One great thing about the Harry Potter series is that it builds upon real mythology to create a world that is so different from our own, yet seems almost familiar. Various creatures from our myths and fairy tales exist in Harry's world, including werewolves, unicorns, dragons, and centaurs. The wizarding world's relationships with the various creatures, both sentient and feral, are varied and reflects real-world concepts like racism and fear of the unknown.
Humans have long enjoyed a position of superiority over most of the other magical creatures, which probably derives from the fact that humans can walk among muggles and not be thought of scary or different. Wizards do everything possible to keep their world a secret, which includes keeping muggles blissfully unaware of the existence of dragons and such (which probably has to be especially hard with the dangerous and/or wild creatures). Centaurs, which are sentient, are highly resentful of humans because of the way centaurs and other "half-breeds" are treated. Werewolves, another "half-breed" species are second-class citizens due to fear of uncontrolled bouts at the full moon. In a way, this is a rational fear, but as we come to learn, there are potions that mitigate the effects of the full moon. Not only that, but one of the most moral and pure-hearted characters in the series is a werewolf. Goblins, which are not half-breeds, are tolerated for their shrewdness at banking, but I doubt a single wizard has ever been friends with a goblin. Then again, the goblins don't really try and change things themselves; they are very happy with their selfish practices, and wouldn't change them to try and improve relations with humans.
Things get complicated with feral beasts, like dragons, boggarts, and basilisks. In his seven (sort of) years at Hogwarts, Harry had more than a few encounters with exceptionally dangerous creatures. In our world, we have animals like lions, tigers, and bears (um, sorry), which are extremely dangerous, but things like dragons and basilisks make our beasts look like kittens. Harry's battles with the dangerous creatures were definitely exciting, but there were some times when I thought that no one with the kind of experience Harry had could have survived. I guess that is why this is fiction. In addition to the incredibly dangerous beasts, there were also feral creatures that were more pest than beast. Pixies and gnomes seemed to exist in order to annoy the hell out of wizards.
One thing that I thought Rowling handled well was that she reminded us that Europe isn't the only area of the world with mythology, and creatures from different mythologies are native to those regions. For example, Asian dragons, which are more serpent-like, are found in Asia, while the more dinosaur-esque European dragons are found in Europe.
There were a few creatures that Rowling created for the series, most of which served symbolic or thematic purposes. Dementors represented the concept of fear and emptiness; they were the guards of the wizard prison and they were extremely effective at their job because they could suck the hope and lifeforce out of the inmates. Thestrals, on the other hand, served as a juxtoposition for the meaning of death; only people who had witnessed a death occur could see them, and they were in many ways horrific in appearance. On the other hand, they are extremely gentle and have a kind of twisted beauty to them. Death is something that most people fear, but it is a natural part of life, and is required for us to move on as a society.
Rowlings vast imagination allowed her to recreate various fantastic creatures and create a few of her own to make the world of her stories incredibly interesting and diverse. But these creatures served not only as escapism into another world, they also reflected our own.
Up next: 2 superhero stories...
Showing posts with label J.K. Rowling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label J.K. Rowling. Show all posts
Friday, March 6, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
Harry Potter: A Family Affair
Harry Potter may be an orphan, but that doesn't mean that his story is bereft of families. The wizarding community is relatively small, and family is an important value for wizards. Most half-bloods and pure-bloods at Hogwarts were already acquainted with each other, but there is also plenty of animosity. Like real families, the families in the world of Harry Potter have prejudices, secrets, and black sheep.
SPOILERS
It's almost a little strange to think about how nearly every character in the book is somehow related to another important character (Ron states at one point that one reason wizards and witches married muggles was to avoid incest, otherwise the wizards would have died out because the community was so small). Sirius Black, Harry's godfather, for example, comes from the illustrious House of Black, which is as full of turmoil as it is huge. Sirius is one of the most heroic, although extremely flawed, characters in the book, but his belief in equality with muggles and muggle-borns is what makes him a black sheep in his family. He was one of the sole Griffindors in a long line of Slytherins. His cousin, Nymphadora Tonks, was despised for the same reasons, but she didn't bear the name of Black, so the family was better at ignoring her. Sirius' other relatives include Narcissa Black Malfoy and Bellatrix Black Lestrange, two very important villains. Narcissa is the wife of Lucious Malfoy, a promient Death Eater, and they are the parents of Draco, Harry's main adversary at school. Bellatrix is an insane woman who joined the Death Eaters and took a sick pleasure in torturing muggles and their supporters. She is responsible for the lifelong institutionalization of Frank and Alice Longbottom, two very powerful wizards, and the parents of one of Harry's friends at school.
On the other side of the spectrum is the Weasleys, the family of Harry's best friend Ron. It is an oversimplification to say that every member of the Weasley family has the same values, but they are all firmly planted against Voldemort. Having said that, there are issues that arise among the Weasleys; Ron's brother Percy is a bit of an outcast because of his ambition. Unlike Voldemort, he doesn't desire magical power and immortality, but rather he wants government power. Like our world, the wizard government is fairly corrupt and inefficient, which most of the Weasleys recognize, except for Percy. Mr. Weasely works for the government, and has a front-row seat into the corruption, but Percy only sees the idealism. Two of Ron's brothers, Fred and George, are twins who choose to help the war effort by opening a joke store. It may not seem like the best way to help out, but they are incredibly talented, and many of their creations are more efficient at warding off evil spells than things created by the government.
Unfortunately, the only muggle family we got to know was the Dursleys, Harry Potter's awful relatives. His mother was a muggle-born, and her sister a muggle. When James and Lily Potter died, Harry was sent to live with Lily's sister and her family, and they were, to quote one of the Hogwarts professors, the worst kind of muggles. We may have "met" Hermione's parents once, and even then, it was very brief. It would have been nice to have the perspective on the war of non-magical people, but I honestly don't know where Rowling would have fit it in.
Of course, there was also the matter of Voldemort's family. The sixth book was devoted to the backstory of the Dark Lord, and let's just say that Ron was right about intermarrying. Descended from in-bred wizard equivalents of backwater hillbillies, things only got worse for the Dark Lord. His mother was a somewhat mentally challenged witch (the result of in-breeding) and a muggle father who was under a love spell. His mother died in childbirth, and his father abandoned him to an orphanage, where his anger and loathing festered.
The family stories of Harry Potter not only reflect real-world family dynamics, but remind us that most of our beliefs are created from our home lives. Although we have the ability to ultimately decide for ourselves what is right and what is wrong, as Sirius Black did, many of us follow in the footsteps of our parents, like Draco. Or, for those of us who come to despise where we come from, we end up like Voldemort...
Up next: Some interludes...
SPOILERS
It's almost a little strange to think about how nearly every character in the book is somehow related to another important character (Ron states at one point that one reason wizards and witches married muggles was to avoid incest, otherwise the wizards would have died out because the community was so small). Sirius Black, Harry's godfather, for example, comes from the illustrious House of Black, which is as full of turmoil as it is huge. Sirius is one of the most heroic, although extremely flawed, characters in the book, but his belief in equality with muggles and muggle-borns is what makes him a black sheep in his family. He was one of the sole Griffindors in a long line of Slytherins. His cousin, Nymphadora Tonks, was despised for the same reasons, but she didn't bear the name of Black, so the family was better at ignoring her. Sirius' other relatives include Narcissa Black Malfoy and Bellatrix Black Lestrange, two very important villains. Narcissa is the wife of Lucious Malfoy, a promient Death Eater, and they are the parents of Draco, Harry's main adversary at school. Bellatrix is an insane woman who joined the Death Eaters and took a sick pleasure in torturing muggles and their supporters. She is responsible for the lifelong institutionalization of Frank and Alice Longbottom, two very powerful wizards, and the parents of one of Harry's friends at school.
On the other side of the spectrum is the Weasleys, the family of Harry's best friend Ron. It is an oversimplification to say that every member of the Weasley family has the same values, but they are all firmly planted against Voldemort. Having said that, there are issues that arise among the Weasleys; Ron's brother Percy is a bit of an outcast because of his ambition. Unlike Voldemort, he doesn't desire magical power and immortality, but rather he wants government power. Like our world, the wizard government is fairly corrupt and inefficient, which most of the Weasleys recognize, except for Percy. Mr. Weasely works for the government, and has a front-row seat into the corruption, but Percy only sees the idealism. Two of Ron's brothers, Fred and George, are twins who choose to help the war effort by opening a joke store. It may not seem like the best way to help out, but they are incredibly talented, and many of their creations are more efficient at warding off evil spells than things created by the government.
Unfortunately, the only muggle family we got to know was the Dursleys, Harry Potter's awful relatives. His mother was a muggle-born, and her sister a muggle. When James and Lily Potter died, Harry was sent to live with Lily's sister and her family, and they were, to quote one of the Hogwarts professors, the worst kind of muggles. We may have "met" Hermione's parents once, and even then, it was very brief. It would have been nice to have the perspective on the war of non-magical people, but I honestly don't know where Rowling would have fit it in.
Of course, there was also the matter of Voldemort's family. The sixth book was devoted to the backstory of the Dark Lord, and let's just say that Ron was right about intermarrying. Descended from in-bred wizard equivalents of backwater hillbillies, things only got worse for the Dark Lord. His mother was a somewhat mentally challenged witch (the result of in-breeding) and a muggle father who was under a love spell. His mother died in childbirth, and his father abandoned him to an orphanage, where his anger and loathing festered.
The family stories of Harry Potter not only reflect real-world family dynamics, but remind us that most of our beliefs are created from our home lives. Although we have the ability to ultimately decide for ourselves what is right and what is wrong, as Sirius Black did, many of us follow in the footsteps of our parents, like Draco. Or, for those of us who come to despise where we come from, we end up like Voldemort...
Up next: Some interludes...
Monday, February 23, 2009
Harry Potter: The Epic
Both the story of Harry Potter and the story of how Harry Potter came into existence are fascinating. Author J.K. Rowling started with almost nothing in 1995 when she finished the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Sorcerer's Stone in the States), and finished writing the final book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows in 2007 as the first person to earn $1 billion for writing books. Over those 12 years, the world fell in love with the boy wizard with the lighting bolt scar on his forehead, and with good reason. Rowling spun a tale of good vs. evil, coming of age, moral choice, and family history. She made it extremely layered, funny when appropriate, and very dark. And best of all, she planned out the entire story from the beginning (or at least the major developments and relationships), so when twists came along in later books, they made total sense in addition to shocking us.
The outermost layer of the story is the age-old tale of good vs. evil. Harry Potter had the misfortune of being born at the height of the reign of Lord Voldemort, an immensely powerful and insanely evil wizard. He is sadistic, racist, and heartless. Sadly, Harry had the even greater misfortune (in one sense) to be the subject of a prophecy that would bind his destiny to that of Voldemort's; believing Harry to be the only person who could defeat him, Voldemort hunted him down, killed his parents, and attempted to kill Harry. But then something happened. Harry's mother and father were willing to die to protect him, and this selfless, unconditional love shielded Harry from Voldemort's curse, causing it to rebound on Voldemort, nearly killing him. For the next 10 years, Harry grew up with his despicable aunt, uncle, and cousin, who despised the fact that Harry possessed magical abilities. But around his 11th birthday, Harry learned of his true heritage, and learned that he would be going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he was a celebrity. It would be at this school where Harry would learn how to become a wizard so that one day, he could hopefully fulfill his destiny of defeating the dark lord once and for all.
But while Voldemort was evil incarnate, to call Harry a paragon of good would be completely inaccurate. Harry was never tempted by the dark side (which would certainly tempt many people who had been abused and neglected throughout childhood), but he had a lot of growing up to do before he could hope to fight Voldemort. He starts the series off as a wide-eyed prepubescent boy, goes through his angry teenager phase, fueled by mistrust and paranoia, and tries to develop himself into the man he wants to be. It isn't easy for him to be looked to as the last hope for peace, as people expect incredible things from him. But even worse, his celebrity sometimes gets in the way of his friendships and other relationships. Some people are his enemies because they resent him, while even his own friends come to dislike him because they think that he is a black hole of attention. Although his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, know that he truly is a good person, their relationships are sometimes tested by Harry's unwanted status.
Harry and his two friends represent the three "types" of wizards: purebloods, half-bloods, and muggle-borns. Ron is a pureblood, meaning that all of his ancestors are wizards and witches. Hermione, on the other hand, is muggle-born (muggles are non-magical humans); these are witches or wizards who were born to non-magical parents. Harry is a half-blood, meaning that not all of his ancestors are magical; both of his parents were wizards, but his mother was muggle-born (most other half-bloods in the series have one parent who is magic and one who is not). This distinction among wizards is the basis for the series' major morality issue, that of racism. Voldemort and his followers were of the opinion that only pureblooded wizards were worthy of using magic. Muggles and muggle-borns (or mudbloods as Voldemort and his followers called them) were lower than dirt, while half-bloods were tolerable at best. Any pureblood or half-blood who associated with muggles and muggle-borns were seen as just as bad. The great irony was that Voldemort himself was a half-blood; his mother was an inbred witch (Ron pointed out that if wizards hadn't intermarried with muggles, magical humans would have died out) and an arrogant muggle father who was under the effects of a love potion when Voldemort was conceived. The even bigger twist regarding Voldemort's belief about the worth of purebloods has to do with... no, I can't ruin it.
Hermione, the muggle-born, has to put up with a lot of ignorance from certain kids at school. Hogwarts uses the house system, where the school is divided into 4 houses, each representing different values. One house, Slytherin, represents cunning and ambition. Unfortunately, the members of this house tend to go dark more often than members of the other three houses combined, and many of the students in Slytherin harbor racist feelings. I would like to say that one thing I wish Rowling would have changed would be to have included a few sympathetic Slytherins. A person can be cunning and ambitious without being an asshole or evil. She proved with the character of Horace Slughorn, who I really wish had gotten more stuff to do in the final book. Along those lines, there was a certain character in the Griffindor house that I am still scratching my head over how he made it into that house, which valued bravery (his initials are P.P.). The irony of the fact that Hermione has to put up with so much is that she is far and away the brightest student in her year at Hogwarts. With one exception (broomstick flying), every subject comes naturally to her, and she devours books in an effort to continually improve her abilities. In spite of what some see as a potential handicap (which in some ways is; unlike Ron, she didn't grow up around magic and wasn't prepared to enter that world), there is almost no spell she can't do.
That doesn't mean that she is perfect; she also has growing up to do, as does every character in the book. Along with her intelligence comes an obsession with being the best that alienates many people (including Harry and Ron for the first few months of school). And along with her heritage comes a certain naivety about the magical world. When she learns about the way in which house elves are treated (they are basically slaves), she begins to campaign for their freedom. What she doesn't realize is that, in a way, the elves are not only ok with their servitude, but enjoy it in a sense. They have been slaves of wizards for millennia, and wouldn't know what to do with themselves if they were free. Ron, on the other hand, is a great friend, but he is somewhat immature and doesn't realize that there are times when a more serious attitude is required.
Over the course of the seven books, we watch these characters grow, and we learn that there are shades of grey in absolutely everyone. Even characters who we have nothing but contempt for show some humanity by the end of the series. There is no such thing as a paragon. Even Voldemort, for all of his atrocities, has a tragic past. Granted, he is the closest thing to an absolute in the series, but based on how he came to be the man(?) he is today, there is a reason for that. On the other side, Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, is very often viewed as an agent of absolute good, but he wasn't always that way. He was always a truly good person, but he did some things in his youth that he wasn't proud of, and almost acts out of fear of reverting back to who he used to be. And even in the present, he does a few things with less-than-pure motives. But if there was ever an example of a character who is truly composed of shades of grey, it would be Severus Snape. Like Voldemort and Harry, he is a half-blood with a tragic past. He joined the Death Eaters, Voldemort's followers, as a young man, then supposedly repented. Throughout the series, he tormented Harry and his friends while showing favoratism to the bullies in Slytherin who tormented Harry and his friends. Harry had every reason to hate him, and Snape had every reason to hate Harry. When Snape was in school, Harry's (very popular) father tormented Snape, who was unattractive and unpopular. But Snape's true motives and loyalty come from an entirely different place.
Up next: Family matters...
The outermost layer of the story is the age-old tale of good vs. evil. Harry Potter had the misfortune of being born at the height of the reign of Lord Voldemort, an immensely powerful and insanely evil wizard. He is sadistic, racist, and heartless. Sadly, Harry had the even greater misfortune (in one sense) to be the subject of a prophecy that would bind his destiny to that of Voldemort's; believing Harry to be the only person who could defeat him, Voldemort hunted him down, killed his parents, and attempted to kill Harry. But then something happened. Harry's mother and father were willing to die to protect him, and this selfless, unconditional love shielded Harry from Voldemort's curse, causing it to rebound on Voldemort, nearly killing him. For the next 10 years, Harry grew up with his despicable aunt, uncle, and cousin, who despised the fact that Harry possessed magical abilities. But around his 11th birthday, Harry learned of his true heritage, and learned that he would be going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he was a celebrity. It would be at this school where Harry would learn how to become a wizard so that one day, he could hopefully fulfill his destiny of defeating the dark lord once and for all.
But while Voldemort was evil incarnate, to call Harry a paragon of good would be completely inaccurate. Harry was never tempted by the dark side (which would certainly tempt many people who had been abused and neglected throughout childhood), but he had a lot of growing up to do before he could hope to fight Voldemort. He starts the series off as a wide-eyed prepubescent boy, goes through his angry teenager phase, fueled by mistrust and paranoia, and tries to develop himself into the man he wants to be. It isn't easy for him to be looked to as the last hope for peace, as people expect incredible things from him. But even worse, his celebrity sometimes gets in the way of his friendships and other relationships. Some people are his enemies because they resent him, while even his own friends come to dislike him because they think that he is a black hole of attention. Although his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, know that he truly is a good person, their relationships are sometimes tested by Harry's unwanted status.
Harry and his two friends represent the three "types" of wizards: purebloods, half-bloods, and muggle-borns. Ron is a pureblood, meaning that all of his ancestors are wizards and witches. Hermione, on the other hand, is muggle-born (muggles are non-magical humans); these are witches or wizards who were born to non-magical parents. Harry is a half-blood, meaning that not all of his ancestors are magical; both of his parents were wizards, but his mother was muggle-born (most other half-bloods in the series have one parent who is magic and one who is not). This distinction among wizards is the basis for the series' major morality issue, that of racism. Voldemort and his followers were of the opinion that only pureblooded wizards were worthy of using magic. Muggles and muggle-borns (or mudbloods as Voldemort and his followers called them) were lower than dirt, while half-bloods were tolerable at best. Any pureblood or half-blood who associated with muggles and muggle-borns were seen as just as bad. The great irony was that Voldemort himself was a half-blood; his mother was an inbred witch (Ron pointed out that if wizards hadn't intermarried with muggles, magical humans would have died out) and an arrogant muggle father who was under the effects of a love potion when Voldemort was conceived. The even bigger twist regarding Voldemort's belief about the worth of purebloods has to do with... no, I can't ruin it.
Hermione, the muggle-born, has to put up with a lot of ignorance from certain kids at school. Hogwarts uses the house system, where the school is divided into 4 houses, each representing different values. One house, Slytherin, represents cunning and ambition. Unfortunately, the members of this house tend to go dark more often than members of the other three houses combined, and many of the students in Slytherin harbor racist feelings. I would like to say that one thing I wish Rowling would have changed would be to have included a few sympathetic Slytherins. A person can be cunning and ambitious without being an asshole or evil. She proved with the character of Horace Slughorn, who I really wish had gotten more stuff to do in the final book. Along those lines, there was a certain character in the Griffindor house that I am still scratching my head over how he made it into that house, which valued bravery (his initials are P.P.). The irony of the fact that Hermione has to put up with so much is that she is far and away the brightest student in her year at Hogwarts. With one exception (broomstick flying), every subject comes naturally to her, and she devours books in an effort to continually improve her abilities. In spite of what some see as a potential handicap (which in some ways is; unlike Ron, she didn't grow up around magic and wasn't prepared to enter that world), there is almost no spell she can't do.
That doesn't mean that she is perfect; she also has growing up to do, as does every character in the book. Along with her intelligence comes an obsession with being the best that alienates many people (including Harry and Ron for the first few months of school). And along with her heritage comes a certain naivety about the magical world. When she learns about the way in which house elves are treated (they are basically slaves), she begins to campaign for their freedom. What she doesn't realize is that, in a way, the elves are not only ok with their servitude, but enjoy it in a sense. They have been slaves of wizards for millennia, and wouldn't know what to do with themselves if they were free. Ron, on the other hand, is a great friend, but he is somewhat immature and doesn't realize that there are times when a more serious attitude is required.
Over the course of the seven books, we watch these characters grow, and we learn that there are shades of grey in absolutely everyone. Even characters who we have nothing but contempt for show some humanity by the end of the series. There is no such thing as a paragon. Even Voldemort, for all of his atrocities, has a tragic past. Granted, he is the closest thing to an absolute in the series, but based on how he came to be the man(?) he is today, there is a reason for that. On the other side, Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, is very often viewed as an agent of absolute good, but he wasn't always that way. He was always a truly good person, but he did some things in his youth that he wasn't proud of, and almost acts out of fear of reverting back to who he used to be. And even in the present, he does a few things with less-than-pure motives. But if there was ever an example of a character who is truly composed of shades of grey, it would be Severus Snape. Like Voldemort and Harry, he is a half-blood with a tragic past. He joined the Death Eaters, Voldemort's followers, as a young man, then supposedly repented. Throughout the series, he tormented Harry and his friends while showing favoratism to the bullies in Slytherin who tormented Harry and his friends. Harry had every reason to hate him, and Snape had every reason to hate Harry. When Snape was in school, Harry's (very popular) father tormented Snape, who was unattractive and unpopular. But Snape's true motives and loyalty come from an entirely different place.
Up next: Family matters...
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