THE ANALYSIS OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS’ DEVELOPMENT IN

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

(A Descriptive Analysis on J.K Rowling’s Novel)

INTRODUCTION
The introduction consists of research background, research questions,
research purposes, research hypothesis, research significance, and hypothesis.

A. Research Background
Literary work is a creative art work, which is branch of literature dealing
with words to create a picture, an idea or a story in a meangingful pattern. Literary
work is imaginative, aesthetic and please the reader. Literary work has elements
of beauty in writing words as fiction. The words that use in literary work has very
deep meaning that can make someone who reads them can feel the emotions.
According to Eagleton (1996, p.1) literarure is imaginative writing which is not
really true.
Literary work has various types including poetry, drama and novel. One of
the literary work is novel. Novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction,
normally in prose, that contains a series of stories of a person’s life with other
characters and the storyline. Novel is typically published as a book.
Novel has two elements. They are instrinsic elements and extrinsic
elements. Intrinsic elements are the elemets that bulid the whole of a novel such as
themes, plot, setting, characters, point of view and moral value. Extrinsic elements
are elements outside the literary works. Extrinsic elements consist of background,
social conditions, history and biography of the author.
In this research, the researcher tries to analyze one of the instrinsic elements,
the characters, especially the main characters in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and
the Order of the Phoenix. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is one of the
seven series of Harry Potter. This novel mainly tells a story about wizards and
magic world. There are many characters appear in the novel. Therefore, the
researcher focuses on the three main characters. They are Harry Potter, Hermione

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Granger and Ronald Weasley. The development of their characters is suitable to
analyze because they have different character and personality. Harry Potter, the
strongest one, is experiencing the frustration in the fifth year due to being in
adolescene. Hermione Granger is bossy but since being friends with Harry and
Ronald, she is no longer a bossy girl. Ronald Weasley is a very loyal friend but
sometimes becomes very sensitive. Their characters and personalities changed
slowly when they are in fifth year in school. This makes the researcher insterested
to analyze this novel by using descriptive analysis method in order to find out the
data about character development in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Furthermore, the researcher hopes this research can make people know about the
literature, espesially about the character development.

B. Research Questions
Based on the background proceded, the problems that are discussed in this
research are:
a. How do the character of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley
in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix develop?
b. What factors that influence the character development in Harry Potter and the
Order of the Phoenix?
c. What moral values can be gotten in Harry Potter and the Order of the
Phoenix?

C. Research Purposes
The purposes in this research are:
a. To find out how the character of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ronald
Weasley described in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix develop.
b. To find out what factors that influence the character development of Harry
Potter, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley in Harry Potter and the Order of
the Phoenix.
c. To find out the moral values can be gotten in Harry Potter and the Order of the
Phoenix.

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D. Research Significance
The researcher hopes that the result of this research can help to develop
knowledge in literature especially how to analyze a novel. The main aspects in
this rescearch are aboout the main characters’ development and some moral
values that can be gotten in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K.
Rowling. Futhermore, hopefully this research can be a reference in English
Education study program.

E. Terminology
a. Descriptive analysis
Descriptive is serving or seeking to describe, describing or classifiying in an
objective and non-judgemental way. According to Wikipedia, analysis is the
process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to
gain a better understanding of it. According to Sugiono (2009, p.29) descriptive
analysis is a method that functions to describe or give an overview of the object
that being examined through data or samples that have been collected.
b. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fifth novel in Harry
Potter series written by a British author, J.K. Rowling. First published on 21 June
2003 by Bloomsburry (UK) publisher. The genre of the novel is fantasy. The
novel has 766 pages in original edition. Preceded by Harry Potter and the Goblet
of Fire and followed by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
To avoid misinterpretation, the reseacher provides the following statements
related to the research:
a) Development is emotional or physical change of the main character
because of the influence of other minor characters.
b) Character is an imagined person who inhabits a story and it shows a
distinctive type of person.
c) Influence is any past or present condition, experienced or as actually
playing a part in determining one’s behavior, or course of thought, in the
present; a common type of delusion.

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 d) Moral values are good or bad values that can be gotten from the story aas a
result of the characters’ action or thought.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Definition of Literary Work
Literary work is a creative art work, which is branch of literature dealing
with words to create a picture, an idea or a story in a meangingful pattern. Literary
work is imaginative, aesthetic and please the reader. Literary work has elements
of beauty in writing words as fiction. The words that use in literary work has very
deep meaning that can make someone who read them can feel the emotions. For
more detailed explanation, here is the statement concerning the definition of
literature:
There have been various attempts to define literature. You can define it, for
example, as ‘imaginative’ writing in the sense of fiction – writing which is not
literally true. But even the briefest reflection on what people commonly include
under the heading of literature suggests that this will do. Seventeenth-century
English literature includes Shakespeare, Ebster, Marvell and Milton; but it also
stretches to the essays of Francis Bacon, the sermons of John Donne, Bunyan’s
spiritual autobiography and whatever it was that Sir Thomas Browne wrote. It
might even at a pinch be taken to encompass Hobbes’s Leviathan or Clarendon’s
History of the Rebellion. French seventeenth-century literature contains, along
with Corneille and Racine, La Rochefoucauld’s maxims, Bossuet’s funeral
speeches, Boileau’s treatise on poetry, Madame de Sevigne’s letters to her
daughter and the philosophy of Descartes and Pascal. Nineteenth-century English
literature usually includes Lamb (though not Bentham), Macualay (but not Marx),
Mill (but not Darwin or Herbert Spencer). (Eagleton, 1996)

This explanation tells that literature is not simply fiction work, because
there are many examples of writings and literary works that resemble realities.
The use of peculiar language in the literary works shows that these works are
special and intended to be attractive and beautiful, whether as a part of art or usual
writing.

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B. Types of Literary Work
a. Poetry
Poetry is a form in literary works derived from the results of a feeling
expressed by poets with languages that use rhythm, rhymes, matras, stanzas and
the preparation of lyrics that contain meaning.
b. Drama
Drama is a literary work written in the form of dialogue and with the
intention of being shown by the actor. Drama can also be said as a story that is
exhibited on the stage and based on a script.
c. Novel
Novel is a long prose essay, containing a series of stories of a person's life
with those around him by highlighting the character and nature of each actor. In
novels generally start from important events experienced by characters who later
change the fate of their life. There are many genres of the novel, such as fantasy,
romance, mystery, adventure, history and others. The genres of Harry Potter
series are fantasy and mystery.

C. Elements of the Novel

a. Extrinsic
1. Elements of Biography
Biographical elements are elements of the author's background, including
such as the residence of the author, his/her family, his/her educational
background, his/her environment, and so forth. The background is quite
influential in novel writing, for example, the writer whose background is from a
poor family, then he/she will be able to make story that really touch the hearts of
those who read them.
2. Social Elements
The social element is closely related to the condition of society when novel
is made. For example, the novel was made during the New Order era. At that time
the condition of the community was in a state of chaos and the state of

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government was ragged, so the story made at that time was a story containing
innuendos to the community.
3. Value Element
Elements of value in novel are related to education, economics, politics,
social, culture, customs, law, art, and so forth. The value contained in novel is the
main attraction for the reader, and also quite influences the good or not of the
story.
b. Intrinsic
1. Character
All stories need certain necessary elements. Without these elements, literary
works often fail to make sense. For instance, one of the essential elements of
every story is a plot with a series of events. Another important element is a
character. A character can be any person, a figure, an inanimate object, or animal.
A character in a story can develop based on the situastion, emotion, and
environment. The definition of character development refers to the process of
creating a believable character in fiction by giving the character depth and
personality. An example of character development is when an author writes a
book in which people begin to care more and more about the characters within it
as the character's personalities become more real. There are different types of
characters, and each serves its unique function in a story or a piece of literature.
There are many types of the characters which include:
a) Confidante. A confidante is someone in whom the main character
confides. He reveals the central character’s thoughts, intentions, and personality
traits. However, a confidante need not necessarily be a person. An animal can also
be a confidante.
b) Dynamic character. A dynamic character changes during the course of
a novel or a story. This change in character or his/her outlook is permanent. That
is why sometimes a dynamic character is also called a “developing character.”
c) Static character. A static character remains the same throughout the
whole story. Even the events in a story or novel do not change character’s
outlook, perceptions, habits, personality, or motivations.

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 d) Antagonist. An antagonist is a bad guy, or an opponent of
the protagonist or the main character. The action in the story arises from a conflict
between the protagonist and the antagonist. The antagonist can be a person, an
inanimate object, an animal, or nature itself.
e) Protagonist. Every story has a protagonist, the main character, who
creates the action of the plot and engages readers, arousing their empathy and
interest. The protagonist is often a hero or heroine of the story, as the whole plot
moves around him or her.
f) Round character. The round characters are well-developed and complex
figures in a story. They are more realistic, and demonstrate more depth in their
personalities. They can make surprising or puzzling decisions, and attract readers’
attention. There are many factors that may affect them, and round characters react
to such factors realistically.
g) Flat character. A flat character does not change during a story. Also, he
or she usually only reveals one or two personality traits.
h) Stock character. A stock character is a flat character that is instantly
recognizable by readers. Like a flat character, the stock character does not
undergo any development throughout the story.
2. Plot
Plot is like blueprints. The plot’s connections and its structure determine the
way the author shape the story.
Generally, “plot” as a concept is split into five parts:
a) Exposition or introduction, which establishes characters and setting.
b) Rising action, which reveals the conflict.
c) Climax, also known as the turning point. This should be the greatest
moment of tension in a story; everything is critical, with emotion and interest
peaked. This is make-or-break, the moment when things matter the most.
d) Falling action, when things start to wind down. All that tension is
actively being resolved.
e) Resolution, means everything has been solved, and conclusion of the
story arrives at the place where all the events of the plot have strongly led. It feels

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final, or at least, final enough that the reader can put the book down without
flipping back through the pages to see if they missed something. Again, this
doesn’t require a happy ending. It does require a satisfying one, even if the mean
to continue in a sequel.
3. Setting
Setting includes the physical location (real or invented) and the social
environment of the story (including chronology, culture, institutions, etc.).
4. Point of View
POV determines things like tense and how much the reader gets to see.
There’s first-person (I, my), second-person (you, your), and third-person/narrator
(she, hers). There’s present tense (I see/she sees), past tense, (I saw/she saw), and
even that cockamamie future tense nobody uses (I will see/she will see). It’s the
combination of these things that create an effective POV.
There’s a reason different genres often to use different POVs.
a) Urban fantasy, for example, is almost always first-person past-tense,
because they’re going for the feel of a person telling you an exciting thing that
happened. There’s an intimate, immediate feel that goes with this close-up-and-
personal viewpoint, like seeing the fist come right for your face.
b) On the other hand, literary fiction usually uses third-person. The reason is
simple: literary fiction usually has a much broader scope than urban fantasy and
so needs to be able to take the reader to a bird’s-eye view, usually seeing through
multiple characters. The pace is often a little slower, but the impact can be deeply
powerful, and tends to explore consequences.
5. Theme
Theme is defined as the central or dominant idea of the story. Therefore,
theme is the overall generalization that can be made about the story meaning and
significance. To define a theme of a story, one can see some clues provided by the
author such as the title, imagery, symbolism, and diaglogue betweem the
charaters.
6. Style and Tone

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 Style and tone refers to the way the author expresses himself or herself.
Style depends on the diction (the author’s choice of vocabulary), syntax (grammar
and sentence structure), and also voice and rhythm. Tone is the manner, mood,
which pervades attitude or voice that the writer establish in relation to the
characters, situations and readers.

D. The Main Characters in the Novel

a. Harry Potter
Harry James Potter is the protagonis of J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter series.
He first appears in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Harry is an orphan
who became a wizard when he was eleven years old. He lives with his uncle, aunt
and his cousin - Vernon Dursley, Petunia Dursley and Duddley Dursley. Harry
seems like uneasy living with his family but once he even saves Duddley from
dementors even though he is threatened to expel from Hogwarts and kicked out
from Dursley’s house. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry
through extreme emotional stress to show his emotional vulnerability and
humanity – a contrast to his nemesis, Voldemort. Harry, therefore, did have to
reach a point where he did almost break down after Sirius Black’s death, and say
he didn't want to play any more, he didn't want to be the hero any more and he
didn't want to lose anything else.
b. Hermione Granger
Hermione Jean Granger is a smart girl and she is one of Harry’s best friends.
She is an overachiever who excels academically and is described by Rowling as a
"very logical, upright and good" character. In her fifth year, Hermione becomes a
Gryffindor perfect along with Ron. Hermione conceives the idea of Harry secretly
teaching defensive magic to a small band of students in defiance of the Ministry
of Magic's dictum to teach only the subject's basic principles from a textbook,
with no hands-on practice. 
c. Ron Weasley
Ronald Bilius Weasley is another Harry’s best friend. At school, Ron is
always under the shadow of his two best friends, Hermione and Harry. Hermione

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is the smartest student in school. And Harry is a talented and famous Quidditch
player. However, Ron’s loyalty and dedication to his friends is no question. He
does not hesitate to die in order to protect his best friends. Sometimes, Ron
quickly offended when people insulted his friends and family.

CONCPETUAL FRAMEWORK
The author will use an intrinsic approach using a theory from Robert
Stanton about analyzing a character which says "The term is used to design the
individuals who appear to be the mixture of interest, desires, emotion and moral
principles that make up each individual" (1965, p.18). This means that the
character in literature is a manifestation of human behavior that determines words,
behavior, conversations and actions of a character. To analyze the characters in
the novel, the researcher will use some of the steps taken from Stanton's statement
on how to analyze a character consisting of:
a. Character's dialogues
b. Character’s behavior
c. Conversations between characters
d. Character’s actions
In describing character development, it is very important to understand
how character actions and attitudes are changed or developed. To analyze the
data, researcher will read the novel and takes a note about important parts.
There are 3 main steps to do the research:
a. Writing
1. Choose the characters to be studied. In this research, the reseacher choose
Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Wasley because they are the main
characters of the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix novel. Their
characters are unique that makes the researcher interested in them.
2. Read the novel and imagine the characters. Reseacher will find out the
way how the author of the novel describe the characters, the interaction between
characters, the actions from the characters that affect the story and the struggle
faced by these characters.

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 3. Make a note. Reseacher will take notes that contain important elements
that can enrich information about a character when reseacher reread the story.
Make notes on the edge of the page and underline the important parts.
4. Choose a main idea. Reseacher will collect notes about the character that
and try to find of a main idea that can connect it. For example, the actions and
motivations of the characters and also the results of the storyline.
5. Make a framework of concept. The reseacher will make notes about the
places where the character shows characteristics and include evidence that support
the analysis.
b. Writing character analysis
1. Write an introductory paragraph for the analysis. While thinking of the
analysis thesis sentence, reseacher will prepare an introductory paragraph about
the characters and their role in the literary work.
2. Describe the physical appearance of the character. Reseacher will
describe about what the character looks like, and explain how it will affect the
character's identity as a human.
3. Discuss the background of the character. A person's personal history does
affect his personality and development, therefore, discussing the character history
to be examined is an important thing to do. Where or when is the character born
and raised? What kind of education does he have? How does the character's
previous experience that influence what he did or said?
4. Discuss the language that used by the character. Reseacher will find out
the language that the character uses in the novel. Does the character use the same
language or does the language change from the beginning to the end of the story?
5. Write about the character's personality. Does the character do something
based on an emotion or a certain reason? What value does the character show
from the action and speech? Does the character have a purpose or ambition?
Reseacher will write specifically and make sure to quote or paraphrase the quote
from the novel.
6. Examine the relationship between characters. Does the character lead or
follow other characters in the story? Does the character have friends or family?

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The reseacher will use some examples of the story followed by reseacher’s
analysis.
7. Describe how the character changes or develops along the storyline. Most
of the main characters will experience conflict throughout the story. Some
conflicts are external (caused by the environment or the people around them),
while others are internal (personal struggles that the character experiences about
his feelings and actions). Did the character develop into a better or worse
character as a conclusion? Characters that give a distinctive impression usually
change or develop in literary works that tell about virtue.
8. Collect supporting materials or evidence to analyze. Reseacher will
include direct quotes to support reseacher’s opinion. If the author of the story
describes the character as someone who is careless, resacher will provide the
specific details to show the character's character by quoting or paraphrasing
directly from the text.
c. Using evidence in the research
Opinion, illustration and elaboration. The researcher will make opinions
then will illustrate the opinion with a quote from the text, and elaborate how the
quote supports the opinion of the reseacher.

METHODOLOGY
The purpose of the research is to solve the research problem. In solving the
problems, there are many kinds of method can be applied by the researcher. A
research method is defined as the way in which the purpose of the research is
achieved. According to Ratna (2006), explains that descriptive method is to
describe facts which are followed by analysis.
The research variable can be described as the elements; characteristics, or
conditions that are manipulated with the topic on the research. Hatch and Farhady
(1982) argues a variable as an attribute of a person or an object, which varies from
person to person or object to object.
In this research, the single variable concept will be applied. Nawawi (1991)
says that single variable is the only variable which is investigated in the research.

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The single variable in this research is the main characters and their action in the
novel Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

A. Research Design
In this research, the reseacher is using descriptive analysis method in order
to analyze the main characters’ development in Harry Potter and the Order of the
Phoenix. Loeb et al. (2007) found that “quantitative descriptive analysis
characterizes the world or a phenomenon by identifying patterns in data to answer
questions about who, what, where, when, and to what extent. Descriptive analysis
is data simplification. Causal research may be the “gold standard” for determining
what works in education, but descriptive.”
The researcher will analyze the data by collecting the the facts in the novel
through actions and dialogues of the three main characters.

B. Research Object
The research setting is the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix itself.
The researcher will use the novel as the main source by reading, comprehending
and finding the data.

C. Data Collection
a. Technique
The technique of data collecting is by reading and taking a note. Reading
technique is done by reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. First
step the researcher will read the whole novel in order to find indentification in
general. Second step the researcher will reading carefully the main parts of the
novel. The next step is take a note about the characters’ dialogue, behaviour and
actions.
b. Tools
The tools of the data collection are a note book and the novel. Researcher
will find the data from the novel and write the main points of the novel.

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D. Data Analysis
The technique of data collecting is by using the qualitative analysis.
Qualitative analysis is a variety of approaches and methods for the study of
natural life. Qualitative researchers collect non-numerical data through a variety
of methods with a view to gaining an in-depth understanding of human behavior.
Accoring to Laird (2008), character is logical and qualitative, not quantitative,
because in the description of a character of its influence and development, there
are statements and logical arfumentation. According to Reeves and Kuper (2008)
states that “qualitative researchers also rely heavily on theories drawn from the
social sciences and humanities to guide their research process and illuminate their
findings”. This approach uses various data sources including documents, audio,
video, images and datasets to investigate why and how of decision making, not
just what, where, and when, as is often explored with quantitative (numerical)
methods. Futhermore, the procedure in this research is by reading, comprehending
the novel and making a conclusion based on the data gotten in the novel.
The researcher will analyze the data by collecting the facts in the novel
through actions and dialogues of the three main characters. These data are called
the primary data. The primary data is analyzed to describe main charaters’
development in the novel. The data is also qualitative, since to find an influence
toward a character, it needs a particular quality of a logical deduction. The
reseacher will find the data in the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by
reading, comprehending dan finding the data that have the relationship with the
paper.

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REFERENCES
Analysis. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis
Day, Gary. (2008). Literary criticism. A new history. Edinburgh: Edinburgh
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Eagleton, Terr. (1996). Literary theory. An introduction. India: Replika Press Pvt
Ltd.
Harry Potter and the order of the phoenix. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Order_of_the_Phoenix
Hatch, Evelyn & Hossein Farhady. (1982). Research design and statistic for
applied linguistics. New York, NY: Newbury House Publishers.
Hetherington, E. Mavis and Parke, Ross D. (1993). Child psychology. A
contemporary viewpoint. New York. NcGraw-Hill, inc.
Laird, Andrew. (2006). Ancient literary criticism. New York: Oxford University
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Loeb, S., Dynarski, S., McFarlan, D., Morris, P., Reardon, S., & Reber, S. (2017).
Descriptive analysis in education: A guide for researchers.
Nawawi, H. Hadari. (1991). Metode penelitian bidang sosial. Yogyakarta: Gadjah
Mada University Press.
Ratna, Nyoman Kutha. (2006). Teori, metode, dan teknik penelitian sastra.
Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar.
Reeves, Scott & Ayelet Kuper. (2008, February). BMJ online. Qualitative
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