Hello internet! So I know last time I mentioned that I was going to write this week on Umbridge, but I decided to save her for later. Instead, I wanted to talk about the Harry Potter books, what makes each one great, and what makes the series great as a whole.
So we all know just how brilliant J.K. Rowling is with her writing. I am not really here to discuss in depth of the character development and the symbolism and whatnot. I could sit here and tell you about the magical number of seven and color choices and all that jazz. But, to be perfectly honest, I am no expert on that, and I certainly am not majoring in English or anything that would make me an expert in that. So, I'd rather just talk about what exactly these books have that makes us all want to read them so much. What to Rowling do to make us want to read them over and over again?
One of the best things and worst things about the Harry Potter books was the ten year stretch between the publication of the first and last books. From the time Harry first captured our hearts, we had to wait years to find out what his fate would be. And, if you were like me, the last book's mysterious end was ruined before you could even get to it. I was at a summer camp the week Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out, and, within good reason, the counselors decided to ban the book to keep campers from staying up all night reading or ruining it for others. So I had to wait until I got home to read the book. But as I got home and called my best friend at the time for the first time in two weeks, before even cracking the spine on the book, the first words out of her mouth were, "I told you Harry was a Horcrux."
That just about made me not even want to bother with the last book. But, of course, I was too invested to actually not read it. But why? Why was I so interested in sticking this series out even though the ending was already pretty much ruined for me? Was it because I'd been waiting ten long years for this? Was it because I felt such a connection to Harry? Had I created a bond with a character in a book that was so strong, he felt like he was my oldest friend?
And that's the real magic of Rowling's books. It's the fact that she can reel us in with not just a great story and interesting characters, but she is able to keep us there by really making us feel for each and every one of them. How many times did you have to put down the last book the first time you read it because you were crying so hard? I just remember that by the time I got to Fred's death, I wanted to throw the book across the room and never look at it again. I don't think a book, a movie, or any other make believe world has made me feel that strongly. My heart was actually broken over losing all these people I had grown up with. But they weren't even real. Yet they were, in my heart.
Each Harry Potter fan has a special place in their hearts for a specific character, or a specific book. I was personally always a fan of the Chamber of Secrets. I don't know why, but it was always the most adventurous, the most exhilarating. Yet, because I read the books as a child for the first time, I could still relate to Harry in this book. He hadn't quite grown up yet.
Now, of course, I like each book for a different reason. The Chamber of Secrets still has a special place in my heart. Sometimes, I'll read it twice on my rereadings of the series. But now, I really couldn't tell you what my favorite book is.
The first one is the beginning, like the first movie in a trilogy. You kind of have to like it the most because it is the first. Yet, the characters are still young, magically unexperienced, and naïve, making the reader feel the same way.
The second does not seem like a super important book in the series on the first read. It just seems like Rowling threw in another adventure that ends in defeating Voldemort. But, all of us who have read the series countless times realize that we first glimpsed one of the most important pieces to the Harry Potter puzzle in this book. The diary.
A lot of people that don't know Harry Potter that well tell me the third one could just be taken out of the equation, tacked on to the end of the second one of something, because it is a waste of a book. Sure, it is the only book that doesn't end with a fight with Voldemort of some kind. In fact, it is the only book that Voldemort really never makes a physical appearance in. Personally, I think this makes it a refreshing read. I mean, we get it, Voldemort is the bad guy. But there are so many bad people and experiences out there, like Pettigrew, who you never even expect to be bad, and the Dementors. And then there are people who you think are bad that are actually the most amazing people you will ever meet, like Sirius and Lupin. The third book is more of a display of Rowling's great plot twists and story telling than anything else. And no one can deny that the information discovered in this book was important to the rest of the series. Just because Voldemort's not in it, doesn't make it a waste of a book. He's not the main character.
The fourth one, to me, is not a huge favorite, but I know that, to many people, it is the best book of the seven. The fourth and the fifth one, for me, were just dragged out for far too many pages, but, thank goodness, it didn't make the story any less appealing. I always classify this book as the turning point in the series. This is where the innocent magic and adventurous storytelling of the first three books turn into the epic battle between good and evil displayed in the last four books. It's when the books get longer, the stories more complex, the plots more sinister.
The fifth one is the book I struggle through at times because I really have to be in the mood to read it. Between Umbridge, the Ministry's insistence that Voldemort was not back, Sirius's death, Harry's angst, and Dumbledore not talking to Harry through the whole book, it makes me just want to jump into the pages and strangle everyone. Yet, no one can deny that the conclusion of this book gives us one of the most important pieces of information in the series. Before this, you don't know why Harry's parents were killed or why the Potters were targeted in the first place. Even when I reread the books, I take for granted what I already know. That Harry himself was targeted by Voldemort and his family was just in the way. But, of course, you don't actually know that until book five. It wasn't exactly a shocking reveal for me. It was more of a confirmation that the series was going to come to the big conclusion of Harry killing Voldemort, or the other way around.
The sixth one, in all honesty, seems to be the most important book when it comes to information and understanding behind Voldemort as the antagonist. You learn about his past and you learn about the Horcruxes. Voldemort's past make him that villain that you still hate and despise and want dead, but you also feel slightly bad for, in one way or another. The Horcruxes, however, seem to be one of the biggest reveals in the entire series. These are how Voldemort stayed alive all these years. This is what the diary back in the second book was. These are what Harry must destroy in order to kill Voldemort for good. The sixth book seems to be a treasure trove of understanding. Like all the little questions and concerns you have had throughout the series are pretty much answered here. There were only a few questions left. Would Harry destroy these Horcruxes? Would he destroy Voldemort? Or would Voldemort get to him first?
Then comes the last book. This is more of the wrap up to the series than anything else. It is like the final way Rowling can get any information she wants us to know out to us. Because of this, there is a ton of information jam packed into the 700 pages of this novel. No wonder they made two movies. It was the place where all questions were answered, all the plot twists untwisted. And then, just like that, it was over. Reading the seventh book always gives me a kind of sad joy. I get to reread Harry going on his last great adventure to rid the world of Voldemort, but after that, there is nothing left to read. It is like your best friends that you've had for the entire duration of the reading suddenly disappear, or else freeze in time, stuck in the last moment you read about them, never knowing what was going to occur in their future.
All in all, every book in the series has its merits. To me, the books with the most important information reveals are the second and sixth ones. The Horcruxes are the piece of the puzzle that makes everything else easily understood, and these two books reveal those Horcruxes. In fact, the Chamber of Secrets and Half-Blood Prince have numerous parallels besides just Horcruxes. What about Aragog? The importance of parseltongue? Ginny and Harry's relationship growth? Memories of the teenage Voldemort? The list goes on. But these two books just hold the most significance to me. I love them because they have so much in common compared to the other books in the series. However, like I said before, each story has its merits and I would never imagine taking out any of the books in the series and thinking it would flow the same way. That's the point of a series. Each individual book is different, but together, they make up something bigger, something much more important.
In this case, each individual Harry Potter book makes up the series that changed millions of lives and will continue to change lives in the years to come.
So, that's it for this week. I hope you enjoyed my ramblings, oh internet. I'll be back next week with a new topic. Maybe I'll actually discuss Umbridge next week....or I could do something else. Regardless, I'll see you later.
~The Fifth Marauder
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