blastedgoat

J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
759 pages
Arthur A. Levine Books (Scholastic) 2007

Story: The last installment of the Harry Potter series continues with Harry’s quest to avenge his loved ones that had been claimed by the war. Harry deals with death all around him and at times feels personally responsible for those who stand in between him and the Dark Lord. Voldemort comes to full power and there are double agents all around the trio as they go on the run. Friendships are tested and families are torn apart as the war reaches the front door.

Main Character: Harry Potter, the boy who lived. (But that’s not to say he doesn’t come close to his demise in this last, blood-soaked title. Voldemort serves as a great complementary character to Harry, and when the two are compared, the instances in which they are different reinforces Harry’s status as a noble character. Harry is an unconventional hero that chooses to embrace his destiny rather than submitting to it. My favorite characters include Sirius Black, Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Lupin, and Severus Snape!

Audience: Anyone and everyone, I mean this very seriously, this series changed my life and made me want to become a writer (well, along with reading Edgar Allan Poe’s collected works!)

Comments: I still can’t tell you which book is my favorite but this one is at the top of the list! Of course you have to read them all (and you should read them in order) but unless you have been living under a rock you probably already knows what happens.

Discussion Questions:
#1 The books are full of instances of racism between “pureblooded” wizards and those of “Muggle” lineage. Muggle is a term J.K. Rowling created to describe people with no magical talent. Some wizards believe that Muggles should not be allowed to learn and practice magic and feel those who come from Muggle families or half-blooded families are not as good as those who come from old wizarding stock. “Mudblood” is a term that those people use to perpetuate the hatred of half-bloods, the term means “dirty blood.” Ask students to identify relevant issues in our own history. Use this terminology to start a discussion about racism in our society and talk about the power that certain words have in a culture.
#2 Use the above discussion to point out the danger of using such words in a literary work, discuss books that have been banned for including racist terms, even if they are used within the context of the times. If you have a school that supports controversial literature as an appropriate topic and medium for students to be familiar with go as far as you can to introduce these books to students. If you are not allowed to bring them into the classroom at least let them know that they are out there and an important part of our literary history.
#3 Talk about the Harry Potter series as a whole and discuss how it has influenced society. Harry Potter is translated and enjoyed all around the world, what made the story such a success? What elements make the story universal?
#4 J.K. Rowling was a single mother when she began writing Harry Potter on a train (which explains the Hogwarts Express and its importance in the stories) Since writing one of the most popular series of all time she has found great success and financial stability. One thing that she has contributed to society is her great charity work, especially for children. A lot of the issues she is interested in deal with abuse, teaching children the value of literature and improving the self-image of children, especially young girls who severely lack strong role models. Talk about contributing to society through volunteer work or tell students to pick an area the interests them and create a volunteer project around it. This could be a class project; you could even use it to your advantage if you focused on furthering your class library through a book drive that the students could take part in.