Reading Journal Post #2

Question: Discuss the effectiveness of the writing style of your novel – for example, use of symbolism, imagery, figurative language, etc.

    J.K. Rowling used foreshadowing very efficiently in this novel. When Hermione used the time-turner, which she borrowed from Professor McGonagall to cope up with all her courses, she suddenly appeared beside her friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasly, confusing them. This happened several times in the novel. Moreover, when Hermione told Harry and Ron about how much harder her extra courses were than their regular courses, they became even more puzzled with the thought that Hermione was attending several courses at once. For instance, Ron says, “see this morning? Divination. And underneath, nine o'clock, Muggle Studies. And -” in disbelief, he continues, “look – underneath that, Arithmancy, nine o'clock. I mean, you're good Hermione, but no one's that good. How're you supposed to be in three classes at once?”. But Hermione argues, “Don't be silly, Of course I won't be in three classes at once.” (Page 76, Chapter 6) The author was foreshadowing the events that would happen further in the story as Hermione and Harry save Sirius Black and Buckbeak. Towards the end, before the three of them head home, Hermione told Harry her secret about the time-turner and how she had been managing all her classes that year.

    This quote not only told the readers about how Ron and Harry were noticing that something was unusual with Hermione's timetable, but also about how honest Hermione was. At the end, we got to know that Hermione had promised Professor McGonagall to keep the time-turner a secret from everyone, even her two best friends, even though Hermione knew they could be trusted with anything. Even after Ron's several tries to have Hermione tell them how she was attending three classes at once, she did not slip a word about the time-turner. Certainly, it was hard for her to not tell them about it, but she still kept it a secret so that she could keep her promise, and not lose Professor McGonagall's trust in her. I think another reason that she kept it a secret was because she was worried about Harry's and Ron's safety. She knew if Harry and Ron were given the time-turner, they probably would have been using it for unsafe and illegal purposes, just like Harry used the Marauder's Map to sneak out of the castle and out into the village of Hogsmeade, not even realizing how dangerous it could have been if Sirius Black (running lose around the country) or one of the Dementors had caught him. He was not allowed to visit Hogsmeade with the rest of the students because he did not have the permission form signed by his only living relatives, his aunt and uncle. Lastly, this quote was significant to me because it revealed some of her personality traits and reflected how loyal she had been to Professor McGonagall.

Reading Journal Post #1

Question: Write down a quote or passage that appeals to you and describe why.

    When Harry Potter told Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger about the conversation Harry overheard between Mr. and Mrs. Weasley the last night, he discussed how trouble always seemed to come to him, even though he was not looking for it. When Hermione asked Harry not to go looking for any more trouble and to be “really, really careful”, Harry replies, “I don't go looking for trouble, trouble usually finds me” (Page 60, Chapter 5) This quote, in particular, appealed to me because it was summarizing how Harry had to fight Lord Voldemort to get the philosopher's stone in the first novel; how he had to fight the huge snake, Basilik, in the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Also, it showed how Harry would have to fight till the end even if he does not chose to. I think the reason behind this was because Harry Potter was the 'chosen one', as told by Hagrid, which meant that only he possessed the power to kill the Dark Lord. This quote also relates to almost every other hero in a movie or book, because if it is not true in a story, it would not have a conflict, which is the main factor that makes a story interesting. As a result, if it does not have a conflict, it would be lacking its suspense, foreshadowing, and most of the elements of a story such as rising action, climax, resolution, etc.

    This quote was important to the novel as it was foreshadowing the events that may follow. For example, it might have been trying to tell the readers that Harry will face troubles and many problems later in this book and they will not be as easy to solve as Harry thought they would have been. This quote was significant to me because it might have been suggesting that something unexpected was going to happen later on in the book. I predicted that either Sirius Black was going to find Harry, or that Lord Voldemort would be rising again and would try to kill him. This means that he would have to be extremely careful about not wandering around in or around the school at nights or after their bedtime.