Book #13: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

We are going to take a detour from the Dickens we have been reading during Rory’s first day at Chilton and read something a bit more recent. At the time of Gilmore Girls first season, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was the most recent Harry Potter book released. I can remember this time because I was shocked that a children's book was this big. Miss Patty, Stars Hollow’s very own dance instructor, is the one to mention this book. She tells her dancers, “Now, walk smooth. That’s the new Harry Potter book on your heads. If they should drop, Harry will die, and there won’t be anymore books.” For some reason, this line has always stuck with me from the first time I watched the series. I’m not even a huge Harry Potter fan, but I found this incredibly hilarious. Just imagine trying to walk, let alone dance, with this huge book on your head. It is absurd.

Secret Time

            Now, I am going to tell you all a little secret…When I first read the Harry Potter series, I read the first three books, half of the fourth, and then the sixth and seventh. I know. I have Harry Potter fans of the word. I skipped the middle part of the series and leapt to the end. It is not that I dislike Harry Potter, I really did enjoy the series, I’m just not as obsessed with it as others are. There are books and series that I like more. I never went to a midnight showing or release party. I bought the books within the first few weeks and I saw the movies in theaters, but I couldn’t get into it the same way as everyone else. I got bored halfway through the fourth and just waited until the fourth and fifth movies to jump back in with book six. I didn't feel like I missed much (many people will argue with me here). However, you should be happy to know that I picked up my old copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire from ten plus years ago and picked up where I left off (To be honest, I have know idea if it was actually my bookmark left in that book, but oh well).

committed a mortal sin amongst the loyal

Nerdy Girls are Cool

            One thing I do love about the Harry Potter series is that it made being the nerdy, smart

girl cool. Hermione may have had poufy hair and could be a bit of a know-it-all, but she was always confident, smart, and herself. This is exactly the kind of role model young girls need. I could always

relate to Hermione. From my early grade school years (when the books were first popular), the other kids would call me Hermione. I had the same kind of hair (I did not know how to tame the poufiness at that age) and I always had a book in my hand. I had a reputation of being smart and getting good grades. I was quiet and found solace in the library. I never found being compared to Hermione an insult. Hermione was a favorite Halloween costume of my peers. She was the character who always had a plan; who Harry and Ron trusted. I knew that I wasn’t exactly “cool” in the way many people associate with the word. I still would not classify myself as “cool.” But that is okay with me. I would rather be me, the nerdy, smart, self-assured, curly-haired woman I am. Maybe being “cool” is just being who you are and not being ashamed of it.

The Power of Friendship

            One of my favorite friendships in Harry Potter was the friendship between Harry and Hermione. Of course, I love Ron, but it will become clear why I did not include him in this. Harry and Hermione show a male-female friendship that is not clouded by romance. They can have a platonic relationship without ever questioning it. This is a topic that has been explored in rom-coms throughout the years. These rom-coms always seem to show that no male-female relationship is ever platonic. I’m not sure if this is true. Harry and Hermione are close confidents, but never wander towards the path of romance. I know J.K. Rowling has claimed that she now wishes she paired Hermione with Harry instead of Ron. I suppose I would be talking about Hermione and Ron here if that were the case. As someone who has many male friends, it is nice that the platonic side of male-female relationships is shown. Sometimes, friends are friends and nothing more.

Other Tid-bits

- In my 10^th grade English class, we recently discussed Aristotle’s concept of the tragic hero. We discussed this idea in terms of Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart, but we also discussed Snape as a modern example of a tragic hero. A tragic hero has a fatal flaw called hamartia which leads to their downfall. In Snape’s case, his hamartia is his love for Harry’s mother. If you look at all the components of a tragic hero (just for funsies), you will see that Snape is a perfect example of a tragic hero.

- My personal favorite of the Harry Potter books (and movies) is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. This was the last book released before they became super big. The plot wasn’t convoluted and was pretty easy to follow. Also, it introduced one of my favorite characters, Sirius Black. It’s probably because I have a thing for hairy grumpy men ever since I saw Beauty and the Beast and Sirius Black fits that mold pretty well (the book version, not the movie version).

Nest time: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickins!!

Images

Book Cover 1 https://milambc.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/goblet.jpg

Book Cover 2 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c7/Harry_Potter_and_the_Goblet_of_Fire.jpg

Hermione https://s.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/GLOB/crop/1024x543+0+16/resize/660x350!/format/jpg/quality/85/https://s.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/f5fb4e246b8cf928569bc99032b70d3f/203163656/hermione-granger-played-emma-watson.jpg