blog # 3 Christopher Day

Thought on the End of the Harry potter series .

I felt that J.K.Rowling did a good job to ending these series that had be building up to the end for a very long time and beloved by so many fans. there are other ways she could of end it but i do not feel that anyone of them would of be particularly better than the way she had chosen to end it. i feel see did what was need with the end and was able to answer almost all if not all of the loss types we had throughout the series.

One of the part of the end i particularly like was the way she used the camping within the last book. To real being us to the the end of the book. she use real play on and build up our emotion like are fear. along with real focusing on the friendship between the three. The way she made us feel engulfed in war with the camping seen without even have that much conflict during them. I felt the way she use and treated the camping see real made the end ten time better.

I also really like the way she brought dumbledore down from the pertistal she was on. real humanized him and complicated his character. I Real like that she did this with this character because she probably could of got away with out do it. By doing this she made him into a better character. she humanized him and allow us to see in a more complex and integrate light something i real like that she did with in her books. understand his past only made what he did so much better.

"Always"

The ending of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series is perhaps the most controversial portion of the series as a whole. I’m personally a fan of the ending and am particularly fond of “The Prince’s Tale,” which is my favorite chapter of any of the books. I love Snape as a character, and I always wondered if Rowling was concealing information about him that may or may not change readers’ perceptions of him. His history with Lily Evans and consequential protection of Harry adds an entirely new facet to his character — one that makes sense and enhances Snape as a character.

In this chapter, we see how much Snape truly loves Lily; upon learning about Lily’s death, Snape wishes he himself were dead, and his patronus still takes the form of a doe. “From the tip of his wand bust the silver doe: She landed on the office floor, bounded once across the office, and soared out of the window” (687).

We had an interesting conversation in class about whether or not Snape loves Harry, and I see this chapter in particular as proof that he does — if for no other reason than the fact he is Lily’s son. “‘ I have spied for you and lied for you, put myself in mortal danger for you. Everything was supposed to be to keep Lily Potter’s son safe. Now you tell me you have been raising him like a pig for slaughter — ’” (687). Throughout the series, Rowling has been shaping Snape as a particularly multifaceted character, and the ending of the series reveals just how much depth Snape carries with him in both his past and present.

Extra Credit Blog Post, Prompt #3

One of the major themes of Harry Potter is dealing with prejudice. The main source of prejudice in the wizarding world is the concept of full-blood wizard supremacy but other characters face prejudice for different reasons. One of these characters is Luna Lovegood. Luna faces prejudice of the more social kind: nobody wants to interact with her because they believe that she is too weird and strange.

            In my opinion, it could be argued that Luna faces a degree of ableism (prejudice against disabled people). Luna isn’t disabled (as far as we know, I suppose) but the way she is treated by other students somewhat reflects the issue. Other students constantly call Luna “loony” or “crazy” as if she were mentally ill. They judge the fact that she is in Ravenclaw because they do not believe she is intelligent enough.

            However, as the series goes on, the reader sees that Luna is quite insightful. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, she is able to cheer up Harry when nobody else could. Her knowledge of death makes her more emotionally mature than other students in that instance.

            Luna herself did not exactly overcome prejudice. Rather, others are able to let go of their prejudice against Luna. In Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Ron states that “she’s grown on me, Luna. I know she’s insane but it’s in a good way” (Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, chp. 19). Luna is finally able to have friends when the other students realizes that her being “weird” or even “crazy” isn’t a bad thing.

Complexity of Character

                   One of the major themes that I see in the Harry Potter book is complexity of character- that is to say, no one is entirely good or entirely bad. People are complex; they are not a certain set of their actions, but a combination of their decisions, situations, and character. One character who we see develop in a way that embodies this is Albus Dumbledore. Like Harry, the reader starts out seeing Dumbledore as an almost flawless character. He guides Harry and gives him answers and what some would call preferential treatment- but then again, what other twelve year old in the school killed a basilisk? Throughout the story, we see Dumbledore begin to change. In the fifth book, we see him ignore Harry, but after this stint of the cold shoulder is over, we see his empathy and caring for Harry grow. 

“I feel I owe you another explanation Harry," said Dumbledore hesitantly. "You may, perhaps, wondered why I never chose you as a prefect? I must confess...that I rather thought...you had enough responsibility to be going on with."

Harry looked up at him and saw a tear trickling down Dumbledore's face into his long silver beard.”

                   In addition to the development of empathy in Albus Dumbledore, we see his back story revealed and his complexity grow. From his involvement with dark wizard Grindlewald to the death of his sister, we see that Dumbledore is not the perfect man he has been seen as. Many other characters such as Snape, James Potter, and Neville have had complex back stories revealed, but none changed my view of a character as much as that of Albus Dumbledore. 

Extra Blog #2

                One of the best criticisms of Rowling's writing is that the character of Cho Chang is a racist stereotype. While I love Rowling, her writing here is very problematic. First, let's look at the stereotypes that Cho portrays. People of Asian descent are often expected to be smart, and excessively so. Of course, the only Asian at Hogwarts would be put into Ravenclaw house, where all of the smart people go (speaking generally, of course). Cho is also portrayed as fairly quiet, though charming girl: another stereotype. Rowling's writing also plays into the cultural narrative that sexualizes women of Asian descent, but also expects them to feel lucky for the attention that they get, which is a widespread narrative for women in general. Poet Rachel Rostad does a great job of elaborating on this in her poem "To JK Rowling, from Cho Chang." It is also pointed out that the name Cho Chang is made of two surnames, both Korean. She says this would be like calling a Frenchman "Garcia Rodriguez." This seems to be an area where Rowling definitely could have improved her writing. While I don't peg Rowling as a racist, she should have included more diversity in her books and they should have included more in the movies as well. (A personal favorite of mine is Hermione as a Black woman- it makes sense!"

Blog Post 3- The End

      The end of the Harry Potter series was not perfect, but it was still beautiful and wonderful. The most beautiful moment to me was when Harry was walking into the forest, surrounded by all of the friends and family who had passed on before him. I still cry when I read that passage, particularly the interaction between Harry and James. "You'll stay with me? 'Until the very end,' said James." To see someone so completely at peace with the worst thing that could happen to him is truly marvelous. It really shows the transformation of Harry from a confused eleven year old boy into a mature young man. 

          My feelings about Dumbledore were drastically changed in the last book. Previous to this, I had fallen into the same trap as Harry, wanting to believe that Dumbledore was this perfect figure. But it is important to realize here that no one is either entirely good or entirely bad. Everyone is complex, and we certainly learn this about Dumbledore. 

This Isn't Hogwarts!

             Hank Green, most known for being one half of YouTube's vlogbrothers channel, is, like many of us, a Harry Potter fan. He has written and performed several songs about Harry Potter; this is actually what brought the vlogbrothers out of the depths of YouTube and to the ever-so-important recommended section. One of the songs that Hank has written is called This Isn't Hogwarts!, a rock piece about the struggles of a self-proclaimed wizard attending public school- or rather, someone who wishes they were at Hogwarts rather than public school. He even says in the chorus, "public school ain't no place for a wizard" (it is, apparently, a place for double negatives). 

           This song echoes the feelings of many Harry Potter fans. I know that for myself and many others, the wizarding world provided an escape from our lives. Many of us were bullied at school, abused at home, had depression, or had a number of other problems. Hank says "They don't put you in Hufflepuff if you're not cool / Instead they sort you in the parking lot after school." Firstly, as a Hufflepuff, I take offense the uncool comment. But that is neither here nor there. Hank puts into words in this song a feeling that many in the community have; this place isn't for us. This song became somewhat of an anthem for some, including myself, who felt like they didn't belong in the Muggle world. This isn't Hogwarts.