wrong. I wanted Snape to be bad. I thought that trusting Snape was Dumbledore's fatal flaw. I wanted Dumbledore to be wrong about something. No one can be that right all the time. It was frustrating to me. Looking back I see all of the evidence that Snape was good. I have immense respect for Snape and I probably have a mild book crush on Snape, but I vehemently argued that he was bad prior to this last book. I really wanted Dumbledore to be wrong. I was frustrated with Dumbledore. I'm still a little frustrated with Dumbledore; I felt he knew too much and did not tell Harry enough. This probably makes me a very dense reader that I did not pick up on Snape being good and that I was frustrated with Dumbledore, but I don't care. If I had never taken this class there are lots of things that I never would have picked up on in the books. I never would have fully comprehended what happened to Ariana Dumbledore. I never would have considered what the Dursley's did to Harry as straight up abuse. I knew it wasn't normal, but I never would have understood exactly how bad it was. This class really helped me to see more than what was on the page.

My feelings towards Harry, Hermione, or Ron did not change. I always liked them. It didn't bother me that Ron left. I think it was human of him, and he came back. Which in some ways is harder than leaving. I'm glad Hermione is as she is. I think she has a lot of strength, especially sending her parents off to Australia. Without her help Harry would not have been able to accomplish all that he did. Even without Ron Harry would have struggled.

The character I was most surprised with in the entire series though was Neville. It made me cry at the end when his Grandmother was finally proud of him. He overcame so much, and came to be so brave at the end. Neville from book one would never have been able to kill Nagini like Neville in book seven was. Neville was super rebellious in a completely cool sort of way. He grew up the most throughout the series. I thought he was the most inspiring character throughout the series. Voldemort was hesitant to kill him because he was a pureblood, a weaker wizard would not have been as defiant to Voldemort as Neville was. He showed no fear when all else seemed to be lost. I am so happy that he did not die at the end. I was upset by those that did, but of those that survived I was most happy that he did.

Blog Post #3

The series ending was indeed enjoyable but at the same time saddening that this was it for Harry Potter. However it was almost epic the way it all came down to a monstrous battle between good and evil at the place where Harry would consider a home away from home. The many deaths along with the twist and turns made this book an exciting read from cover to cover. It was also one that I needed to spend more time evaluating and rereading to fully understand. For instance the elder wand and its loyalty was one of the aspects I spent more time trying to figure out. I finally was able to comprehend what had happened although was still confused but the book reveled what needed to happen in order for Voldemort to die. I found it interesting that Voldemort ended up killing himself which in my opinion was more gratifying and seemed to make more sense than someone actually murdering him.

My feelings towards Snape certainly changed throughout the books along with Harry’s opinion of Snape. I like Harry hated Snape throughout most of the book. He was the cruel potions teacher who was downright evil. As time went on my feelings changed slightly, when we find out that he was bullied by Harry’s father and friends. It made me understand why Snape was cruel but he still was one of my least favorite characters. However when I realized that he was going to die I started to feel a little lump in my throat because it didn’t matter that I hated him I still loved it when his name appeared in the pages. Of course then it is revealed his true allegiance and how he sacrificed so much because of his love for Lily Potter. It was a complete 180 for me and I truly was upset to have him perish.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all change throughout the series. Hermione started out as a know it all who’s only concern where her grades. However as read in the final book she skips her final year at Hogwarts and goes on this quest to destroy the horcruxes. Ron’s character becomes more independent. He starts out as a follower but towards the end he puts on a more leader vibe. He also is one of the few who actually destroy a horcrux. Harry also changes his ways and allows his friends to help him. Before he wanted the whole burden of defeating Voldemort on his shoulders. As the series continues he finally realizes that he can’t do it alone and has help from many characters in order to finally defeat Voldemort.

The series is one of adventure and a constant struggle of good vs. evil. Will death prevail or will love conquer all. It is an easier read but still finds a way to expand your mind. Society as a whole certainly has embraced the series along with its movies.

Blog #3: The End

This is the second time that I have read the series fully, and I always feel that same little bit of letdown. I always feel that I would have liked to have known what happened to the wizarding world, what happened to Teddy since his parents died, if Hogwarts reopened and whether Harry Ron and Hermione went back to take their NEWTs, and things like that. The epilogue does explain a lot in the aspect that is alludes that the wizarding world is ok and so is Teddy, and Hogwarts obviously reopened, but I think following the series for so long, I would have liked to have seen more done with that.I  can understand  what she was trying to do ending it there, though. 

The way that Rowling toys with the characters of Dumbledore and Snape was some of the greatest writing I have ever read. You are constantly changing your mind about how you feel about both of them, and it's really like being in Harry's shoes. The first time I read the 7th book, I was so sure that Snape had tricked Dumbledore the whole time. When you realize that he really was trying to help Harry, you do think back to the 6th book when he wouldn't attack Harry after he killed Dumbledore. Everything really makes sense once Harry is able to see Snape's thoughts in the Pensieve, also. I was blown away that he was truly in love  Lily and to find out that they were best friends when they were younger. This especially is surprising since he calls him the Half-Blood Prince, which shows that he was obsessed with his blood line. Also since he became a death eater, it is very interesting that he immediately wanted to be friends with Lily when he knew she was a Muggle born. 

I had always loved Dumbledore because he seemed to be the one constant force in Harry's life and someone that truly cared about him. Throughout the last few books though, I wasn't sure what to think about Dumbledore. He constantly seemed to be putting Harry in more and more dangerous situations without giving him all of the information needed to get through those situations. This is especially true of the 7th book with the Horcrux. You learn about Dumbledore's past and his interest in Dark Arts, which makes both the reader and Harry doubt whether he truly had Harry's best interests in mind. You finally realize in King's Cross when Harry "dies" though, that Dumbledore really did love Harry but he knew Harry had things to do that Dumbledore couldn't tell him about for his own good. 

Ron and Hermione grew to be more and more helpful of Harry's quest. I think it was really realistic to show Ron and Harry's changing relationship and where Ron sometimes feels jealous or misunderstands where Harry is coming from. It also shows Harry sometimes resenting his friends because they are free if they want to be. I think Hermione was truly the one that has changed the most. She has grown from a know-it-all that never did anything wrong, to being the most loyal and dedicated friend. She went so far as to make her parents forget that they had a daughter to keep them safe. 

The series really builds on how people pull together in the face of tragedy. This is something that can be placed into any social context. There is also the idea of social class that plays along in the tragedy that is happening all around. We can relate this to genocides in our time era, such as in Darfur. Social class also brings in other issues that are relatable to our culture, such as the old bloodlines, which in the United States would be akin to old money. 

The End

I think, with the last book I found the most poignant moment to be when we learn about Severus’s true loyalty and his love of Lilly Evans. Admittedly, it’s been since 2007 since I read the last book for the first time, and remembering my initial reactions is a bit tough, but I do remember the Prince’s tale having a profound effect on me. I had spent years hating Severus Snape right along with Harry and after he killed Dumbledore, I was sure I would never forgive him. There was no way that JK Rowling could put Snape in a good light again, but oh how wrong I was! I had always understood the important theme of love emanating through the series, but it always seemed kind of a given. Of course Lily would save her son, and of course Sirius and Harry loved each other, and yes all of this impacted Harry’s fight against the Dark Lord, but Severus’s love of Lily helped me see the loving theme in a new light. For Severus to risk his own life repeatedly to save the son of the girl he loved and the man he hated is a task unimaginable to me. It broke my heart to realize how much agony that Severus must have gone through, throughout his entire life.

My feelings toward Dumbledore have varied over the years. The first time I read it, I was in denial much like Harry was. How could Dumbledore have done some of the atrocious things that he did. Why would he abandon Harry in his time of need? Even at the end when much of Dumbledore’s thinking is explained I still had trouble accepting some of the things he did. What I think disturbed me the most was I realized how human Dumbledore was. In my mind, I saw Dumbledore as infallible even though he admitted that he was not. Now that I’ve read it a few more times I think the shock has dwindled a bit. I realize now that Dumbledore was a typical yet talented teenager. The argument that Harry gives claiming that Dumbledore was “his age” at the time of his wrong doings doesn’t seem to be valid to me. Harry is NOT a typical teenager. He was forced to grow up fast. I don’t think Dumbledore really was forced to grow up until the death of his sister. Now I realize that that was the critical turning point in Dumbledore’s life. Once his thinking of “For the greater good” hit so close to home, he realized the errors of his ways and used the rest of his life to make up for it. Dumbledore was ambitious and brilliant, but he was still a teenager who hadn’t experienced enough to know what was good and just and what was not.

When Ron left, I remember feeling an extreme sadness and quickly skipped through the pages to find when and if he rejoined them. A Harry Potter adventure just didn’t feel right without the trio being together. I felt slightly betrayed by Ron, who had always been there for Harry, and had suddenly up and left. However, I was pleased to see that he returned and learned/made up for his moment of weakness. And Harry finally realized that Dumbledore was not perfect and embraced death. He began to understand some of the complex magic that Dumbledore was always trying to explain to him. Hermione didn’t seem to change as much, but she did show herself as being very loyal. I always imagined Ron to be the one who was Harry’s sidekick, but in this she proved herself just as worth as Ron.