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.