Monday, November 29, 2010

Truth: When Hidden for Good Reasons Can Prove to Be Bad (*Spoiler Alert!*)

   So here I am, typing up another blog post for ELA. Luckily, this one's for Harry Potter.
  Harry Potter. Albus Dumbledore. Both are united by power being the great wizards they are and of pasts, so painful and horrific that, to others, is almost unimaginable. But that's where they're both separated; everyone knows about The Boy Who Lived but how many people really knew about Ariana or about the friendship between Dumbledore and Grindelwald before their epic duel?
  Harry thought that he knew Dumbledore because he had confided in him and he had, in a way, been Harry's mentor. But when Rita Skeeter published everything about Ariana, Dumbledore's sister, Harry started to question him and that questioning only grew when he learned that Dumbledore and Grindelwald had been friends and that they had planned to control the muggle world. So in the end, I was only able to say that it seems that Harry hardly knew Dumbledore; Dumbledore had been the one that knew Harry really well.
  In the end, something I started to wonder was, did Dumbledore really help Harry? Or was he trying to gain something by killing Voldemort? I had never doubted Dumbledore's care for Harry but I have started to wonder whether or not he thought about gaining something from Harry's victories.
  Trust is something that you gain you don't just automatically have someone's trust. Trust is dangerous yet safe because placing your trust in the wrong person's hands can end up with you being killed. Yet there are also those that place their trust in  what seem to be the wrong people but end up being unlikely heroes but their actions make them enemies to both good and evil.
  If you don't know who I'm talking about then you should re-read Harry Potter 7. Severus Snape was in the Order of the Phoenix and he was also a Death Eater. If he was on both extremes, then which side was he truly on? In Harry Potter 3, he saved Harry from being attacked by lupin when he turned into a werewolf. He could've just let him die or was he thinking of his obligation as a teacher?
  Dumbledore and Snape were both heroes but who was the greater hero? Dumbledore showed a lot more care and affection towards Harry but he made Harry feel like he never knew who he was. Snape shows no sign of care for Harry but yet he has protected Harry many times.
  Truth. Snape never told Harry much. Dumbledore's decision in not telling Harry about his past when he was alive effected Harry greatly because he had to hear it from Rita Skeeter which, being a Harry Potter fan, completely sucks and is very sad. In my opinion, one must speak with truth personally as opposed to hearing it from someone else because other words that aren't yours penetrate your feelings more than if you said it up front. 
  Truth is, Dumbledore chose to make these decisions for reasons that are unknown to us and will probably never be answered. He wanted to prepare Harry for time came to confront Voldemort and by not giving him answers, I think he tried to teach Harry to solve his problems independently.
  Oh snap!! Ok so one last comment. I just realized that Grindelwald and Dumbledore were the greatest wizards of their time when they confronted each other and in the end, Dumbledore won. Now history is repeating itself and like last time, good wins because Harry was able to defeat Dumbledore.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Hogwarts Was Never Created

  Harry Potter. That first sentence says it all. It marks the beginning of a journey, the beginning of an era, it marks the beginning of a story that has, since the first book came out, captivated millions. But most importantly, it introduces us to Hogwarts, a school in which a really powerful wizard, known as Harry Potter, has been enrolled in that J.K Rowling discovered.  
  Yes, you heard right, J.K Rowling did NOT create Hogwarts, she discovered it. Hogwarts was always there but no one decided to write about it because being muggles, we didn't know that such things as magic were possible. This kinda reminds me of Bridge to Terabithia because I didn't know of Terabithia until Katherine Paterson helped Jess and Leslie open the doors to Terabithia for me.
  Harry Potter. Now, who is Harry Potter? Laugh all you want but the answer to this question is more complicated than you think. It's a complicated question because there are, like, a billion answers to this question and all, for the most part, are true. It all depends on perspective. For example, if you're Harry's uncle, Vernon, you might say that Harry is a very troubled boy and that he's good for nothing... one of the worst of his lot. If you were Hermione or Ron, you might say that Harry is a really great, caring friend and that he can be somewhat of a troublemaker but that he's also courageous. But being him that we're talking about, Harry might say something like, "I'm just me".
  Another reason why this is such a complicated question is because there are so many parts to this answer that not even J.K Rowling knows. You can attempt to fully answer this question but there's always many more questions that follow your explanation. It's practically impossible to not have a question.
  What lured me into the Harry Potter series was the possibility that such a wizarding world like that could really exist. Even though I've read all 7 books in the series I haven't really learned everything I wish I could've about Hogwarts. I think it would be really helpful if there was a book by J.K Rowling just about Hogwarts then it will really help me understand Harry and Dumbledore as well as others a bit more (not that I ever really understood what went on in their minds).
  Well, to conclude I would like to, once again, repeat what I first said: J.K Rowling did NOT create Hogwarts. Hogwarts has always existed since the day it was first founded (I temporarily forgot when in time this happened) but it was J.K Rowling that told us that it existed by writing her first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Ever since then Hogwarts has inspired her to continue to write such a well-known and well-written series that has caught the attention of many readers.
  So do you agree with my logic? Can you prove me wrong? (Don't worry it's completely cool if you prove me wrong [not]). =)

     **Note: Harry Potter 7 in theaters in 4 days!!!**