Blog Post 3

The Harry Potter series was very compelling especially learning about the heroics of many of the characters in Deathly Hallows. Many key characters died during the series such as, Fred Weasley, Sirus Black, Lupin and Tonks, which greatly impacted Harry as he felt responsible for their deaths. Although, the most poignant loss of life was Dumbledore which greatly overwhelmed Harry as he felt unsure of his future without the guidance to defeat Voldemort.  A character that stands out to me is Neville Longbottom. He evolved from a quiet timid young school boy that was the target of many cruel jokes by Malfoy and Peeves, and even Snape his teacher ridiculed him during potions class.  For example, during a potions class Snape once said “tell me boy does anything penetrate that thick skull of yours”(125 Prisoner of Azkaban)  Neville was similar to Harry as he also faced adversity as a child, and was also raised by an abusive relative after Voldemort drove his parents insane.  Although he was a pure-blood he never received the same respect and notoriety as Harry.  However, he persevered and earned respect proving he was a leader, for example he was the first to sign up for Dumbledore’s army. In Deathly Hallows Neville demonstrated bravery as he stood up to Voldemort when he said “We need your kind Neville” (731 Hallows)  Neville resisted Voldemort by telling him “I’ll join you when hell freezes over” (731 Hallows). Neville redeemed himself at the end of the series as he risks his life to kill Voldemort’s snake destroying the last horcreux. One of the most problematic parts of the series was that there were too many Defense Against Dark Art teachers. For instance, as soon as the students would become comfortable with a teacher something tragic would happen and they would be replaced by another difficult teacher.  Many of the Dark Art teachers were verbally abusive to the students and surprisingly it was seemed to be acceptable at Hogwarts. The most evil vindictive Dark Art Teacher Delores Umbridge arrived at Hogwarts making everyone miserable including teachers and students alike. Throughout the series Harry’s undying devotion and courage was unstoppable as he put his life on the line for his friends to defeat Voldemort. As a first time reader to the series I really enjoyed the novels because of the many inspirational characters but mostly, Harry Potter.