Blog Post 3 - Rosmarin

Until this class, I really enjoyed the ending to Harry Potter. Not to say that I don't care for it anymore until recently, but analyzing the book critically has made me think of a few points that are harder for me to ignore until now.

First the concept of Lily's sacrifice requires a lot of suspension of disbelief. I understand the logic behind the power of love in Rowling's universe, I think she uses it well. However, I find it very difficult to believe that Harry is the only person who has ever survived the killing curse. I seriously doubt that no one else has ever totally given up their own life to save someone else in Rowling world. In the series, Lily's sacrifice is arguably the most important element of Harry's life but I struggle to believe that it's incredibly unique. However, this issue has had me asking some friends the following question: in the Harry Potter universe, if Jesus were a wizard and truly divine would him dying for us grant humanity a certain amount of protection from harm? Being able to ask that question for legitimate academic purposes brings me a lot of joy.

The sudden introduction of wandlore seemed like very convenient deus ex machina to me. Harry defeating Voldemort was only possible because he found himself at the end of the line of masters of the Elder Wand. In the last book it was a great mystery and built up a lot of tension until the very last moment. However, the idea of wands obeying certain people was never really seen elsewhere. Throughout the entire series people are being disarmed all the time, especially in the Dumbledore's Army meetings. You could argue that the wand understands context but in that case Harry taking Malfoy's wand from his hands seems like a very banal 'transaction.' If wands could so easily switch masters, I feel like no one would be able to enjoy the power of their own wand for more than a week. It's a fascinating concept that felt thrown in at the last second to justify the events of the last book.