Blog #2 Ginny Weasley

Throughout the entire Harry Potter series we follow three main adolescents in their growth and development; Harry Potter discovers who his parents were and what his past really was and lives to make the memory proud and boldly avenge his parents’ death, Ron Weasley struggles with living up to his brothers’ reputations, and Hermione Granger develops humbly and gracefully as a first generation witch in her family. While the maturation of these characters is pivotal to the entire plot line, the “minor” character development is greatly essential as well. We see the development of Draco Malfoy and his cronies into larger and more malevolent individuals, of Neville Longbottom into a much more confident and braver spirit, and even of Peeves into a poltergeist that is not just all about childish trickery, but as part of the movement against Umbridge along with most of Hogwarts. This is to say that it is not just the main characters that are the most important in the success of a plot, but it also heavily relies on the persons surrounding them.

One character we witness grow in more than just a physical aspect and that is not part of the spotlight trio is Ginny Weasley, and her development is undeniably one of coming of age. We’re introduced to her in both “The Philosopher’s Stone” and “The Chamber of Secrets” as the timid, youngest, and only female of the Weasley siblings, and the one who has a fan-girl crush on the “famous” Harry Potter. We were led to believe she wouldn’t really amount to much—just another Weasley; however, at the end “The Chamber of Secrets,” we begin to see her importance in the story. She’s still the vulnerable young girl we were initially introduced to, but Harry’s drive to save her reiterates her importance to the plot and in a way, foreshadows the progress of the bravery and events to come.

While she is mostly absent from both “the Prisoner of Azkaban” and “The Goblet of Fire,” Ginny definitely reappears in “The Order of The Phoenix” as a much more confident and not-so-infatuated young woman. She’s begun dating Dean Thomas and starts becoming more liberal, to some extent taking after her brothers Fred and George. She is no longer afraid to talk to Harry, and in fact relates to him about being possessed by Voldemort and sets him straight about his poor attitudes. She continues this maturation of courage and defiance throughout the rest of the series, joining Dumbledore’s Army, convincing others to join the cause, and most notable to many female readers, by becoming more assertive with her feelings towards Harry.

By the end of the series, Ginny is just as strong as we are to believe Lily Potter was in her prime. Rowling skillfully set Harry with a significant other that was just as strong, smart, and brave as he, while being just a little more level-headed—keeping his feet on the ground and so forth. Out of all of the complimentary characters in the Harry Potter story, I believe that Ginny’s coming of age is the most relatable (aside from being possessed by a maliciously devilish wizard) to young girls who will read the series; she’s shy and nervous around a somewhat famous boy but grows into her abilities and bravery and is ultimately a confident, loving, and bold individual.

Blog post 2

The couple of the major themes that the Half-Blood Prince made me reassess were coming of age and empathy. The character that really made me think was Snape. Throughout the whole series Snape loyalty has been questioned by almost every character besides Dumbledore. Despite Dumbledore's unwavering trust I think it is fair to say that we all had our susptions. I feel that the Half-Blood Prince was Snape's
Coming of age book. In the beginning of HBP we witness Snape make an unbreakable vow and pledge his elegance to Lord Voldemort. I think this was a scene we had almost been anticipating but hoped it never would come. However, throughout HBP we praise
and accept the Princes' wisdom and instruction. It is when Snape kills Dumbledore that we fully exerpience and
understand what Snape is. He comes into himself as the most evil character in the series. I believe that he is as bad as Voldemort himself for the treachery he committed. Then with the information about being the Half-Blood Prince it is as though we again expose a new side of Snape. The other thing that is the most disturbing to me is Snape's lack of empathy. Here he is standing in front of the man that gave him everything. That opened all the doors to him that had been closed, that saved him from a terrible fate, that's begging him for his life and he kills him. I think that scene takes Rowling's theme of empathy to a shocking low. For as much skepticism there was in Snape no one could predict that kind of cruelty. It also shows how similar Harry could have been like these terrible characters if it weren't for his own resilience and empathy.

Blog Post #2: Character Development

JK Rowling's tale of Harry Potter noticeably highlights the theme of coming-of-age through its character development over the progression of the seven novels, particularly with Harry Potter. In Book One, Harry is young and innocent, standing on the outskirts of a world that appears to be exciting and full of potential. Like all of us, an important point in our development is when we consider the world to be a fun-filled prospect, without any immediate dangers. Young Harry, however, cannot escape the hold of innocence and confronts the man who killed his parents during his very first year. Over the course of his schooling, Harry gains knowledge of his world and surroundings, whilst also having to adjust to the pressures of adolescence. He ultimately witnesses a murder firsthand before he turns sixteen, and sees the world for what it truly is. From the tragedy, Harry reacts in struggles with grief and guilt. He also begins to develop relationships with adults who have taken him in and for once he can feel the belonging that is shared amongst family. As Harry will later come to realize, his connections with his peers are extremely significant at this point, as this will serve as a prelude to Harry’s development into a mature adult. The allies he encounters represent the family he is forging, as he never got to experience development with his true parents. In this process, things do not get any easier for Harry; in fact, they become much harder as Harry loses Sirius and Dumbledore, two important role models in Harry’s life who helped to see him down the right path and make the good choices. Harry also has learned the extent to which his nemesis Voldemort has gone to make himself indestructible.

Entering the seventh book, he not only has to confront this challenge with little previous knowledge, but he also must do it without the help he has so received in the past. Harry and his friends are on their own in Book Seven, and have to defend themselves against anyone who presents themselves as enemies. An important part of coming-of-age is realizing the world for what it truly is, and becoming a fully-fledged, responsible adult who is able to take care of his- or herself. With those around him in danger, Harry accepts the quest and realizes the challenge he is facing, as well as the potential consequences. Harry has also seen and analyzed his experiences with adults around him, including the warm caregiver in Molly Weasley and recklessness-but with good intentions- of Sirius. Harry’s demonstration of his achieving the ideals of adulthood is particularly seen in his confrontation at Grimmauld Place with Lupin in Book Seven, when he argues that his duty as a parent is to put fear aside in order to do what it takes to protect his child. Harry is able to display this knowledge, even though he has never been a parent before. Rowling shows us that, even if we have never experienced these good times before, all of the difficult experiences shared during adolescence can instill in us the right person we should be. Through these ways, Rowling points at the particularly demanding and traumatic events that one may experience on their way to becoming an adult. As a whole, many of the characters in this tale have had to respond to the evils of a wizarding war and have had to grow up faster than usual. Rowling shows that the obstacles faced during this rough time are important for our character when we become adults.

Loony Lovegood

When Harry first meets Luna Lovegood in the Order of the Phoenix, he doesn’t exactly take to her right away and she doesn’t seem like she’s going to be a big character in the series. As the book goes on, we find that Luna is an outcast and that many people refer to her as “Loony Lovegood.” Luna’s character is one that is very much underestimated and often, over looked.

During Order of the Phoenix, Harry is struggling over the death of Cedric and the fact that the whole wizarding world won’t believe what he has to say. His temper is constantly at a boiling point but for some reason, Luna is always there and has a way of calming him down. Throughout the year, the two of them become much closer as they bond over the fact that they are both outcasts and because of this, we learn more about Luna as a person and not just “loony.”

In the very beginning, we learn that Luna and Harry can both see Thestrals and in the development of Luna, and her friendship with Harry, we learn that at the small age of nine, Luna lost her mother. When Harry finds this out, he is better able to connect with her as a person due to this new found connection and because of this we get to see more of Luna.

When Harry decides to run to the ministry to “help” Sirius Black, Luna is one of the only people that come to Harry’s aid in his time of need. It shows us that she is loyal and true to her friends and will be there through it all.

We later learn about the effect that Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny’s friendship had on her in the 7^th book, and that also helps develop her so that we get a better understanding of who she is as a character.

The Character Evolution of Neville Longbottom

Throughout the Harry Potter series, we have witnessed the growth and evolution of many beloved characters. Such an experience is rarely experienced and such an attempt is rarely executed so wonderfully. The character that I have seen grown the most over our readings is Neville Longbottom.

Neville’s character was introduced to the readers at such a low point. He was very much a bumbling fool who could barely do any magic. He himself told the trio that his family had to force some magic out of him and that his Uncle Algie threw him off the roof to do so. We see Neville continue this theme of inability and wizard-class hierarchy during his first flying lesson where his first attempt at riding a broom goes awry. Compared to the likes of Hermione Granger, Neville’s ability as a wizard is subpar. Even his personal character was portrayed as weak when Rowling delved into the bullying theme by having Malfoy and his cronies mock and mistreat Neville. There is, however, some promising redemption for the character when he begins standing up to Malfoy as well as his friends when the trio decides to go find the Sorcerer’s Stone at night. Nonetheless, Neville’s character seemed flat and plain.

This one-dimensional depiction of this character continues throughout the first part of the series until we reach Goblet of Fire. During Harry’s exploration of Dumbledore’s memory within the Pensive, we discover that Neville comes from very powerful and renowned parents, Aurors who were tortured by Death Eaters into insanity. In Order of the Phoenix, we see Neville visiting his parents in St. Mungo’s, and at this point, it dawned on me that Neville embodies the theme of a traumatic past. Neville was revealed to be a broken character. Neville comes from good stock, but what happened to his parents has shattered his life just as Harry’s loss of his own parents has shattered his. Neville’s similarity to Harry is only stressed with the Prophecy. This truly added depth to Neville’s character. In addition to his growing of a backbone in the first two books, Neville begins to improve his magical capabilities within Dumbledore’s Army. Both improvements can be seen when he joins Harry in the Battle of the Ministry in Order of the Phoenix, and when he remains in the Battle of the Tower in Half-Blood Prince. Neville’s progression from a zero to a hero has taken a powerful charge. Within the first half of Deathly Hallows, it is revealed that Neville is leading a strong resistance against Voldemort’s control of Hogwarts.

Neville’s character development will continue to the end of the last novel, lending support to themes such as courage, identity, resistance, and more.

Coming of Age- Hermione and Ron

Throughout the series, I think Rowling emphasizes a lot with coming of age. I think she demonstrates a sense of coming of age in every character in the book because naturally, everyone is getting older. You can see progress and growth in all of the characters through their years spent at Hogwarts. I think two characters that have demonstrated the most growth and changing throughout the years are Hermione and Ron. Hermione is first portrayed as the one who is always right, works hard to achieve positive remarks and strives to achieve perfection in all of her classes. Throughout the series, Hermione is still achieving those same expectations in her school work, yet she becomes more involved in what her friends are doing. Hermione becomes the “go to girl” when her friends are in trouble, or need help or advice. She develops into a more dynamic character throughout the series. In the first book, she tries to stick with the rules and advises Harry and Ron to follow her advice. However, she sticks up for her friends and takes the blame for the troll in the school, which readers wouldn’t suspect her doing (or Ron and Harry either). As the books progress, she becomes more of a challenge seeker and she wants to be involved in most of the things her friends are doing. While she still keeps her love for school and the wizarding world her first priority, she is interested in helping others like the house elves at Hogwarts and everywhere in the wizarding world. Hermione is also one of the characters in the book to show affection towards the opposite sex. She shows interest in boys like Victor Krum and Ron at a very early point in the series. Rowling uses coming of age to show the development Hermione shows to readers. Naturally, people who are the characters age, are starting to like and develop feelings for classmates, friends, etc. and Hermione is a prime example. Hermione and Ron can demonstrate how friendship and relationships may be crossed and confusing for anyone who isn’t used to dating before.

Ron is another character who demonstrates coming of age throughout the series. Ron is first portrayed as a self conscious character that is overshadowed by the accomplishments of his brothers. Ron tends to be jealous of other peoples accomplishments and gets embarrassed easily when he doesn’t do things correctly. He seems to be more immature and careless compared to the others in the series. He has potential, but cares too much about what others are saying about him, like during Quidditch matches. Ron gets jealous of other peoples accomplishments, such as when he thinks Harry entered himself into the Triwizard Tournament or when Hermione develops feelings for Victor Krum. Throughout the series he then becomes interested in girls and starts dating Lavender Brown, but realizes his real affection for Hermione. Ron becomes more mature and is there when his friends need him the most. I think that in order to captivate readers, Rowling depicted coming of age in such a way that is interesting to readers because they can relate to what is going on.

Coming of Age - Ron

One of the main themes of the series is coming of age considering the series is begins when the main characters are eleven. Harry of course is a huge focus of the coming of age theme, but I think this theme greatly applies of Ron as well. Harry and Hermione grew up in the muggle world, so Rob is the reader's only in depth glimpse of a character who grew up in the wizarding world. He grew up in a loving family full of older brothers and a younger sister and with magic all around him. Since all of his brothers attended Hogwarts before him and had been greas as Qudditch starts or Prefects and no one could forget Fred and George, Ron believed he had to prove himself from the very beginning. This is what makes his coming of age different from others such as Harry's. His first year at Hogwarts began his journey to coming of age even though he wasn't considered of age for another six years.
When Harry took Ron to the Mirror of Erised in the Sorcerer's Stone, Ron said he saw himself as Quidditch captain holding the Quidditch cup and all these great things that his brothers had been before him. He wanted to be better than his brothers. I think in the beginning of the series Ron believed in order to live up to his brother's standard, he had to be all these things his brothers were such as Quidditch captain and a prefect.
As the series progresses, I think Ron begins to realize being a prefect or on the Quidditch team isn't what will make him stand out. I think Ron really came of age after they fought the Death Eaters at the Ministry. People began the recognize Ron for different reasons than his brothers. This is when Ron realizes trying to be more than his brothers is not going to make him greater than them. Ron finally saw that by not following in his brother's footsteps that he was able to become great and get out of their shadows. Ron's coming of age involved seeing past the little things like being prefect and Quidditch captian and realizing what mattered was fighting for a cause he really believed in.