Hey guys.
Sorry for the disappearance. A few things came up . . . like my job and my brother's wedding and getting into a relationship . . . But I have my life mostly back in line, so I thought we could explore something purely fan-based and not about my random thoughts about the series.
One of the most fun part of the series as fans is to figure out what house we should belong to. Some of us may not like the answer, but what the Sorting Hat quizzes say is true. (I advise you to take several quizzes; the answer that appears the most is your true house).
Personally, I was dying to be in Ravenclaw. I meet the qualifications. My friends would all say I should be in Ravenclaw, but I knew the truth. I may be "smart," but that has nothing to do with intelligence in my brain or whatever. I have a secret -- I work/study hard. THAT is how I get good grades; nothing else. So yeah . . . *sigh* . . . I'm a Hufflepuff through and through.
I was upset at first, because they are portrayed as being lame and a lot of "duffers," but now I'm okay. In fact, I think it fits me more than anything else.
I know, I know. What the hell is a Hufflepuff?! Keep reading.
So, in accepting the fact that I am a Hufflepuff, I did some research on my house, the history of my house, what my common room looks like, and what personality traits (besides working hard) make me a Hufflepuff. This is what I found (Thank you Pinterist). . .
My housing arrangement=
The Hufflepuff Dormitories and Common room
have never been seen by outsiders and is the only house with repelling
devices in case of intruders. They are accessed through a pile of large
barrels, found stacked in a shadowy stone recess on a right-hand side
corridor near the kitchens. The barrel two from the bottom, middle of
the second row, will open if tapped in the rhythm of 'Helga
Hufflepuff'.*
As a security device to repel non-Hufflepuffs, tapping on the wrong
barrel, or tapping the incorrect number of times, results in one of the
other lids bursting off and drenching the imposter in vinegar.
However, once you make it through the tunnel entryway, the
Hufflepuff dormitory is a quite cosy and welcoming place; it always
feels sunny. The common room is a large, earthy, round room with low
ceilings. The view from the round windows is of dandelions and rippling
grass.
The decor emphasises the earthy-feel of the room with plants
hanging and resting all about the room, some that even sing and dance.
Burnished copper touchings with plush, cosy yellow and black patterned
sofas and chairs welcoming a Hufflepuff student to relax and discuss the
interesting specimens brought in by the Head of House, Professor Sprout. A Hufflepuff student retires through big, round doors in the walls of the common room to their dormitory.
(Thank you, http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Hufflepuff and http://whisperwings.deviantart.com/art/Hufflepuff-House-277914217)
My personality=
Students belonging to this house are known to be hard-working,
friendly, loyal, honest and rather impartial. It may be that due to
their values, Hufflepuffs are not as competitive as the other houses, or
are more modest about their accomplishments.
Hufflepuff appears to have the least rivalry with the other houses, except in Quidditch, although the Triwizard Tournament
did temporarily put a great deal of strain on the relationship between
Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, due to unusual circumstances of the selection
of both Gryffindor student Harry Potter and Hufflepuff student Cedric Diggory as Champions.
According to Minerva McGonagall, all four of the houses have produced exceptional witches and wizards in their time, but due to Helga Hufflepuff's policy of accepting any student and its usually poor performance in the House Cup, Hufflepuff is often thought to be the house of less talented wizards. However, this is merely a misunderstanding of the Sorting Hat's poem. The Hufflepuff house has produced a great many of successful and influential members of the wizarding world.
Hufflepuff has produced the fewest number of dark wizards than any other house at Hogwarts.
Their cheerful and friendly demenor can probably account for this
property of the House. Hufflepuff firmly demonstrated its loyalty during
the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998, when they were second only to Harry Potter's own house of Gryffindor in the number of students willing to stay and fight against Voldemort and his forces in the defence of their school.
(Thank you http://votingmod.livejournal.com/4656.html and http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Hufflepuff)
That's all I've found for now, but I like knowing more about this sort of thing.
So where are you?
**SORRY FOR MY ABSENCE AS OF LATE. LIFE HAS BEEN ABSOLUTELY NUTS AND I LOST ALL MY QUESTIONS/TIOPICS WILL TRY TO BE MORE FAITHFUL**
Do you remember your fifth and sixth grade reading? I know that when I was a student, Lois Lowry's The Giver was standard reading.
I know. What does this have to do with anything -- just hold on a second. It'll make sense.
The Giver follows the life of Jonas as he becomes the Receiver of the memories of the world that the former Receiver (now Giver). But what do these memories look and feel like? Obviously, the memories can be felt by Jonas as he experiences memories of both pleasure and pain. I'm particularly referring to the tape of his father killing a baby and "releasing" him.
But how is Jonas experiencing these memories?
Is he taking a metaphysical form to interact and experience various memories?
Is he like a version of himself that experiences the memory while he watches, interacting and observing what happened-- like in all of the Christmas Carol books?
Is he like Harry in the memories contained in the Pensieve -- a shadow who can only see what's happening, but might as well be a ghost because he cannot interact or experience anything; he can only observe what's going on around him as some semi-omniscient entity floating in the background?
Personally, I'm leaning towards option 1, but I don't know for sure.
Thoughts anyone?
Is there even anyone out there? .
Hermione Granger . . .
What can we say about her?
While being a resident of Gryffindor Tower, Hermione remains to be the smartest girl in Hogwarts -- even smarter than the Ravenclaw students who are sorted into this house primarily by their intelligence.
More than once she is defined as being the "smartest/cleverest witch of her age."
Even as a Muggle-born, "there isn't a spell that our Hermione can't do."
Point being, she is smart and we know it -- Rowling has made that perfectly clear through all seven books.
By movie 8, however, Hermione has lost her quick brain in favor of her becoming dependent on Ron Weasley, who is never noted for being smart, as their relationship turns romantic.
. . . What the crap is that about?
Seriously. . .
The Battle of Hogwarts begins and the golden trio hurriedly runs off to find and destroy the last horcruxes.
Harry knew where he was going -- to find Rowena Ravenclaw's Lost Diadem.
Ron and Hermione, on the other hand, had a different idea. Hermione tries to pass it off as her own -- "Even if we found a horcrux, we can't destroy it, so we were thinking . . . rather Ron was thinking that . . . it's brilliant really . . . that we know where a Baslisk fang is . . ."*
They get the fang; stab the cup; kiss at an awkward moment; and move on to find Harry.
Ron pulls out the Marauders Map just in time to see Harry disappear. Hermione is confused, but Ron knows the answer. Harry's in the Room of Requirement because it can be unplottable. "You said that last year." Flummoxed, Hermione nods, "I did say that. Brilliant," clearly confused.
In the book, none of this happens. Hermione retains her intelligence while Ron steps up to help her work. So why change this in the movie? Is it that big of a deal to have a strong, smart heroine who does not need a man to save her?
Apparently it is . . .
And that's just sad. Thanks for demeaning women's role in the world again, Hollywood.
*Yes, I am aware those are not the exact words, but it's close enough and gets my point across.
Okay.
This post is going to focus on the Battle at the Ministry of Magic in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
In the book, Bellatrix is super demented and insane.
Duh.
We know this stuff already.
But why is there a difference in the portrayal of Bellatrix in the book than in the movie.
Bellatrix kills Sirius. Lupin holds Harry back. Harry chases down Bellatrix and uses the Cruciotus Curse on her.
In the book, Bella laughs her head off, cackling maniacally. She is barely tickled by the curse because Harry didn't mean the curse enough for it to work. She challenges him, enticing him to strike again because the first attempt was just sad. And she knows he can't do it, so why not tick him off more?
In the movie, however, Harry hits her with the spell once and Bellatrix falls to the ground, pouting and looking like she is about to cry. Can anyone say -- mischaracterization of character? I know I can. That just isn't true to the book or character. I have no idea what they were thinking. Idiots.
Oh well.
Book Bella wins. And that's all that matters.
The Mystery of Harry Potter: A Catholic Family Guide by Nancy Carpentier Brown
I don't have much to say. I mean, the title says everything that needs to be stated. The book, however, is surprisingly supportive of the Harry Potter books, claiming they are Christian in nature. Her goal is to convince her Catholic audience that Harry Potter is an okay book to be read by anyone of any age.
Her reasoning is thorough and logically sound.
If you're curious, give it a read. It's interesting to see Harry Potter from a very specific, narrow view point.
Prejudice in Harry Potter's World: A Social Critique of the Series, Using Alport's The Nature of Prejudice by Karen A. Brown
If you are interested in the different prejudices found within the Harry Potter series, this book should be the first one on your list. And that's for a completely reason than reflecting the title. It is full of information on a multitude of prejudicial issues; not just information, but cunning and intellectually curious ideas based on this information.
Brown explores several topics including
Nature of Wizarding World Prejudice
House-elves
Squibs
Werewolves
"Mud-blood"
Inherited prejudices from parents
Harry
It's well written and a very good source for this information. I highly recommend it.
Anyone who has seen Chamber of Secrets knows that Harry and Dobby do not necessarily get along. Dobby ends up getting Harry both into trouble and hurt while trying to protect / save him. Dobby appears the night Harry must spend in the hospital wing to regrow the bones in his arms. That night, he makes Dobby promise to never try to save his life again.
If Harry was Dobby's master, he would have had to listen . . . and Harry would be dead.
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (book), Dobby is the one who gives Harry the gillyweed for the second task. Without it, he would not have been able to save Ron (and Gabrielle) or survive the task if he tried to save them anyway.
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (book), Dobby is the one who warns Harry and the other members of Dumbledore's Army that Umbridge and the Inquisitorial Squad were coming to attack / capture them. While this may not have been a life or death situation, Dobby still showed up to save Harry. Harry's capture by Draco was unfortunate, but Dobby at least gave Harry the opportunity to run to safety.
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (book), Harry sends Kreacher on a mission to follow Draco and find out what he is up to, certain that Malfoy is a Death Eater and dangerous. Dobby joins in the quest because he wanted to help Harry. The spying worked to a certain extent and, again, even though it was not a life or death position for Harry, Dobby's information allows Harry to leave the Felix Felicis for his friends so they would be safe.
Finally, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Dobby saves Harry and the others at Malfoy Manor at the cost of his own life. Dying this way makes Dobby's death one of the saddest moment in the entire series. He wasn't required to do so; he freely chose to help Harry.
But take a moment and think . . .
Dobby was only able to save Harry Potter (after Chamber of Secrets) because he was free. Free from the Malfoys and free from Harry, so he could act on his own and do what he loves -- helping / saving his friend Harry Potter, no matter the cost.
Point being -- Harry is lucky Dobby didn't answer to him, otherwise he would be dead due to the above situations.
But Dobby is a free elf and he will always be there to help his friend, Harry Potter.
