One of my favorite aspects of the Harry Potter series is
Rowling’s brilliant ability to fully develop her characters. Character
development can be seen throughout the entire series in many different ways,
but I believe that one of the most prominent cases of character development
applies to Neville Longbottom. The transformation of Neville’s character can be
seen from the very first book in the series. We are introduced to Neville as a
very forgetful boy that does not seem particularly intelligent or courageous,
even though he was sorted into Gryffindor. We are soon proven wrong about our initial thoughts on
Neville as he soon makes the very courageous decision to stand up to his
friends as they try to leave the Gryffindor common room after they were supposed
to be in bed. This is the point where I began to reconsider Neville’s character
and grew to expect even more development from him in the later books.
I was certainly not disappointed. As the series progresses, Neville finds his niche in Hogwarts as he becomes a renowned Herbology student, that is praised frequently by Professor Sprout. Not only does Neville progress in his Herbology studies around the middle of the series, but he also begins to show improvement in his Defense Against the Dark Arts skills while he takes lessons from Harry with the rest of Dumbledore’s Army. Even though it takes him a while at first to get the hang of these lessons, Harry soon refers to Neville as one of the most improved students in Dumbledore’s Army.
Perhaps most importantly to the character development of Neville Longbottom is his transformation into a true Gryffindor. While there are a few instances where Neville shows bravery (the standing up to your friends example being one of the most prominent), the fifth book in the series really shows Neville’s courageous side. Emotionally, we see his bravery in the St. Mungo’s chapter, as we find out that Neville has had to deal with his parent’s hospitalization and mental state for his entire life. When the trio finds Neville on the hospital ward with his parents, he “looked around at the others, his expression defiant, as though daring them to laugh”. The fact that Neville is ready to take on a group of peers about his parent’s condition shows his pride in his parent’s own bravery as well as his own. Another instance of Neville’s bravery is the fact that he willingly volunteers to accompany the others to the Ministry of Magic to try to save Sirius Black at the end of book five. He took on the Death Eaters present in the Ministry, including Bellatrix Lestrange who was responsible for his parent’s mental state, like his parents would have. Many times during the “battle” at the Ministry, he was fighting multiple Death Eaters with only the help of Harry. Neville has transformed from a forgetful boy terrified of Severus Snape, to a powerful, heroic, and courageous wizard who is now more of a force to be reckoned with. Neville’s transformation definitely shows that bravery is not something that you are necessarily born with, but something that you develop as you grow, and requires a lot of hard work and determination.
I was certainly not disappointed. As the series progresses, Neville finds his niche in Hogwarts as he becomes a renowned Herbology student, that is praised frequently by Professor Sprout. Not only does Neville progress in his Herbology studies around the middle of the series, but he also begins to show improvement in his Defense Against the Dark Arts skills while he takes lessons from Harry with the rest of Dumbledore’s Army. Even though it takes him a while at first to get the hang of these lessons, Harry soon refers to Neville as one of the most improved students in Dumbledore’s Army.
Perhaps most importantly to the character development of Neville Longbottom is his transformation into a true Gryffindor. While there are a few instances where Neville shows bravery (the standing up to your friends example being one of the most prominent), the fifth book in the series really shows Neville’s courageous side. Emotionally, we see his bravery in the St. Mungo’s chapter, as we find out that Neville has had to deal with his parent’s hospitalization and mental state for his entire life. When the trio finds Neville on the hospital ward with his parents, he “looked around at the others, his expression defiant, as though daring them to laugh”. The fact that Neville is ready to take on a group of peers about his parent’s condition shows his pride in his parent’s own bravery as well as his own. Another instance of Neville’s bravery is the fact that he willingly volunteers to accompany the others to the Ministry of Magic to try to save Sirius Black at the end of book five. He took on the Death Eaters present in the Ministry, including Bellatrix Lestrange who was responsible for his parent’s mental state, like his parents would have. Many times during the “battle” at the Ministry, he was fighting multiple Death Eaters with only the help of Harry. Neville has transformed from a forgetful boy terrified of Severus Snape, to a powerful, heroic, and courageous wizard who is now more of a force to be reckoned with. Neville’s transformation definitely shows that bravery is not something that you are necessarily born with, but something that you develop as you grow, and requires a lot of hard work and determination.
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