Saturday, 6 April 2019

Harry Potter Web Quest Activity


1. Feminist reading of Harmione’s character in Harry Potter




Hermione Granger, a good, loyal friend of Harry Potter. She is a manifestation of the author herself within the text. “Hermione is me,” Rowling has said in several interviews, “A caricature of me when I was younger”. She is not only as a strong female character, an essential part of Harry's life, but also as a feminist protagonist in her own right. Hermione represents the bookish knowledge, she knows the spells very well and also knows how to apply it. In the first and second part she represents the good virtues like, friendship, loyalty. In any kind of situation she stands for Harry.  
Hermione is the perfect example when examining the feminist principles in the novels. Throughout the series she has many strengths and weaknesses, but she is mostly criticized about her weaknesses as a character. At some time she becomes concious about her look, which becomes very problematic from feminine perspective. 

Other female characters like Mrs. Weasley, who represents motherhood, caring nature. Ginny, Luna, ProMcGonagall, all has significant role, though they remains shallow under the patriarchal power.


2.  Discourse on the purity of Blood and Harry Potter



In Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling includes several issues like racism discourse of blood like wizard blood, muggle blood.



1)    Muggles (non-magical persons)
2) Muggle-borns (witches/wizards with magical abilities but non- magical parents)
3) half-bloods (witches/wizards who are not pure-blooded, but also not Muggle-born)
4) purebloods (those with complete magical ancestry)
5) Squibs (a non-magical child with magical parents


In the world of wizards Hermione portrayed as marginalized, she doesn't have pure-blood, her parents are muggles. She insulted many times by Draco Malfoy on the name of muggle blood.

Harry described as half-blood, because only his father belongs to wizard world, and her mother is not. Through the aspects of blood author satires on the American society, and the raises the question of racism. Ron Weasley, a pure blood and good friend of Hermione and Harry. So, here author makes possibilities that the intellectual and ability does not dependent on the race or cast.


3. Confronting reality by reading fantasy

 Fantasy story could be the reality of our own world. In this series we can find author tells many problems of racism, class conflict, in the form of fantasy. But the characters are very much realistic which represents the universal emotions, moral values and so on. Through the fantasy author shows the reality of contemporary time. May be it speaks of, the racial issues, class discrimination. As the issue of blood described in the series. Harry Potter is a fantasy story, but it is not stereotype. Harry who is protagonist, he is presented as a orphan, wearing glasses, which breaks the stereotype of great hero. Writer presented 21st century’s mind, modern ideas, Rationality well though it is fantasy.


4. Self-Help culture and Harry Potter

A self-help book is one that is written with the intention to instruct its readers on solving personal problems. It can also called 'self improvement'. In the novel Harry himself find his own way. In the whole novel he and his friends do self learning in Philosopher's Stone, chamber of secrets, and in order of phoenix they chooses practical education and practice with great effort. Hermione, leaps and bounds ahead of her classmates in wizard knowledge, potions and spells. This great intellect was both gifted to her, but also the result of hard work and intense studying. At times her skills (and confidence) was off-putting to others, but she never felt she needed to hide just how capable she was. So, characters finds their own way.
5. Self help culture and Harry Potter:

The characters of Harry Potter series are struggling to gain something. In a way all are helping themselves with some ideologies. Harry is treated very badly in his guardian home. He learns to stay strong in terrible situation in the life. He fights with the obstacles of the life without other's support. When he lives all alone in he dangerous situation then face all the problem with his ability. There is one scene in the last part when Sirius is killed then Harry saves his body and himself and also from the Dementors, same case with other character like Hermione, Ron who are constantly struggling for their identity. Hermione wants to show her talent that she is best from all the pure blood students. She is intelligent and with her knowledge she defeated everyone and in this way help herself. So, in this way we can get the idea about self-help and how overcome all the problem of life by our own self so from children to man all can learn this from Harry Potter series.




6. Christianity and Harry Potter: 

Harry Potter series directly have no relation with Christianity. Many critics say that the novel is anti-christianity because there are many thing in the fiction are ant Christian like magic. Magic js abondon in Christianity so Rowling written an anti christian work. In addition, there is not any kind of church for prayer even the good fights with powerful evil force though they do not pray to God for survival. All the characters fights and save themselves without any divinity power. But there are couple of scenes which somehow connected with Christianity like Christmas celebration and after the death of Albus Dambledor we see the view like heaven. So, at last we can say that Harry Potter is ant Christian fiction.


7. Theme of Love and Death:

Love and death are the major themes in J. k. Rowling's fantasy novel and she also said that these series all about death and love. She justifies her point by presenting the characters of Ron and Hermione who are in love from the very beginning even they are fighting with each other. Further, the love between Harry and Dumbledore, Lily's love for Harry, harry's love for his friends, etc. In the other death also a crucial element in the novel. At the very beginning of the story we heart that Harry's parents have died, and in due course both we and Harry learn that they were murdered. The Shadow of death hangs over Harry; he learns that he, too, was intended to be a victim, but spared in a way no-one can explain. He narrowly escapes death again at the close of the first two books, and third is concerned with his pursuit by an escaped murderer. At the end of the fourth book, a school friend is killed before his eyes, and he himself barely escapes again. In the fifth book he loses his newly regained godfather, and in the sixth even his great and seemingly indestructible mentor, Dumbledore. Yes, death is a constant visitor to Harry's world.










8. theme of choice and Chance:


Harry Potter novel says that in life chances and our choices both are important. First, it was only chance that Harry lived. When he needed help, help is always there. He gets invisibility cloak when needed. In Chamber of Secret Phoenix comes to hlep Harry. There are fortune portion alos. When Harry can't find way the fortune potion works. But choices have given same importance. Sorting hat puts Harry in Gryffinder because he wanted. Harry doubts that sorting hat may have put him in wrong house but in answer Dumbledore tells him that it is not our abilities that make us, it is our abilities who define us. Sirius Black also says same things. There are good and bad inside us but what path we choose determine us. In the final part, king cross station chapter when harry meet Dumbledore, Dumbledore says Harry that it is your choice to return or not. So both choice and chance are important in life.



















9.  Moral and Philosophical reading:-

Harry Potter series i all about moral lessons and Philosophy of life. Dumbledore used to teach morality and philosophy to Harry Potter. There are many moral lesson that teach us how to become a moral being. The characters like Dumbledore and Harry Potter themselves moral being and philosophers. For instance, we see that Harry Potter who used to help bad people like Malfoy and many others.






As per the Mitchel Foucault's theory "Power and Knowledge. J. K. Rowling similarly conveys the message that question the power because what is written is not always true in the post truth era. These lines by Rowling is also relevant in the present era, we see in many political leaders and media who keep on speaking lies for remaining in the power and also there are many speeches or write fake history. So, we have to cross check everything rather than follow blindly.



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