Reading Journal Post #4

Question: Is there a message or a main theme emerging in the book? How is it shown?

    The book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, is teaching the readers the importance of loyalty and friendship. J.K. Rowling is telling the readers that being loyal to your friends is one of the most important things in life. After all, family and friends are the only ones whom one can rely upon, and the different houses (Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw) are like a family at Hogwarts. But unfortunately, because Harry lost his parents while fighting Voldemort, and he does not have any other relatives left (except for his aunt, uncle, and his cousin who do not care about him), Ron and Hermione are like a brother and sister to him. This message is shown very clearly in the book. For example, the reason why Harry felt such hatred towards Sirius Black was because he thought Sirius betrayed his best friend and Harry's father, James Potter. Harry could have never imagined anyone's best friend betraying him/her even in his worst nightmares. But when he met Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew in person for the first time ever in the Whomping Willow, Harry thought that Peter was the innocent man and that Sirius was the one who had betrayed his parents. As Sirius and Lupin explained how the rumors spread by the Ministry of Magic were completely wrong, Peter began to panic that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were starting to believe them instead of believing him. To avoid that, which would have lead to his own death, he gave Sirius a reason on why he had betrayed the Potters. “You don't understand! […] [Voldemort] would have killed me, Sirius!” He said that he was afraid of the circumstances if he did not obey Voldemort's order, that is, tell him where Lily and James Potter were hiding. But Harry's point of view about Sirius changed the moment he yelled, “THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED” as Sirius continued, “DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!” (Page 275, Chapter 19) Furthermore, the moral about loyalty and friendship is shown when Harry, Ron, and Hermione supported Hagrid with Buckbeak's case throughout the year even though the three of them were extremely busy and were going through a lot. Also, when Ron and Harry were angry at Hermione for giving in Harry's new Firebolt to Professor McGonagall to make sure it was not jinxed, and for not admitting that her cat was the one who had almost killed Scabbers (Ron's pet rat), Hagrid disagreed. He gave them an advice, “I thought you two'd value yer friend more'n broomsticks or rats.” (Page 202, Chapter 14) This shows how Harry and Ron had not valued their best friend just because of a broomstick and a rat, even though Hermione was doing all this just to protect them from any dangers. They both realized how horrible she must have felt and went to apologize later. If I was in her place, I would have done the same just to make sure my best friends and my school were safe from a murderer who was on the lose.

    These quotes were important to the novel because the main moral, “We should always value our friends and always stay loyal to them no matter what happens” was emerged in these. When Sirius claimed that Peter should have died instead, it showed how much how much Remus and Sirius valued James, unlike Peter. If Remus, Sirius, and James were ready to die for each other but Peter was not, it told us that Peter was never a part of their group and he was not a true friend who was willing to support them. Even when James had trusted Peter more than anyone else (except Lupin and Black), he still betrayed him, not realizing that he would have died one day anyway, so why not die an honorable way by being their secret-keeper and being honest, instead of betraying his best friend and being Voldemort's best servant for only a temporary period of time? These quotes were significant to me as well. For example, the time when Hagrid explained how it was very wrong of them to not value their best friend who had supported them through their ups and downs and had always forgiven them, it showed me how much Hagrid valued friendship. Although Harry and Ron had made a mistake, they soon realized it and apologized to her, which lead to their reunion once again.

Reading Journal Post #3

Question: Explain how a character in the book changed or is starting to change in the section you are responding to.

    In chapter 19, when Harry Potter, Ron Weasly, Hermione Granger, Professor Lupin, and Sirius Black are in the Shrieking Shack, trying to kill Peter Pettigrew, who was disguised as Ron's pet rat, Scabbers, Harry realized that Sirius Black was, in fact, innocent and he was not the one responsible for his parents' death. The betrayer was actually Peter Pettigrew who had revealed Lily's and Jame's confidential hiding place to Lord Voldemort. When Professor Snape unexpectedly entered the Shrieking Shack with Harry's invisibility cloak and was about to harm Sirius and Lupin, Harry changed his mind in a split second. The main reason why Snape wanted to injure them was because they made a fool of Snape as kids. Also, he believed Sirius to be a murderer, which gave him an even better reason to injure him and send him back to Azkaban. However, as Harry was with Sirius now, before Professor Snape could take even one step towards him, he raised his wand and yelled, “Expelliarmus!”. Surprisingly, his wasn't the only one that shouted. Both Ron and Hermione had tried to disarm Snape at exactly the same moment. (Pg. 265, Chapter 19) Sirius and Lupin told Harry that it was Peter, not Sirius, who turned Harry's parents in to Voldemort. Even when Peter knew that James and Lily had trusted him over anyone else, he still did not give up on his idea to give away Jame's and Lily's hiding place to Voldemort so he could become one of his best spies, which would result in Pettigrew's increased fame.

    This quote was very significant to the novel because it showed that Harry, Ron, and Hermione understood what the truth was. This means that later, they would be using the information they had gathered from Lupin and Sirius to help prove that Sirius was an innocent and that Peter Pettigrew was the one who had betrayed Harry's parents and murdered several innocent muggles. Also, this showed that Sirius and Remus had valued Jame's friendship and were ready to die for him which Peter was not. Furthermore, this quote was highly important to me as well because it showed that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were now starting to grasp what the truth was, even though it was the majority of the wizards who thought Sirius was the criminal. Because they have different viewpoints than the rest of the people, they are also becoming more independent than they were before, which would help them fight the dark lord, who is supposed to have his powers back according to Professor Trelawney's prediction.