I can't help but to completely immerse myself into this novel every time I read it. Not only because of the magical world it allows my imagination to roam in, but more so because of the parts of the story that are reality and I secretly long for. Hogwarts, flying broomsticks, spells and charms don't have meaning to me without Harry's “muggle” side. Hero aside, Harry is so much of what we are or what we wish to be.To some extent everyone experiences friendships, family, school/learning, failure and/or success. Life, if you will. For me, certain parts of the novel that address these things are what I consider to be achievable for my own life, hence why I said I secretly desire it. Harry has an unbreakable bond with Ron and Hermione and though I have awesome friends I get the feeling that Harry, Ron, and Hermione's friendship is stronger than any bond I have with my friends. Naturally I desire to have a friendship like theirs and therefore I get very involved in their friendship in the book, so much that I consider myself to be in that friendship and experience the bond that I crave, but don't have in reality.
Also, Harry is constantly striving to make his parents proud. Even though they aren't alive, he usually considers his parents before making decisions. This applies to my life as well. I am always trying to please my parents because I find a sense of self-worth in how successful they deem me to be. This allows me to further embrace the novel as I crave to please my parents the way Harry pleases his. For instance, at the end of HP and the Goblet of Fire, when Harry duels Voldemort and briefly sees his parents, they tell Harry what to do when to connection between the wands break. During that quick conversation, you can see that his parents love him and are very proud of him, and secretly (or not secretly?) I think most children desire to make their parents feel the way Harry's parents feel about him... proud!
Hi Lauren, you certainly hit on a lot of the points that help us relate to Harry and make reading these books so enjoyable. I wonder what are some of the other aspects of the book that give it so much value to so many readers?
ReplyDeleteHi Lauren, I have to agree with you that we all want to make our parents proud. I always think of them before doing anything because I want them to be proud of me. I am also a little jealous about the friendship that Harry, Ron, and Hermione have. I wish that I had a friend that was so strong like the three of them.
ReplyDeleteI really like your post Lauren! I also was intrigued by the relationship between Ron, Harry, and Hermione. I believe Harry becomes the hero he is because of Ron and Hermione. It shows the power of friendship in this novel, as well as the other Harry Potter books. If you think back to a lot of portions in the novel, Harry would not have gotten through certain situations without his two friends. This shows how important these two friends are for Harry throughout all of the novels. Great post!
ReplyDeleteIt seems weird that I'm writing the same thing as everyone else, but I feel the same way. This post was dead on. Without Ron and Hermione, Harry wouldn't have got out of those situations. They were like his Robin or Alfred. His friendships made him the hero he grew to be.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you about both points you brought up. When we read Harry Potter, not only do we look up to him as a hero, but we also see how greatly he cherishes his friendship with Ron and Hermione. While Harry is the center of most of the heroic actions, he would never be able to continue without the support of his friends. I feel like this is a great lesson for children to learn, especially in the individualistic society we live in today. One can only go so far on their own without support and good relationships.
ReplyDeleteTo see Harry so interested in making his parents, who he never knew, proud of him is very powerful. I think this shows the strong bond between parents and their children. A part of growing up is having that endless support from our parents and also wanting to make them proud. Harry does this even though they died before he was old enough to know them. I believe this shows how important a parent's guidance is through a child's life. Whether present in our lives or not, we seek guidance and approval from our parents.
I thought you made a really good point about the human or "muggle" side of Harry and how that enhances a story that already seems to be teeming with magic beyond imagination. I think that's why everyone likes the books so much - an identifiable character can appeal to a wide audience and everyone can relate to those parent moments. Nice insights.
ReplyDelete