Blog Post #1

Hey Everybody! Feels very good to be contributing to the Gryffindor House!!! =) I must say that after I saw a friend of mine post on her facebook she was taking a Harry Potter literature class, I immediately became very excited and knew I had to be a part of it. I loved Harry Potter even since I had read the first book. I first read the book years ago and that put me in the same age bracket as Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Immediately I had a fasination for each character and the heroic story that I knew little about. I also had quite the imagination for my age and desperately wanted my own letter to Hogwarts, a owl, and the whole shabang! I made it my own personal goal to re-read all of Harry Potter books to put to story back into my head. Books 5-7 I read in a day, so I'm sure I missed out on some imporant little details of foreshadowing. In the first book, Sorcerer's Stone, at first I had my expectation raised that Snape was the evil bad guy. He was chanting during the Quiddich match and had an overall bad attitude towards Harry (as well as anybody associated with Harry). However, in the movie, I noticed that even though Hermione and Ron were focused on Snape, if you look at Professor Quirrell, he is also chanting! In the book, I immediately started expecting Snape to be the bad guy, but I was secretly suspecting Professor Quirrell. In Chapter 7, Harry had a bad dream that Professor Quirrell was trying to put him in Slytherin, along with the talking turbin, and Malfoy turns into Snape. Even though Harry doesn't remember the dream, it kind of foreshadowed to me that Professor Quirrell might not be what he seems. An example of an expectation not being fulfilled would be what actually happened to Harry's parents? This secret is kept in the dark for several books. We find out a little bit more in each book, but just enough to keep our interest. Another example ***SPOILER ALERT*** we don't even find out until the Order of the Phoenix that Harry's father (and friends) were absoutely rotten to Snape. In Chamber of Secrets, we find out many, many, many foreshadowing events that we won't even discover until the last couple books. For example (and I won't say what they are exactly/meant/play into just for the readers who haven't read the books, but they are "foreshadowing" spoilers) the store Borgin and Burkes, the necklace Malfoy was looking at, Expelliarmus!, and horcruxes. We also find that Tom Riddle was Lord Voldemort as well as a previous student at Hogwarts. That must mean he has a past and possibily Dumbledore might play into his past somehow. Although several expectations are not fulfilled, which I think is a good thing, in the case of the first few books. If Snape had been the bad guy all along and all expectations were fulfilled, there would really be no need to read the next book. The series would've been done for me. Rowling's use of surprise and allowing books to foreshadow and play off each other keeps the series alive and interesting, while wondering what's going to happen next! <3