Probably the most influential book in my life, or rather a series, is the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. I had read various series for little kids such as the Magic Tree House books, but none sucked me in like Harry Potter. I was pretty young when they came out so my mom read them to me, and I would eventually read them myself several times, I even went to the midnight release of the seventh book. Anyway, these were the books that made me love reading. Each one was full of complex characters and amazingly magical story lines.
One of the best aspects about this series is how over time the books get so much darker where in the beginning it was this eleven year-old boy who just discovered he can do magic and was thrown into this new world. But over time his enemy gets stronger and the characters realize that they can't escape from this, but they really do have to fight a war. For me this creates a stronger bond to the characters. Knowing them when they're young and innocent, and seeing them grow and become more serious. I cared about these characters so much and seeing them go through all this was heart breaking for my tiny ten year old soul, but knowing that these books created such strong feelings in me made me want to read more.
Speaking of characters, there is a very large variety of personalities in the series. One of my favorites is Severus Snape. In the beginning of the series he comes off as a teacher that hates Harry because of how his father treated him during their years at school. Over time it is revealed that Snape has to be a double agent, Dumbledore had asked him to become a trusted follower of Voldemort and still stay loyal to him and Harry. I love how complicated Snape's story is and how much he knew about the connection between Harry and Voldemort, but how he came off this entire time as one of the bad guys. Also, how conflicted he was all the time because he was in love with Lily Potter, and how he loved Harry in a weird way because of his mother, but despised him because of James Potter. This is a feeling I don't aspire to have but I think it influenced me to not be so quick to judge people because they may be battling so much more than they let on.
Two characters that are similar, maybe not in the most obvious way, that I always wanted to be like are Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood. Hermione is smart, and is able to think in difficult situations where most people would panic. Luna is also very knowledgeable, but is seen as a little weird, but in difficult situations she is also able to think on her feet. This I admire in both of them and have always tried to accomplish. An aspect of Luna that I always admired was how accepting she was of everyone, when many weren't keen on accepting her. She always seemed to see people's abilities before they realized them their selves. To me at their age accepting everyone is a hard thing to do with everyone's insecurities, so the fact that she was able to be so open minded about people was something I always loved.
One of my absolute favorite things about the series is the connection between Harry and Voldemort. There really isn't time to explain all of that nonsense but how complicated it was made me really love the story even more. It's so different than what reality is like and it was so easy to get caught up in. It made me sympathize with both characters and everyone involved, it also made the issue so much more dramatic. There are so many symbols and complicated plots mixed in the series that would never happen in real life. Every time I read them I notice something a little different that I hadn't before. It makes me understand the characters and the story more, and to be able to read the series multiple times, each time learning more is something that not many books can do. These books made me love reading because of how well they transported me to some place different. From Hogwarts, to Hogsmead, and even to the Dursley's house on Privet Drive, the story is always full of magical twists that will forever entertain me.
1 comment:
For the week one responses, many students (in addition to you) shared that the Harry Potter books, written by J.K. Rowling, was the most influential series in their life. I agree with your viewpoint on the series, and personally believe that J.K. Rowling has created a fantasy series for the modern reader in the tradition of excellence established by Tolkien and Lewis. I agree with your viewpoint of Severus Snape in particular. He was always an interesting character in the series to me, and his evolution from misunderstood teacher in book one to a tortured hero in book seven was one of the earliest and best examples of character transition that I was exposed to. Your interpretation that Snape’s situation “influenced [you] to not be so quick to judge people because they may be battling so much more than they let on” also allowed for me to become more aware of the situations of others. As a reader myself, that was one of the most valuable lessons that the series taught me.
One of the things that I noticed about your post, and that I agree with, was how little you spent writing of Harry Potter and Voldemort. Outside of the last paragraphs, they are rarely mentioned. I think that by doing so, you illuminated upon one of the strengths of the series - the fact that even the seemingly minor characters play an important role. The Harry Potter series is full of interesting characters with unique individual backstories which contributes to the success of the books.
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