Part 8-Juxtaposition and Character Foils

“Failure is so important. We speak about success all the time. It is the ability to resist failure or use failure that often leads to greater success.” -J. K. Rowling

 

Introduction

Juxtapositions and character foils my be some of the more difficult literary devices to identify and use in writing.  Juxtaposition is defined as “the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.”  In stories, juxtaposition is often used to compare ideas, themes, and characters with things such as “good vs. evil” or “wisdom vs. foolishness.”  A character foil is a type of juxtaposition that uses two characters to highlight each others traits and differences.  Common examples include the hero and villain of a story, or to compare two characters in similar situations such as two leaders.  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince provides many good examples of both juxtapositions and character foils throughout the book, and further highlights examples from throughout the series.  These examples compare everything from objects to themes to characters.

The Ring and the Mouth Organ

In this book, Harry begins meeting with Dumbledore so Dumbledore can teach him about Voldemort’s past, and how he came to be such a powerful dark wizard.  These meetings serve the dual purpose of preparing Harry to face Voldemort and helping Harry and Dumbledore discover how to defeat Voldemort.  It is discovered that Voldemort has been using horcruxes, horribly evil objects that conceal pieces of his soul, to make himself invincible, and without destroying the horcruxes Voldemort can not be killed.  Just before the start of the sixth book, Dumbledore finds one of these horcruxes through his knowledge of Voldemort’s past, and is able to destroy it.  This particular horcrux was a ring that Voldemort’s maternal grandfather, and pure-blood descendent of Slytherin, owned and took great pride in.  Voldemort visits his grandfather’s home to find only his uncle remains, and after his uncle reveals the location of Voldemort’s paternal family, Voldemort takes the ring as a sort of “trophy” and murders his father’s family.  Dumbledore explains to Harry that Voldemort liked to collect tokens from his horrible deeds, and at the end of the meeting Harry notices the broken ring sitting on a table.  At the next meeting, Dumbledore shows Harry a memory of Tom Riddle (Voldemort) as a child with a collection of things he stole from his peers at his orphanage, including a mouth organ, but at the end of this meeting Harry notices the ring has disappeared from the table but no object has replaced it.

“The ring’s gone,” said Harry, looking around. “But I thought I you might have the mouth organ or something.”
Dumbledore beamed at him, peering over the top of his half-moon spectacles. “Very astute, Harry, but the mouth organ was only ever a mouth organ.”

This scene uses juxtaposition to compare the ring and the mouth organ, and explains that while these objects may seem equally important, the ring plays a much bigger role in the story than the mouth organ.  The reader learns later that this is because the ring is a horcrux and key to defeating Voldemort while the mouth organ was simply an object.  It also uses juxtaposition to give insight to Voldemort’s personality, as it explains that while Voldemort still has a habit of keeping “trophies,” he is arrogant enough to look for grandeur in the object he keeps and stores his soul in.

Destiny and Choice

At this point in the story, Harry is aware of the prophecy that named him as the one “with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord,” and is struggling with his destiny to either kill or be killed by Voldemort.  However, it is during one of Harry’s meetings with Dumbledore that Dumbledore is finally able to communicate to Harry the choice he has:

“But, sir,” said Harry, making valiant efforts not to sound argumentative, “it all comes to the same thing, doesn’t it? I’ve got to try and kill him, or —”

“Got to?” said Dumbledore. “Of course you’ve got to! But not because of the prophecy! Because you, yourself, will never rest until you’ve tried! We both know it! Imagine, please, just for a moment,
that you had never heard that prophecy! How would you feel about Voldemort now? Think!”

Harry watched Dumbledore striding up and down in front of him, and thought. He thought of his mother, his father, and Sirius. He thought of Cedric Diggory. He thought of all the terrible deeds he knew Lord Voldemort had done. A flame seemed to leap inside his chest, searing his throat.
“I’d want him finished,” said Harry quietly. “And I’d want to do it.”

“Of course you would!” cried Dumbledore. “You see, the prophecy does not mean you have to do anything! But the prophecy caused Lord Voldemort to mark you as his equal. … In other words, you are free to choose your way, quite free to turn your back on the prophecy! But Voldemort continues to set store by the prophecy. He will continue to hunt you . . . which makes it certain, really, that —”

“That one of us is going to end up killing the other,” said Harry. “Yes.”

This scene juxtaposes the destiny Harry has been handed and his own free-will to either accept it or turn from it.  In many stories, a prophecy comes true whether the characters try to avoid it or not (think about Greek myths, many of them involve a prophecy that a person tried to avoid but it came true anyway).  However, here, J.K. Rowling presents a prophecy as really only a prediction, a motivation almost for the characters to act on.  By comparing the prohecy to Harry’s choice, she is able to convey a theme that our choices have a far greater impact and power than any future possibilities.  In other words, our present choices define our future far more than our future defines our present choices.  Here, juxtaposition is used to convey a theme that is powerfully present throughout the whole story, but has never been directly stated.

Draco and Harry

There are many examples of character foils throughout the series, but some become more prominent in this particular book.  These include foils such as with Dumbledore and Voldemort, Molly Weasley and Narcissa Malfoy, and perhaps even Ron and Hermione.  However, the most obvious case of this is with Harry and his arch-enemy Draco.  Draco has been Harry’s enemy since the very first book, and the two have had a relentless rivalry since they began school.  Up until now, the reader does not see Draco as anyone but the spoiled bully.  However at this point in the story the reader is introduced to a new side of Draco, and his comparison to Harry throughout the book points out some of both his and Harry’s deeper traits.

Some interesting similarities between the two boys are brought up, including their fierce loyalties to their groups and their intense desires to do what is right.  However, while Harry’s loyalty is to Dumbledore and his desire involves defeating Voldemort, Draco’s loyalty is to the Death Eaters and his desires involve making sure Voldemort succeeds.  In this book Draco is trying to complete a secret job for Voldemort, and Harry, realizing he is up to something, forms an obsession with figuring out what Malfoy is doing.  Likewise, it is clear Malfoy is obsessed with completing his job.  Both boys start neglecting things that were once important to them due to their obsessions.

However, this comparison also reveals Harry’s desire on a deeper level to selflessly protect his loved ones and have justice, while the reader learns that Draco’s obsession is born out of fear of death for him and his family if he fails.  This further shows that Harry firmly believes in his values, while Draco was practically brainwashed into his beliefs and is discovering their flaws.  This becomes important in the last book, as it leads to Draco’s sort-of redemption.

Conclusion

This has been a really long post, so I’ll keep the closing remarks short.  Juxtaposition was something that was very hard for me at least to identify and understand until recently.  I hope this post helped you understand this literary devices better and, in the future, can help you notice these important comparisons in any book you may read.  Have a great day!

 

 

Image Source:https://www.amstarcinemas.com/movies/harry-potter-and-the-half-blood-prince/HO00002059

Sources:

13 Most-Inspiring J.K. Rowling Quotes that Make You Stronger

Juxtaposition

 

Literary Foils – Harry Potter

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/dumbledore?page=4

Part 7-Conflict

“You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity.”     –J.K. Rowling

 

Introduction

In literature, conflict is a struggle between two opposing forces.  You may recognize conflict in a story by the seven different types, including man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. society, etc.  In the fifth installment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry faces multiple of these conflicts, mainly man vs. man, self, society, and to some extent fate.  As the sole living witness to the rise of Voldemort in book four, Harry has to deal with the effects of such a traumatic event, as well as the fact that very few people are willing to believe Harry’s story.

Voldemort’s Return (and Umbridge’s Reign)

As stated above, Harry is the only witness to the “rebirth” of Voldemort besides Voldemort’s followers.  As many do not want to believe Voldemort is back and because Harry was repeatedly made out to be unstable by a reporter (Rita Skeeter), many in the wizarding world turn from Harry and Dumbledore (who is fully supporting Harry and trying to fight Voldemort despite the Ministry’s disbelief).  This is the cause of Harry’s “man vs. society” struggle.  With so few people believing him and so many thinking Harry is unbalanced or looking for attention, Harry often faces insults and criticism from both his peers and the press.  To add to this, Umbridge, a ministry official, comes to teach at Hogwarts this year.  Umbridge is one of the most prominent antagonists, as she actively and openly seeks to silence Harry and Dumbledore and with the Ministry’s help begins to bring all of Hogwarts under her control.  One of Harry’s flaws is that he has a quick temper, which often gets him in trouble with Umbridge.  This takes his struggle with man vs. society and brings it to a level of man vs. man.  When Umbridge refuses to allow her students to use magic or learn spells that could be in any way “dangerous,” Harry and his friends start a secret club for the few students that believe his story and want to learn to defend themselves from dark wizards.  This direct rebellion against Umbridge and the Ministry is often a driving force of the conflict in this book.

Harry’s Connection to Voldemort

Harry and Voldemort have a sort of connection that is especially emphasized in this book, and although we know it is there we do not yet know as readers why or how it is there.  Harry frequently gets flashes of Voldemort’s emotions, and in extreme episodes will even see what Voldemort is seeing as if he, Harry, was Voldemort.  The most extreme example is when Harry enters into Voldemort’s mind one night in his dream as Voldemort is possessing his gigantic pet snake, which is attempting to reach a “weapon” in the ministry.  The snake encounters Ron’s dad who is guarding the weapon and attacks.  While this allows Harry to save Mr. Weasley’s life, it also deeply disturbs Harry.  In addition, he is then given lessons with Snape in occlumency, which is essentially the study of keeping people from entering your mind (as opposed to legilimency, which is the study of entering another’s mind) without any explanation as to why he needs these lessons.  The connection between Harry and Voldemort causes Harry to struggle with man vs. self, as he does not know what exactly is happening to him and at times wonders if he is a danger to others or causing terrible things to happen because of the connection.  Harry is concerned he is being possessed and wonders if he is turning into some version of Voldemort, but without a proper explanation of these ongoing events Harry faces much inner turmoil and anxiety.

Dumbledore’s Mistake

For much of the book we are, of course, focused on Harry’s struggles and conflicts, and it is not until the end that we get a glimpse into the struggles and conflicts of Albus Dumbledore, a character for which Harry and we as readers have gained great respect for but truthfully know very little about.  Dumbledore is incredibly wise and loving, and fills the archetype of the “wise old man,” so it is hard to consider him having his own unique conflicts or making mistakes.  However, after the climax of the story Dumbledore reveals to Harry that he had been mistaken the whole year about how to handle the situation with Harry and Voldemort.

 

Albus Dumbledore: [after Sirius’ death]  I know how you feel, Harry.

Harry Potter: No you don’t.

[pause] 

Harry Potter: It’s my fault.

Albus Dumbledore: No, the fault is mine. I knew it was only a matter of time before Voldemort made the connection between you. I thought by distancing myself from you, as I have done all year, he’d be less tempted and therefore you might be more protected.

Harry Potter: The prophecy said neither one can live while the other one survives. It means one of us is going to have to kill the other, in the end.

Albus Dumbledore: Yes.

Harry Potter: Why didn’t you tell me?

Albus Dumbledore: For the same reason you tried to save Sirius. For the same reason your friends saved you. After all these years, after all you’ve suffered, I didn’t want to cause you any more pain. I cared too much about you.

 

Dumbledore explains to Harry that he himself had been wrestling with his own man vs. self struggle.  Dumbledore had dedicated his life to defeating Voldemort, but he knew he may allow his love for Harry to intervene for the plan if in the moment he knew he could spare Harry pain.  He explains that he had made excuses since Harry came to Hogwarts for not explaining the whole story to Harry, and also that he now knows that in trying to spare Harry some kinds of pain he has caused others, like Harry’s struggles with man vs. self in this book.

When Dumbledore finally tells Harry about the prophecy and the reason he and Voldemort are connected, this also sets up Harry’s ultimate conflict with man vs. fate.  Harry now knows he is destined to either kill Voldemort or be killed by him, and now he has to wrestle with how this effects his actions and future and whether or not to accept this fate or avoid it.  This really was the pain Dumbledore was trying to delay in putting on Harry, but must eventually be given to him.

Conclusion

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix exemplifies how a conflict can drive a plot even if it is not a fully understood conflict, as well as how multiple interwoven conflicts can add great depth to a story.  The conflicts Harry goes through as a fifteen year old are ones that can be understood by many in some ways.  While we do not have to worry about being possessed obviously, everyone has probably dealt with feelings of being misunderstood or used, which makes the story more relatable.  All throughout the story we of course focus on Harry’s own conflicts, but by adding in Dumbledore’s conflict for example, it reminds the reader of all the unseen motivations and forces driving the characters around Harry and therefore the events that unfold before him.  This of course can also be applied to our own lives, where we often are so focused on our own trials that we forget to notice the trials others are going through.  I hope this post was interesting and helpful, have a fantastic day!

 

Images Source: https://www.ea.com/games/harry-potter/harry-potter-order-of-the-phoenix

Sources:

Top 16 J.K. Rowling Quotes to Inspire Strength Through Adversity

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373889/characters/nm0002091

 

Part 6-Subplot

“Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes.”  -J.K. Rowling

 

Introduction

A subplot is a side story that is connected to and runs parallel with the main plot of a story.  They are often used to explain parts of a story that may not fit into the main plot, or to add details that may widen a reader’s knowledge and view of the world in which the story takes place.  Subplots may also do things such as add character development, emphasize themes, or fill gaps in the main story plot.  The fourth book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, has some excellent examples of subplots and what they do for a story.  In fact, many of these subplots had to be cut from the movie version as the movie would just have been too long.  While it may have been sad to see those scenes get cut from the movie, it illustrates the purpose of a subplot.  The main plot was not severely effected by the loss of these subplots, the viewer just simply did not know as much as when they read the book.  In other words, the story could continue without the subplots, but when they were present in the book the reader was able to develop a deeper understanding of various characters, events, and world as a whole.

House Elves

We are introduced to house elves in book two by Dobby.  A house elf is an elf that is bound by magic to serve a family as a servant (or slave as Hermione argues).  They truly love doing work and are deeply loyal to their family to the point they often overlook faults.  In the fourth book, we are introduced to Winky, who is fired after “disobeying” her master’s (Mr. Crouch’s) orders.  She is friends with Dobby, who returns in this book and convinces Winky to work in the Hogwarts kitchens with him.  Throughout the whole book, there is a subplot involving Winky and Dobby and their interactions with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.  Winky’s loyalty to her former master does not waver even after she is fired, and this deep devotion proves itself to be helpful in developing the plot of this book, as one of the villains in this book is her master’s son.  The mystery around Winky’s devotion helps to explain how and why Barty Crouch Jr. came to be a villain.  Furthermore, the mistreatment of house elves spurs some character development for Hermione, who becomes deeply passionate about securing rights for house elves.  This passion is something that continues for the rest of the series, and may even have effected Hermione’s career choice after Hogwarts.

Ludo Bagman

Ludo Bagman was head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, and in opposition to Mr. Crouch had a very buoyant, care-free personality.  Because of his position in the ministry, Bagman helps judge the tasks during the Triwizard Tournament in which Harry is competing.  His character could have stopped at this and had little effect on the story, however the reader is brought into a subplot revealing not all is as it seems with Bagman.  He is constantly offering Harry help with completing the tasks, and multiple times throughout the book appears not his usual self in front of Harry.  We later learn he was in deep debt with the goblins who run the wizarding bank, and was trying to pay off his debts by betting Harry would win the tournament.  In most stories we of course get the heroes and villains, but it really adds a depth and familiarity to the story to see people like Bagman, who do not fit a typical archetype.  Bagman was simply a flawed person, neither good nor bad.

Additionally this subplot gives way to some character development for Ron’s twin brothers Fred and George.  The twins are well known for their endless jokes and pranks, so it’s hard to picture them doing anything but planning pranks at Hogwarts for the rest of their lives.  However, we begin to see some character development for them through their ambitions.  We learn Fred and George are intent on starting a career in business, specifically running a joke shop.  While we know this is a serious ambition due to the fact that the twins fight with their mother over the career choice and are constantly inventing new joke products, the thing that makes it feel the most serious has to do with their bet with Ludo Bagman.  After winning a bet against him, Ludo Bagman pays the twins in leprechaun gold, which vanishes eventually.  This leaves the twins unpaid and unable to move forward with their joke shop plans.  As a result, they spend much of the school year secretly writing to Bagman demanding their money and trying to meet with him when he was on school grounds for the tournament.  While they do eventually give up, this serious, business side of Fred and George is not one the readers has seen before or expected, and as a result helped the reader more deeply understand the twins.

Barty Crouch Jr.

Barty Crouch Jr. is the villain hidden in plain sight.  He spends the year magically disguised as one of the teachers and helps Harry, often indirectly, to be successful in the tournament.  As a result he successfully completes his mission of making sure Harry wins the tournament so that when he touches the trophy at the end he is transported to Voldemort.  We see glimpses of his life through memories and through information Sirius gives us about him.  This subplot about Crouch’s past, like the subplot with the house elves, helps to explain how and why the conflict of the story came about.  Additionally, like the Ludo Bagman subplot, this helps to develop the Wizarding World as the story is not reduced to a battle between Harry and Voldemort.  By expanding into other villains and their stories, the reader can see not only how Voldemort became so powerful and dangerous but also more worldly issues, like what happens when people are neglected.

Additionally, this subplot helps to keep characters like Sirius more important and familiar to the reader.  On the whole, Sirius does not play as large of a role in the fourth book as he does in the third and fifth, so by giving him the task of adding information to this subplot the reader does not have a chance to disconnect from or forget about his character until he is more prominent in the story again.

Conclusion

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire holds some excellent examples of subplots and how they assist with things such as characterization, plot explanation, and filling in gaps within the main plot.  A good subplot adds depth to a story and serves multiple purposes within the plot.  I hope this post gave some good insight into the purpose of a subplot and how it can effect a story.  Thank you for reading!

 

Image Source: https://www.thequiz.com/how-well-do-you-remember-harry-potter-and-the-goblet-of-fire/

Sources:

Top 16 J.K. Rowling Quotes to Inspire Strength Through Adversity

https://nybookeditors.com/2017/11/the-importance-of-subplots/#:~:text=The%20subplot%20is%20a%20side,story%20line%20in%20some%20way.

 

Part 5- Magic Beyond Spells and Potions

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”
– J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)

 

Introduction

In this post, I will break from analyzing literary elements in each of the books and instead dive into one of the more philosophical parts of the Harry Potter series.  The basis for much of this philosophy, or at least open discussion of it, happens mostly in the fifth book when Harry and five friends head to the Ministry of Magic, and more specifically the Department of Mysteries, to save Sirius whom they believe is in trouble, only to be attacked while they are there.  As they navigate the disorienting halls and mysterious rooms, a number of the themes, ideas, and philosophies, presented throughout the series are expressed in “physical” forms to the characters.  In this post I will be taking a look at each of the known rooms, what they represent, and how they go beyond the usual magic of spells and potions.

The Space Chamber

The Space Chamber is a room that essentially models outer space, and presumably is used by wizards to study space.  Compared to the other rooms encountered, the Space Room is less significant to the story.  Harry himself does not even enter it, it is only known of because three of his other friends had passed through it while trying to escape.  We as readers do not really learn much about it, however we are introduced to the idea that space is a concept outside the control of magic, something the characters (and really us as readers) often relied upon to fix everything.  This room’s purpose for the books is really just to emphasize that magic is not the force ultimately in control, and that there are often greater “forces” out there than ones we like to emphasize or rely on.

The Time Chamber

The Time Room holds many devices, such as the devices used for time travel (Time-Turners).  As the third Harry Potter book explored the topic of time pretty extensively, it is not explored as in-depth here.  Essentially, the room is presented to the reader to remind us that, like space, time is outside of magic.

The Brain Room

The Brain Room is home to many tanks of, obviously, brains.  Except these brains aren’t ordinary, they hold tendrils of thoughts that when encountered can leave a mark on a person.  As the Hogwarts nurse puts it, “thoughts [can] leave deeper scars than almost anything else.”  Obviously, the room is used to study thoughts, although we are not told why.  The Brain Room also presents the readers with a physical representation of just how much thoughts and emotions can effect our lives, an idea also presented with the Dementors and their eerie similarities to depression.

Hall of Prophecy

The Hall of Prophecy is home to shelves upon shelves or glass orbs which hold the memories of all the known prophecies.  Only those to whom the prophecy was made to or about can touch the prophecies or remove them from the room.  Predicting the future and destiny are themes that constantly pop up throughout the series.  After all, Harry’s whole life has been shaped by the prophecy made about him which prompted Voldemort to come after him.  The Hall of Prophecy comes to symbolize how personal each person’s destiny is, and the difference it can make of who you meet along the way.  Furthermore, as Dumbledore explains, not every prophecy has been or has to be fulfilled.  This further goes to show the idea that not everyone reaches their destiny, whether it’s because they chose a better path or got lost along the way.  Similarly, this shows that a person does not have to be held by the expectations of others, and they can break out of the mold they have been put into and pursue a future not expected of them.

The Death Chamber

The Death Chamber is built like an amphitheater around a raised platform, on which rests a stone archway with a veil.  The veil seems to flutter although there is no wind, and some of the characters seem to hear voices coming from “behind” the veil (this may be because some of the characters have had loved ones who die, or it may represent their various beliefs in the afterlife).  Anyone who walks through the veil never comes back out, as essentially the veiled arch is a one way portal to the afterlife.  The mystery surrounding the veil and ominous feeling of the room represents fear of death.  As stated before, some of the characters could hear voices in the veil, which scared characters like Hermione, but for others (notably Luna) brought comfort.  It is important to note that J.K. Rowling may have drawn inspiration from this room from the Biblical story of the veil in the Temple, which separated the people from the most holy place of the temple and also symbolized the separation of God and man.  At the moment of Jesus’s death the veil was torn in two, which showed that humans no longer had to be separated from God by sin.  This makes the veil a more significant symbol of death and the afterlife, and helps present the theme that death does not have to be a scary thing, or even the “end”.

“[Harry:] “Have you…” he began. “I mean, who … has anyone you known ever died?”
“Yes,” said Luna simply, “my mother. She was a quite extraordinary witch, you know, but she did like to experiment and one of her spells went rather badly wrong one day. I was nine.”
“I’m sorry,” Harry mumbled.
“Yes, it was rather horrible,” said Luna conversationally. “I still feel very sad about it sometimes. But I’ve still got Dad. And anyway, it’s not as though I’ll never see Mum again, is it?”
“Er – isn’t it?” said Harry uncertainly.
She shook her head in disbelief. “Oh, come on. You heard them, just behind the veil, didn’t you?”
” You mean…”
“In that room in the archway. They were just lurking out of sight, that’s all, you heard them.”

The Ever-Locked Room

While entering the Department of Mysteries, Harry and his friends encounter a room that is so tightly magically sealed none of them can open it.  They abandon the room, and it is not until the end of the book we learn what was inside.  We learn the room contains nothing other than the force of love, which in this series is the most powerfully magical force.

“There is a room in the Department of Mysteries, that is kept locked at all times. It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there. It is the power held within that room that you possess in such quantities and which Voldemort has not at all. That power took you to save Sirius tonight. That power also saved you from possession by Voldemort, because he could not bear to reside in a body so full of the force he detests. In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your mind. It was your heart that saved you.” -Dumbledore to Harry

One of the most powerful themes and ideas in this series is that love is a force more powerful than any other, the thing that drive so many choices and actions and has so many purposes and consequences in our lives that the world could not function the same without it.  The way this theme is presented manages to avoid the somewhat cheesy “love conquers all” feel and makes it something raw that everyone can connect to.

Conclusion

I hope this post was interesting and informative.  Perhaps one of the most successful things about this series is that way it turns common themes into something meaningful and raw for the reader.  This post was long, so I won’t keep you any longer.  Have a great day!

Image source: https://www.mugglenet.com/2015/12/within-department-mysteries/

Sources:

44 Magical J.K. Rowling Quotes

https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Department_of_Mysteries#Space_Chamber

Within the Department of Mysteries