Blog Post #2-Befriending Empathy

Harry Potter—one of the most empathetic characters I have ever come across in a series of novels. Harry’s empathy comes from his actions and, most importantly, his heart and soul. From the beginning of to the end, Harry Potter’s empathetic tendencies allow him to overcome the traumatic events he is constantly up against and befriend people that other’s see unworthy of the Boy-Who-Lived.

In Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry has lived with the horrid Dursleys all his life and they treat him like a piece of dirt in attempt to rid him of his magic. They also force Harry to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs, while succumbing to the Dursleys' every wish. Even though Harry has had such an awful “home” life, he manages to overcome his traumatic past and be normal, even for a teenage wizard. On the Hogwarts Express, Harry encounters Ron Weasley and offers Ron some of his candy goods. “Harry who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way all Harry’s pasties,”(102). Harry knows how Ron is feeling and wants to help him out. This is the first time Harry has actually had money of his own and he is proud to be able to help and share his wealth with his friends. Ron becomes Harry’s best mate and assists Harry in every adventure throughout the rest of the series.

A character we see Harry be most empathetic towards is Neville Longbottom. Neville is a fellow Gryffindor and Draco Malfoy constantly picks him on. Harry sees himself in Neville when Malfoy says nasty things to him. In Sorcerer’s Stone, he tells Neville that he is worth twelve of Malfoy when Neville is on the verge of tears (218). Harry Potter understands how Neville feels because he has felt the same way when Dudley bullies him. In Order of the Phoenix, Harry works with Neville every D.A. meeting to ensure he acquires the ability to protect himself and fight the Death Eaters when the time comes. Harry knows Neville might not be the best in the class, but he trusts Neville and gives Neville the strength to become a brave wizard who can stand and fight for himself!

Through all of Harry’s hardships in life, he some how became a magnificent person just like his parents. Harry has grown to see that he isn’t different from everyone else, and, even though he sometimes struggles to remember this, Harry’s empathy towards others constantly shines through allowing him to have friends that are loyal to him and that is the exact opposite of what Voldemort wants.

Blog Post 2-A Coming of Age

If there is any relying theme I have seen through the Harry Potter books it is coming of age for many of the characters. Before I talk about the obvious one, I would like to address a character that is less obvious.

Ron definitely goes through stages with his age throughout the books. In the beginning, Ron is the youngest Weasley to date going to Hogwarts while everyone predicts who he is just by how he looks and what types of books he is carrying around. He can be very immature, and Ron is actually the most like an 11 year old boy out of the main characters. He is very much into certain sports and hobbies like card collecting. He even seems to have the persona of "girls are icky" when he is around Hermione and even other girls. After a while, he starts to mature a little bit. He starts to actually notice girls, and like every other man, he makes poor decisions to impress the girl of interest. It is obvious by now that Ron has some type of feelings for Hermione. Throughout the books he goes from just being her friend to having times where Harry walks in on a conversation between Ron and Hermione and things get really awkward really fast. Ron also shows he rising maturity as he supports Harry. Instead of just being with Harry side by side in he quest to defeat whatever evil is lurking in Hogwarts, Ron becomes an emotional rock for Harry as well. This only comes with maturity.

Harry, of course, is the classic coming of age character. Harry does have some characteristics of an eleven year old, but he also seems learn his role in life much faster than his peers. By the 5th book, when he is only 15, he knows a huge part of his life is going to be about his feud with Lord Voldemort. Coming of age has to do with not only growing in maturity but also knowing a lot about what you feel your life contributes to the rest of the world. For Harry, he finds out only he or Lord Voldemort can live which is where we are finally going to see what happens in the final installment of the series. Harry does begin to notice girls, and think about what he wants to do as a career, but his ultimate coming of age scenario is his battle against Voldemort. In the 5th book, when Harry faces Voldemort again we all seem to have the thought of "he is NOT ready" when we are reading. By the time this seventh books comes around, we know Harry has everything he needs in his abilities to face, and even defeat, Lord Voldemort. Something only a coming of age theme can capture.

Blog Post #2

Two characters that have developed in some surprising ways are Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. The coming of age theme is definitely seen in Harry and Ron’s changing emotions and feelings. Each character drastically changes or matures from one book to the next as the story progresses. Harry’s default feeling is modesty. Ron’s default emotion is jealousy. They both start out with these emotions in the first book. In the second book, Harry develops more happiness with his friends and the rest of his family he has at Hogwarts. Ron develops trust in which Harry can confide in. In the third book, Harry discovers that Sirius Black is his Godfather in which he put much hope in as a future family. Hope is developed more in Harry Potter. Ron takes the fame received from his broken leg. Ron develops his confidence in himself. In the fourth book, the Triwizard Tournament develops Harry’s courage and bravery. These two feelings are needed for each task. Ron is tested by his confidentiality to keep a secret when he is taken and used in the tournament. Also he has developed feelings for Hermione once her beauty was shown at the Yule Ball and becomes jealous of Viktor Krum.

In the fifth book, this is like a midlife crisis for Harry and Ron but mostly Harry as Lord Voldemort becomes more powerful. Ron’s feelings develop more for Hermione and more courage is needed to fight off Death Eaters. Even though Ron has feelings for Hermione, they are subtle when around her. With the start of Voldemort’s return, it causes Harry emotionally and mentally to struggle with this challenge. He has just experienced the death of a friend, Cedric Diggory, due to Voldemort, and he’s very confused and angered by this whole experience. Harry, throughout the book, constantly feels frustration and anger. The worst part is that the mind connection between Voldemort and Harry has strengthened. Now instead of just feeling when Voldemort’s near or when he’s murderously angry, Harry feels everything, every emotion, happy or not. These emotions do not have to be enormous to feel them. For example, when Harry was in detention with Professor Umbridge, and she touches his hand and he feels a swooping sensation in his stomach. He does not realize at first but it is because of Voldemort, that he was feeling happy because Harry was feeling so miserable at the time. It is very hard for Harry to separate his emotions from Voldemort’s own. Voldemort is incapable of feeling love, and is usually in a murderous, angry or foul mood, and this really affects Harry throughout the book. Harry snaps at people for no reason, he gets angry all the time. Harry Potter is also more determined than he has been in previous books because he wants good and truth to prevail. This determination changes him forever and his whole outlook on life. He finds out in the end that it has to be him who kills Lord Voldemort. Then, if all that wasn`t enough, he`s also a teenager who's going through all those confusing emotions of a first love. Finally, his godfather is killed in the end and becomes depressed, angry, confused, mournful and abandoned. The fifth book is Harry going through this giant, wild emotional roller coaster. A lot of pressure gets put on Harry after the fifth book.

Emotions or feelings are the most dominant in the coming of age theme. Each book highlights Ron and Harry as something requires a new emotion or feeling out of them. Each change of emotion influences the coming of age theme to be reassessed whether triggered by a death or a love or a friend. The fifth book is the most prominent in the coming of age theme.

Blog Post 2

To me, it seems that one of the major themes that are being explored is that of having and feeling empathy for others. Of course, it is most noticed in the character of Harry Potter. When you first are introduced to Harry Potter, we see him as an 11 year old boy, who has been through so much neglect all throughout his life due to his relatives he is living with. However, even though he goes through this neglect, he does not shut down, like you would think most people would. Instead, he does the opposite and seems to radiate empathy towards others. This is seen in a variety of ways throughout the series.

Harry is this boy that you would think would really turn out to be a bully, instead he is the opposite and is kind of turned into a hero for those who are less fortunate. Those who are in need of acceptance, such as Neville or Luna, seem to gravitate towards Harry. Harry even shows empathy towards the professor who is always predicting his death. This is seen when Umbridge decides to try to throw her out of the school, and Harry feels very sorry for her. Next, he shows empathy a lot with Hagrid. Hagrid is a person who in many occasions could quite plainly be seen as very naïve and constantly puts his students at risk. Instead of looking at this side of Hagrid, Harry feels a lot of empathy for him regarding his past with his father and mother, his half-brother, and even when he has Norbert. Harry realizes how much these things affect Hagrid and how they make him feel, and so he relates to him.
The most shocking of Harry feeling empathy is not those that he feels for his friends, peers, or professors. Instead, it is the empathy he seems to feel for Lord Voldemort. Harry feels this when he is with Dumbledore and they are exploring the thoughts of those that used to “know” Voldemort. When Voldemort was known as Tom Riddle, as a young boy, Harry feels very sorry for him because of having a father who abandoned him and a mother who would not fight to stay alive for her son. Dumbledore even asks Harry if he could be feeling sorry for Voldemort. Harry quickly retracts and says no, but the reader knows better. It is very obvious that Harry does indeed feel sorry for him.

Empathy is a major theme in Harry Potter and it is a major trait that Harry has. To be able to understand Harry as a character, you must first be able to understand the empathy that he is able to feel towards others. The entire series kind of revolves around Harry and his empathy or the lack of empathy in others, as what is seen with Voldemort.

A Shift in Priorities, a Shift in Plot: Blog 2

I feel as if I could say "one of the greatest things about Harry Potter is . . ." eighty different times, about eighty different things and mean them all, but I earnestly and sincerely mean it when I say that one of the greatest things about Harry Potter is the visible growth and maturity of the characters as the story progresses.

For some reason, and I do believe I am not alone in this, I seem to confuse Harry with someone far older than he really is. As I read, I cast blame and disappointment in Harry's direction, and somehow seem to forget . . . HE'S JUST 11! Or 12 or 13 or whatever! Either way, the knowledge and maturity I give to Harry is always far greater in years than is accurate.

Rowling does a PHENOMENAL job in subconsciously reminding the reader of Harry's age by allotting the realistic priorities of a young boy (or girl) in tandem with a much larger issue: Voldemort. A perfect example of this can be found in books 1 and 7.
Book 1: general worry about the Stone, great worry about the House Cup and reputation
Book 7: threat of Voldemort too large to return to school . . . reputation?
Now, this may be so extreme it is obvious . . . but does anyone really remember, OR CARE, who won the House Cup after book 1? Yeah, someone out there might, but the point is, the less Harry cares about it, the more he grows up.

I'll never forget reading the end of the Half Blood Prince and being shocked that the trio would not be returning to Hogwarts. The shock wasn't so much at the idea that they would be searching for Horcruxes, but that Hermione would not be finishing school! Even for me, at 22 and enraged by so many things in this world, I am always saying "Well, after I graduate . . ." And, sure, our circumstances are astronomically (literally) different, but, THIS IS IT.

How perfectly Rowling shows the true character of these three by their tangible shift in priorities preparing for book 7.

One of the most emotional scenes for me is (and, although the movie changed it a great deal of it, I still believe the film makers did a beautiful job) when Hermione obliviates her parents memory in the Deathly Hallows. I feel like I could cry every time I read it, mainly because I don't know where she finds the courage . . .
"Assuming I survive our hunt for the Horcruxes, I'll find Mum and Dad and lift the enchantment. If I don't - well, I think I've cast a good enough charm to keep them safe and happy. Wendell and Monica Wilkins don't know that they've got a daughter, you see" (97).
What a horrific image of maturity? I can't image my seventeen-year-old self forcing my family to forget me and not knowing if I'll ever see them again . . . it makes me wonder if securing the safety of the ones you love so you can risk your life for, well, the whole world ever feels good?

How true and wonderful and hard to believe that these three are not living, breathing people, but just characters, tragically imaged and never human . . . their story of growing up, simultaneously casting the same shadows as my generation, is beautifully crafted.

Response to Blog Post 2

I really believe that this series, is a coming of age series. It starts out with most of the main characters at a age of 11-12 and ends with them as adults. (In the wizard world, adult age is 17). Through all of the books and the movies we see many struggles and see them over come these struggles as well. So the theme i am going to focus on is coming of age. I will also focus on Harry as the main character of this. Harry and all his friends resemble another hollywood idea of the brat pack. They all start out together at school with growing up and trying to survive school with one another. I believe these books to be a major coming of age ideas. These books and movies too, show them growing up with some issues like being stalked and almost killed by many different people that are loyal to Voldemort. Other things that are not so drastic are just falling in love, passing school and getting through mild to moderate drama that pre teens and teenagers fall in a category of.

All of these things that are brought up like adolescent drama and problems follow up with the ideas of this being a coming of age books and film. In the first book, for an example of small pre teen drama would be, when hermione is very quick to answer questions and Ron makes fun of her and she stampers off through the little crowd crying. This shows how emotional everyone is during this time of their age. Another little problem is when Draco and Harry meet for the first time they do not get along at all. Draco tells Harry he should not mess around or be friends with Ron even though Ron is a pure blood like Draco. Draco is a bully to all of them, not just even harry, ron and hermione but too everyone he doesnt like or disagrees with him. Along with the idea of pure bloods and either half bloods or "mudbloods, Draco makes fun of anyone who is not pure blood or at least half blood. He definitely makes fun of ones who are muggle born, which to him they are called "mudbloods". All of this disputes are something that young teenagers have to deal with like bullying and maturity. These are some of the bad aspects of a coming of age film. In the 6th book romance comes into play a lot. After Ron is poisoned, he keeps saying Hermiones name and they realize how much they actually like each other. With this we can see how friendship actually brought them together, along with Harry and Ginny.

Overall these books show how much love and friendship come into play in a coming of age book series. The characters in this book make it through so much drama, frienship and love that they take care of of each other and eventually make it through everything that is set before them.

Blog Prompt #2

Over the course of the Harry Potter series, we have witnessed characters develop in some surprising ways. These developments have implications for the way in which we read the series, and particularly, for our understanding of what Rowling are saying about themes like coming of age, traumatic experience, historical trauma, empathy, etc. Consider the way in which one or two characters’ development has/have affected your broader interpretation of the series using one of the major themes. Discuss how specific moments of character development have lead you to reassess how one of the major themes is being explored. Your response should be in the range of 300-500 words.