Days 11, 12, & 13 : July 3rd, 4th, & 5th
Current Book : Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, FINISHED
Total pages read : 1,819 of 4,100 (44% completed)
These past few days have been crazy because of 4th of July festivities and the awesome PPI camp-out. I'm really behind schedule, but at least I finished Goblet of Fire! GoF was my favorite HP book when I was in middle school. I remember finishing the book for the first time on the couch and being absolutely petrified at Voldemort's return. I used to just go back and read the end of the book because it was so great and because that was when everything changed. I mentioned this to someone earlier, but the first 4 books really are the nice-and-happy books. From now on, things are very very dark.
I think this quote meant the most to me. Sirius says... "If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." It reminded me a lot of the quote from Pope John Paul II, saying "A society will be judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members." The Harry Potter books make a lot of bold statements against prejudice, bullying, discrimination, and hate. And this quote does a great job of summing it all up!
"It was Voldemort, Harry thought, staring up at the canopy of his bed in the darkness, it all came back to Voldemort . . . . He was the one who had torn these families apart, who had ruined all these lives." The other day Zach and I were talking about something, I think it was the different character flaws that lead to Voldemort's rise. And a bit about the nature-nurture thing as well. But what we came down to is that it's not about all the intricacies and whose fault it is. In the Harry Potter books, the root of evil is just Voldemort.
Voldemort gives us some huge clues about horcruxes in this book. He's reprimanding the Death Eaters when he says "They, who knew the steps I took, long ago, to guard myself against mortal death?" Then later he says "I, who have gone further than anybody along the path that leads to immortality. You know my goal--to conquer death. And now, I was tested, and it appeared that one of more of my experiments had worked . . .for I had not been killed, though the curse should have done it." MAN, those are seriously some massive hints when it comes to horcruxes. But we, as readers, literally had no idea that those exist, because they only exist in the HP world.
"Decent people are so easy to manipulate, Potter." says the imposter-Moody to Harry. It's really sad, but I can see how that's true in some cases. Sometimes it's really easy to take advantage of decent people, because it's possible to predict how they're going to act. Again, sad but true. Got me thinking about it for a while.
Cornelius Fudge is being close-minded, and Dumbledore confronts him about how he has been valuing pure wizarding blood over the more important things. He says, "You fail to recognize that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be!" Again, the Harry Potter books say a lot about discrimination. In the books, being pure wizarding blooded tends to be over-valued. Those who are half-blood or are born from Muggles are treated like lesser beings. Dumbledore is taking a stand and saying that those characteristics aren't what matter, it's what you make of the situation and the person you grow to be that's important. This relates to real-world issues, where those born certain races, orientations, and beliefs, (etc) are discriminated against. I don't like it when people try to say that the Harry Potter books are bad for children when they actually teach some of the most important lessons out there.
And to finish off, a quote from Dumbledore that simply doesn't need explanation or analysis :) "We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it by only showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open."
Goblet of Fire is an AMAZING book, and I'm excited to move on to the books that deal with Voldemort's rise. Only 2,281 pages to go!
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