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Background/ Introduction:

Magic does exist, Harry Potter was born into the magical world. A magic world in which it is
possible to portal from one place to another in an instant; where it is possible to shut someone
through the use of a simple charm; where you can become invisible by covering yourself in a
cloak; where it is possible to levitate freely. Harry came from a half-blood family; which means
that, in his case, Harrys father, James Potter, came from a pure magic family and Harrys mother,
Lily Potter, came from a non-magic (muggle) family. Being a half-blood is looked down upon by
certain, snobbish, people in the magic world. Those that believe that are, essentially, the followers
of Voldemort, or Tom Marvolo Riddle. Voldemort is, basically, the evil mastermind in this story,
he is the main villain. He was orphan that was realized to have magical powers and when
Dumbledore, the head master of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry discovered that fact,
he enrolled Voldemort, who at the time was not evil, into the school. Voldemort was a very bright
and curious student at Hogwarts, but as time passed and he aged, he started to experiment with
things that was illegal and forbidden. Voldemort began to study the art of living forever; what that
entails is that he would have to, essentially, leave behind pieces of his soul into different objects
or beings which are called Horcrouxs. Voldemort left behind seven different Horcurxs that he
made.
But what was it about Harry Potter that Voldemort needed? Why was Voldemort so desperate to
find Harry? Well When discovered through his own prophecy (yes, every wizard has their own
crystal ball that holds their prophecy) that Voldemort would die at the hands of Harry Potter,
Voldemort sought out Harry. Voldemort went to Harrys house one night in an attempt to kill him.
But, as it happens to be, Harrys parents were some of the brightest people in the magical world.
Just as Voldemort came to kill Harry, Lily had cast herself between Voldemort and Harry, causing

the spell to rebound on Voldemort and kill him. But in that instant, since that for Voldemort was
human, and he himself was a Horcroux, his soul needed something to latch on to and the closest
thing that it could find was Harry.
Ever since I was introduced to the magical world that Harry Potter lived, learned, and laughed in
as a child, I knew that I would never tire of the adventure and thrill that came from these stories.
Harry Potter is a most beloved and fascinating character that had come to life through the eyes of
his author, J.K. Rowling and the eyes of her readers (like me!). Harry was a character that was,
more or less, fairly relatable to every age group. It teaches how to live in the moment, since we are
not able to foresee our future. It taught us about the idea and the power of LOVE (yes, love). It,
also, taught us the dynamics of a friendship: of its life-long journey and loyalty. In my take on this
series, I will be discussing the literal and emotional journey of Harry Potter as a child to an adult
at Hogwarts. When Harry began Hogwarts, he was like a vulnerable young kid oblivious to
everything that he had come from. In this paper, I will be discussing the physical and mental
journey of Harry Potter through his time at Hogwarts while impressing the use of prophecy in this
series and real life.
Literature Review:
Harry, along with his greatest enemy: Voldemort, are two of the most important characters
that can be used to show the significance and the power suggestion and influence, whether it may
be at a young age or not. By analyzing Book of Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics1 and A
Story of the Exceptional: Fate and Free Will in the Harry Potter Series2, I was able to see that the influence
that the world had around Harry and Voldemort changed their complete outlook of the world. Voldemort

Book of Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics. (2012). Accessed October 19, 2015.

Pond, Julia. A Story of the Exceptional: Fate and Free Will in the Harry Potter Series. Vol. 38 (2010):181-209

became this egotistical and oppressive evil while Harry became oblivious to it and did what he wanted.
Prophecies have a great way of influencing a persons judgement and outlook on life; now that is not to say
that these influences cannot be good or bad because, as Ive shown through the examples above, we know
how Harry and Voldemort were affected by them. Also, in Salman Rushdies The Satanic Verses3 we
learned about the full impact of the power of suggestion that shows how even the slightest influence can
both shape and change a person.

In Nikolaus Windingers Sacrifice in the Harry Potter Series from a Girardian


Perspective4, we learned of the ways and ideals of sacrificing. There were two ways to sacrifice:
scapegoating and self-offering. We can see both of these forms of sacrifices throughout the Harry
Potter series, from the moment that Lily gave her life to save Harry.
According to Sara Ann Beachs The Power of Harry,5 and Joseph A. Talamos Harry Potter
and the Haunted Prophet,6 we got the true effects of venturing and learning and prophecies, as we did in
other sources. Beach and Talamo used the significance of the friendship between Harry, Hermione, and
Ron to show the importance of always progressing.
Based on my Assignment One Observations7 that I made, I was able to see that the idea that Harry
was adopted had shaped him up in a way that we cannot even fathom. In Lemn Sissays Ted talk8, he spoke
of how he was shipped between foster houses and adoption agencies throughout his adolescence and

Rushdie, Salman. The Satanic Verses. (2008): 92-93 Accessed October 19, 2015.

Wandinger, Nikolaus. Sacrifice in the Harry Potter Series from a Girardian Perspective. Vol

17 (2010):28-51
5

Beach, Sara Ann. The Power of Harry. ProQuest. Accessed October 19, 2015.

Talamo, Joseph A. Harry Potter and the Haunted Prophet. Vol.52, Iss. 3, (2009). Accessed October
19, 2015.
6

Patel, Radha N. Assignment One: Harry Potter Observations. Accessed October 19, 2015.

Sissay, Lemn. A child of the state. (June 2012) Accessed October 27, 2015.

teenage years. Though both Harry and Lemn were tossed around throughout most of their adolescence, they
did not hide from it. But, however, they simply learned from it.

Entering the Conversation:


At any age, the idea of knowing that everyone is in this world for a reason can be mind
boggling. At the age of eleven, Harry just knew that his parents died when he was young and that
he was an ordinary child that had absolutely no idea about the world that he had really come from.
Though he was intentionally uninformed about his reality, he always knew that there was some
aspect of himself that he knew he did not know about since there were things that he was able to
do that he knew others couldnt. He always knew that he could do things, in the heat of moments,
the others could not even fathom. But when he learned about his reality, his parents, and his life
up to the moment, he knew that he held an important role in the magic world. He, eventually, did
end up discovering that he held a certain prophecy that was considered a threat to a single person
that he would come to know as an enemy, and that he would annihilate: Tom Marvolo Riddle also
known as Voldemort. But that is it; it was a singular prophecy that led to the inevitable duel
between Harry Potter and Voldemort (Talamo, Joseph A.). Not just now, but for a very long time,
our world runs on psychological, or cognitive, suggestions. No matter where you go, to a wedding,
an interview, a school, prayer edifice, or even just watching TV, you will always be told or shown
something along the lines of what your role in this world is (Beach, Sara Ann). Everyone is
believed to have a set prophecy created for them by their respective deities.
Harry, in this case, had a very similar set up. Harry, when he was born, had a prophecy that
was formed that was made just for him that was able to show every aspect of Harrys life, including
his past, present, and future. According to Julia Ponds A Story of the Exceptional: Fate and Free Will
in the Harry Potter Series, philosophy finds an appropriate balance between fate and free will,

echoed throughout the series which takes us through the thought processes that Harry conducts
when making his life altering decisions to take down Voldemort by finding all of the Horcruxs.
One reason why the book is so contested is that people who saw its prophecies against the
Roman Empire, suggesting that the empire was going to be destroyed by God realized that those
prophecies had failed; (Book of Revelations) we see the same sort of transfiguration in Harry
Potter. As we progressed from the first to the last book, and the movies, we saw, particularly, in
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that Dumbledore told Snape that Harry must die at the
proper moment since that was what Harry was prophesied to become. The Roman Empire in this
case would be Voldemort, and God being Harry (we can presume since we know how their fight
unravels). Even though Harry was prophesied to be killed by Voldemort himself, the actions that
took place did not unfold the way that they were foreseen to be.
Having a predestinated prophecy did not phase Harry in any way. He made so many
decisions that included only him getting hurt instead of all of his friends and professors that he had
come to know over his time at Hogwarts. Though we may not realize, there are many ways in
which we can all relate with Harry. We all have sacrificed something, if not nothing, in life to be
where we are now. Sacrifice in terms of making hard decisions, not death. In Nikolaus Windingers
Sacrifice in the Harry Potter Series from a Girardian Perspective, he discusses the two types of
sacrifices. One being a form of scapegoating, which does not relate to Harry. And the other being
self-offering which we see a lot in this series. While in the early stages of infantile when
Voldemort came to kill him, Harrys mother Lily had cast herself between the two and sacrificed
herself in order to ensure that Harry stayed unharmed. It was Lily Potters motherly love that
kept Harry from being killed. Later on in his life after Dumbledore, Harrys greatest mentor, was
killed Harry went on a quest to seek out every Horcroux that he needed in order to kill Voldemort.

He even attempted to go on this expedition by himself to ensure that no one else that he cared for
did not die because of something that only dealt with him and one other person.
Salman Rushdie said clearly such metamorphoses are symbolic of the power of
suggestion, and in particular of the way racial prejudice works like a self-fulfilling prophecy. This
is true to a certain point, because it was not racial prejudice that led Harry to do what he when he
did it. It was the fact that it was Voldemort that killed his parents. Harry was driven to not die. It
wasnt revenge, so much as annihilation of evil, that he wanted, but he wanted to rid the world that
he knew of the one person that ruined the most important things in his life: his parents and his new
found uncle: Sirius Black.
Throughout his progress from his first year at Hogwarts to his last, Harry had always
grown somehow. From my assignment one observations, I was able to see the changes that took
place, both mentally and physically, in Harrys life. Harry began Hogwarts as an obliviously
famous child the survived the world most deathly (pun intended) curse. Harry went from a deprived
child to someone who could offer his appreciation and company to anyone the wanted to be around
him. He became someone stronger mentally, less so physically. He began to learn about new
things. He discovered things and people that he loved and that loved him back. He is one of the
most important role models for everyone around the world.
Lemn Sissay was tossed back and forth between orphanages and adoption agencies for
almost eighteen years in his life. But even to this day, he was not ashamed of where he came from.
He was, I wouldnt say proud, but he sort of compared his early life to that of many classic
characters like Harry Potter. He was discussing how he could not comprehend why there are
so many parentless children [who] feel compelled to hide their past. He said that they should not
feel that way. There are so many examples of class literary pieces that describe the struggles and

triumphs that orphaned and/or adopted kids like Harry Potter, Oliver Twist, Cinderella, Jane Eyre,
and others who have done great things while they lived. Harry was, I believe, never personally
angry with his uncle, aunt, and cousin because he knew that it was not in their nature to be nurturing
and caring.
Life is all about the risks that you takes. Life is about everything that you have gone
through, the good and bad. Harry experienced it all. Harry was faced with the worst of everything.
He lost his parents as a child, then when he was adopted by his maternal aunt they basically made
him miserable and self-depreciating. Even though all that had happened in his childhood, he got
over all of that and helped anyone that he could so that no one ever feels the way he did. Even after
finding out about how his life would imminently end through death that would come upon him by
no other than Voldemort, Harry still did everything he could to not succumb to path that his life
was supposed to lead. He chose for himself what he wanted to do and how he wanted to live out
his life. He was loyal to those who never betrayed him.
Conclusion/ So-what?:
It can be a limiting factor when there is a set story of your life and no space to either
improve upon, or explore different things that can be altered. That is basically what happened to
Harry most of his adolescence time. His aunt, and uncle never let him find out about where he
came from. The world that took his parents from him and the place that he could really be himself.
I believe that something that the articles that I have presented did not focus on was Harrys actual
journey and progression throughout his time at Hogwarts and beyond. We saw that Harry came
into Hogwarts as a fickle boy, oblivious to the word that he was quickly beginning to learn about.
The articles that I have presented spoke merely of how Harry shaped up; they spoke mostly of his
enemy and the prophecy that he was living and fighting with. The reason why it is important to

show Harrys journey, both mentally and physically, is because it shows relatability between Harry
and the people who read the stories. Harrys journey has been a very inspirational one. He has
shown how to rise up when no one else could and succeeded. Having relatability between
characters and readers gives people a sense of hope and pride to be able to change the way he had.
There may have been studies upon this topic very long ago. But why is that? Is it that people are
starting to realize that the books that they may read now have characters that are not relatable and
use that knowledge to compare to Harry Potter going in? I think that knowing the triumphs as well
as downfalls throughout Harrys life show us how life is hard. It is not always good and not always
bad, but to have the two at an equilibrium is a very hard task to achieve.
Reflection:
After hours and hours of, on my part, lethargy and procrastination, I finally got this paper done.
Though I did take a long time to finish this paper, and most of it may not make sense, I am
particularly proud of some of the things that I accomplished in this paper. What I know for a fact
is that I have never done a paper like this, with the content an all, ever in my life. I am not implying
that I have never done research papers, because god knows Ive done them, but I just mean that I
have never done a research paper on a topic that is not controversial or factually sane. I have always
done papers on things like solar energy, southern literature as described by William Faulkner, and
even the power of oppression; but I have never researched a topic like a movie. It was hard Im
not going to lie; trying to find feasible and credible sources on a specific topic about Harry Potter
was, but I got through it. I am proud of the fact that I was able to submit a fully fleshed-out copy
of my paper. I am proud of all of the effort that I put into this assignment as well. However, I am
not proud of the fact that my paper needed one too many improvements. I would be fine with fixing
a few problems, grammatical or contextual, but the problems that I encountered in my peer

commentary was not being specific enough in certain matters. I am not a perfectionist, though Id
like to be, but I am glad that I got the comments that I did so I was able to make any improvements.
Although some comments were helpful, others were not. One comment that I found helpful was
by Amalia Striker when she told me The interjections "(Like me!)" "LOVE (Yes, Love)" are
interesting and potentially attention grabbing ways of writing. They could be adding a lot to your
paper. They could also be affecting your "Professional writing voice/tone" and taking away from
it. A suggestion for fixing this to help would be to maybe move these to an earlier place in your
introduction, to create more of an attention grab, or to adjust them slightly to keep a professional
voice/ tone. After seeing this comment, I think that I finally got the fact that I tend to get carried
away sometimes and use comedy, or jut catchy phrases or sarcasm, to grab some attention, and
that I need to watch that because it, indeed, does remove a bit of professional-ness, if you will,
from my writing. There were any comments that I got that were not helpful this time.
I noticed that my paper consisted, in many parts, of the skill of critical reading. One of the things
that I wrote, that I thought reflected critical reading, was from Nikolaus Windingers Sacrifice
in the Harry Potter Series from a Girardian Perspective where I described Windingers
perspective on prophecies by describing thetwo ways to sacrifice: scapegoating and selfoffering. We can see both of these forms of sacrifices throughout the Harry Potter series, from the
moment that Lily gave her life to save Harry. I think that I also used critical reflection in my
writing when making revisions to my paper from the feedback that I was given. I was given a
comment to specify a bit more on the main idea or ideas that you are trying to bring out and
that is exactly what I took into account when revising my paper so that I make significant
adjustments.

Works Cited
Beach, Sara Ann. The Power of Harry. ProQuest. Accessed October 19, 2015.
Book of Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics. (2012). Accessed October 19, 2015.
Patel, Radha N. Assignment One: Harry Potter Observations. Accessed October 19, 2015.
Pond, Julia. A Story of the Exceptional: Fate and Free Will in the Harry Potter Series. Vol. 38
(2010):181-209
Rushdie, Salman. The Satanic Verses. (2008): 92-93 Accessed October 19, 2015.
Sissay, Lemn. A child of the state. (June 2012) Accessed October 27, 2015.
Talamo, Joseph A. Harry Potter and the Haunted Prophet. Vol.52, Iss. 3, (2009). Accessed October 19,
2015.
Wandinger, Nikolaus. Sacrifice in the Harry Potter Series from a Girardian Perspective. Vol 17

(2010):28-51

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