Blog #2 Prompt#2-Never Underestimate the Silent Hero

Neville Longbottom is pretty much an underdog. I would think of Neville as a silent hero. Harry is the major big hero that tries to save everyone, but Neville has done many honorable things thus far in the series and he has a lot to offer when it comes to helping out others. In the beginning of the series he just gets by with what he can. He’s not really too good at any of his classes, especially potions because he is scared of Professor Snape. From what we have read so far Neville has come and surprised me as a reader. In the Sorcerer’s Stone he is awarded point from Dumbledore for standing up against his friend. Dumbledore says, “It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.” Harry finds out about Neville’s parents in the Goblet of Fire and it changes the way he sees Neville. Neville’s parents were tortured into an absent-minded state which Neville keeps to himself. His grandmother was upset when she found out that he had not told his friends. She says that he should be proud of them. When doing “training” with the D.A., Neville surprises himself at how well he was able to do many of the spells. When Harry and the gang get to Ministry it is surprising that Neville was not one of the students who get knocked out by a Death Eater. Instead of getting knocked out he in turn helps out Harry with trying to get the others to safety and protect the prophecy which in the end ends up shattering. Neville’s grandmother, and probably his parents, would be proud to hear how he helped to fight off Death Eaters. I think that Neville has a lot to in helping out Harry and the gang to defeat Voldemort even though he is not very good at many of the subject taught at Hogwarts. He has proven himself as a silent hero this far in the series and we should hope that he will do more hero work as the series finishes. prompt 

Blog Prompt #2 Character Development and Transformation

Being a first time reader of the series I must say it has been a thrill not just to read the books for the first time, but also to watch as each character is molded and shaped into a stronger more developed person as the stories progress. I think that the way Rowling goes about doing so is with such clever and subtle technique. One character that I would like to use as an example from my point of view that has thus far developed immensely throughout the first five books is Ron. Now granted he can be one of the biggest cowards to hit the face of the earth, but beneath the thin facade scarcity there seems to be an extreme amount of courage that is pushing through slowly and gradually. I think one thing that struck me as Ron going out of his comfort zone in a way was joining the Quiditch team for the house of Gryffindor. Anything I think that involved thrill or risk of danger made previous Ron cringe at the thought of such things. So joining the Quiditch team was a little big I think in regards to Ron's previous experiences at Hogwarts. Also another thing to notice about Ron peoples underestimation about his own knowledge. I really think that Ron is just beginning to show people his true colors that there is  more to him than just glitches and a brain full of cob webs.

Another character that I must say that I do think has changed in ways is Hermoine and what I mean by that is her willingness to go more outside of the box with things, whereas in previous books she would rebuke such thoughts. Her willingness to group with Harry and others against the forces of Umbridge was most definitely out of the box. I think that she is finally realizing that sometimes risks are worth taking if the outcome is for the good. I am really excited to see where the character of both Ron and Hermoine will go in the last two books, so far I am impressed.

Discovering Potential - Blog Post #2

I think that Neville Longbottom is the character whose growth and development has surprised me the most. From the very start of the series, I knew that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were destined for great things, but Neville seemed initially to just be a comic relief figure who was clumsy and unfortunate. Even in Book One, when Neville wins points at the end of the year for standing up for his friends, I thought that maybe this was just a small fluke. I never had the expectation that he would grow up to be a strong and capable character, especially when he admits so early on in the series that his family thought he might be a squib. This continued for me well into Book Three with Harry’s comparisons of Neville and Pettigrew. At this point, it really seemed that Neville, like Pettigrew, had his circle of friends more because they were in close proximity to one another rather than because they had actual things in common besides being in the same house and class. Still, at this point in the series, it didn’t seem to me that Neville would ever actually “fit in” seamlessly with the other Gryffindors. However, Book Four was the beginning for me of seeing Neville develop well as a character and start to grow up. First, there is his notable achievement in the subject of Herbology. Neville is rather sub-par in most of his subjects, so I think that the fact that he found a subject that he excelled in helped him to start believing in himself in other aspects in life. This continues on in Book Five when he joins Dumbledore’s Army to learn defense against the dark arts. Neville actually begins to learn and do well when he is in a non-traditional class setting. This shows that his abilities at Herbology are not a fluke. While he does not always seem to be grasping concepts because of his social anxiety, Neville is clearly a very capable wizard when in the right setting, such as the D.A. meetings. Then, by the end of Book Five, Neville completely astounded me when he did something heroic by insisting on accompanying the others to fight Voldemort and the Death Eaters at the Ministry of Magic. If you would have asked me in Books One through Three whether or not Neville would be brave enough to fight alongside Harry and others by Book Five, I would have laughed, but Neville believable progressed to that point in this series. I think that he exemplifies the theme of the coming-of-age story in this series because, at least in my opinion, he had further to go than the others when it comes to learning to display the qualities of Gryffindors. While Harry, Ron, and Hermione all show a lot of bravery in every book, Neville had to really learn how to be brave. Also, Neville’s story touches on the theme of the aftermath of trauma. We learn a lot in Books Four and Five about Neville’s personal family history. He, like Harry and Voldemort, was forced to grow up without his parents. He psychologically has to deal with living in his father’s shadow until the beginning of Book Six when it is revealed that his grandmother finally seems proud of him after his involvement with the Ministry kerfuffle the previous year. I think that Neville’s story shows that he really has been a stronger character than I ever believed even in the earlier books because he had to deal with such a horrible tragedy at such a young age and yet he seems emotionally stable. He, like Harry and unlike Voldemort, learned to rise above his tragedy and still find goodness in the world.  

Character development is one aspect of the Harry Potter series that I tip my hat off for Rowling. She beautifully shows how each major character develops from the beginning of the series, in book one, to the final book, number seven. One character that I feel she shows remarkable change in is Draco Malfoy. 

Draco Malfoy's type of character development is a tad different then most individuals may notice. Normally, characters develop positively and show growth through new eye opening experiences that better the character however, Rowling develops Draco Malfoy into a character that most readers hate. 

In the beginning, we she depicts Malfoy as a bully on interested in Harry for his fame and glory. After Harry shoots done Malfoy's horrible attempt at friendship we see him become more and more agressive and intolerable. 

Through the rest of the series Malfoy develops into a series villain taking on the tasks from the dark lord himself. This Type of development is special since he seems to be the only character to show remarkable change negatively throughout the entire series. 

Growth and Change of Neville Longbottom

A character that shows significant development through out the Harry Potter series is Neville Longbottom. He shows great change and improvement in various aspects of his being, especially bravery. In the series, characters are constantly being pushed to their limits, facing more and more danger with each installment of the series. Neville is no exception. In book 1, Neville arrives at Hogwarts with as a clumsy shy student. He is not by any means a star student and is constantly the target of Malfoy’s incessant bullying. Neville was sorted into Gryffindor, which confuses him as well as others. Neville is seen as a coward up until the near the end of book 1. When Harry, Ron, and Hermione are about to leave the common room to go save the Sorcerer’s Stone, Neville tries to stop them, and even threatens to fight them. This small scene gives the readers great insight into Neville’s potential. We see that when he is put into a situation where bravery is necessary, Neville will rise to the occasion to enforce what he thinks is right.

Through out the next few books, Neville is displays fleeting moments of bravery, but the next real instance that shows his courage is in book 5. Neville first shows this when he joins Dumbledore’s Army. He joins enthusiastically and eventually his technique and dueling ability start to improve. Then, when Harry decides that he must go to the Ministry of Magic, Neville is determined that he, as well as the other DA members, should accompany Harry. Harry at first says no, but Neville is persistent. This shows incredible bravery; he knew the danger that he was getting into, but he also knew that it had to be done. Through out the battle at the Ministry, through all of the dueling and curses, Neville tells Harry that no matter what, the Death Eaters must not get the prophecy. Neville didn’t care what happened to him, as long as Voldemort did not get the prophecy. Yet again, Neville perfectly exemplifies courage.

Character Development

One of my favorite aspects of Rowling's writing in the Harry Potter series is how she develops her characters throughout the series. One of my favorite examples is Hermione and how she transforms from being a no-risk goody-two-shoes to one of the bravest students in Gryffindor. In the beginning of the series, she is constantly trying to talk Harry and Ron out of doing things that will get them into trouble. However, as situations become more dire, Hermione begins to justify breaking rules because it is necessary. It is originally Hermione’s idea to form Dumbledore’s Army despite Umbridge’s rules, and it is because she sees the need to break them. The evil that is spreading throughout the wizarding world forces Hermione to break out of her shell, and do what needs to be done.

         Harry also develops interestingly throughout the series when you consider all the trauma he has witnessed and been a part of. His traumatic experiences, such as the murders of his parents, Cedric Diggory, and Sirius could have changed him for the worse, and at one point, they almost did. After Bellatrix kills Sirius in The Order of the Phoenix, Harry attempts to use the Cruciatus curse on Bellatrix. In a moment of weakness, Harry wants to hurt Bellatrix as badly as he can by using an Unforgivable curse. However, after that instance passes, he remembers what he holds dear to him such as love and friendship. The development of his character is interesting because despite all of his traumatic experiences, he very rarely loses himself or loses sight of what is important to him. 

Make up quiz #2

1. What kind of person is Prof Lupin? What does he represent for Harry? What kind of person is Sirius Black and what does he represent for Harry?

Professor Lupin is a werewolf. No one in Hogwarts knows but a very few people like Dumbledore and Snape. Lupin is not only the professor of Defense of Dark Arts but he is a friend to Harry Potter. While the demonaters are protecting the school, many times they try to attack Potter. Lupin teaches Potter a defense against these demonaters so Harry can stand up to them when they try to attack him. Lupin has to end up retiring at the end of the book because he does not have his potion that helps him not turn into a werewolf and attack the wizards and witches. Everyone loved him teaching the Defense of Dark Arts classes because he makes them fun and exciting.

Surprisingly, Sirius Black is a good person. He is not the person that everyone thinks he is. He never wanted to kill Harry Potter and he is not a dangerous person.  Black is actually Harry’s Godfather. Black actually escaped from Azkaban because he wanted to find and kill another person, who ends up being an animal. Ron Weasleys rat ends up being the person that Black wants to kill. He finds out that Scabbers is in fact, Peter Pettigrew. He is helping You-Know-Who get to Harry.  Even though Black had to go hide somewhere, Harry still loves that he can write to him and talk to him about things that he could never talk to his aunt and uncle about. He finally has someone that cares about him in his family.