I, as well as many
kids across the globe, have and will continue to be impacted by the Harry
Potter novels. This series of 7 books describes the long journey of the main
protagonist, Harry Potter. When we first meet Harry, he is eleven and has been
living with his aunt and uncle ever since his parents died when he was a baby. On
his eleventh birthday, we meet Hagrid who explains to Harry that he is actually
a wizard and his parents were murdered by an evil wizard, Voldemort. During the
course of the books, we see Harry attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and
Wizardry and meet his two best friends: Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.
Throughout the course of these seven books, Harry battles Voldemort multiple
times and learns more about himself along the way.
Despite this series being mainly
about Harry Potter, my personal hero growing up was Hermione Granger. Hermione
is a frizzy haired bossy nerd who has muggle parents (human parents). Throughout
the books, she always tries to support her friends and gets them out of trouble.
As a nerdy 2nd grade girl who was shy and bullied, Hermione was my
hero.
I always admired Hermione for her
ability to lead others and her knowledge. I learned from her that it was ok to
be smart and have the confidence to say it. Even though Harry managed to always
escape Voldemort, I would argue that none of the books were possible without
Hermione. She always manages to figure out the truth behind mysteries and
guides Harry in the right direction. Harry is still brave and heroic, but the
series showed me that without wit and knowledge, Harry would have been
extremely unsuccessful.
Despite being a supporting character
and ally to the main protagonist, Hermione still follows many of the “hero’s
journey qualities.” She comes from and has grown up in the human world, then is
proclaimed a wizard and attends Hogwarts. Her “call to adventure” takes place
in the first book when Ron and Harry become her best friends. She is involved
in their lives and helps Harry survive for the remaining seven books. There is
one moment where Hermione refuses the call and that is right after they go into
the secret chamber, only to find a vicious three-headed dog. Hermione wants to
pretend that it never happened and orders the two boys to go to bed. However, unable
to contain her excitement for the mystery at hand, she goes to the library to learn
more about the people involved in the situation (accepting the call). The list
of connections continues to go on.
By the end of the seven books, we
see Hermione grow and mature as a character and that reflects many kids reading
these books. I’m sure I am not the only one saying that I grew up with these
books. However, personally, Hermione in particular taught me to have strength
and values which are vital to the person I have become today.
Muggle = non-magic, since almost every character is the series is human.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, you can say that Hermione is the more sensible character, sometimes reminding Ron and Harry what will happen if they decide to do something stupid. Also, since Harry did not grew up in the magic world like Ron, Draco, etc. I feel like Hermione is the character that is the most related to Harry in upbringing, and it would make sense that if Harry is a hero, then Hermione is also a hero.
Love this post! I'm such a big Harry Potter fan and so many characters in the series, including Hermione, have been special and influential to me. I agree it was inspiring to see her grow throughout the series and find her place in the wizarding world, even though she didn't grow up there.
ReplyDeleteIt's true that the books would not have been possible without her. She does research that the others don't think about doing. She thinks ahead when the others don't, she really does everything that the others should be doing but don't think to. She also is smart in general, which people could argue the other two members of the party need.
ReplyDeleteThese books were so transformative for so many people, and the character Hermione was exactly who a lot of us needed I think. Honestly I think it could be argued that she was braver than Harry ever was and she faced a lot of people being angry at her and underestimating her because she's a girl and a muggle-born and is overshadowed by being friends with the "great" Harry Potter.
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