Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling – Book Talk

Literary Analysis Paper- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

In “Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban,” Rowling illustrates Harry Potter in a significant way through Harry’s defeat of Voldemort, which was also Sirius Black’s downfall. This then leads back to the true story of the real Secret-Keeper who also happened to be Voldemort’s servant, Peter Pettigrew and Harry’s strength as a wizard.

Most of the times, people tend to state false statements about a true story that has happened in the past. At one point, the false story might be convincing but the truth will definitely find its way. Also, in some of the situation that we face, betraying our friends and loved ones is very common. J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban” is not a fictional story that will contain a false memory throughout the plot of what had happened during the death of Harry’s parents, James and Lily Potter. Instead, it is narrated in a way that Harry somehow believes the false memory of the story but then it leads to the true story after Harry finally meets Sirius Black. Harry Potter is significant because of how he defeated Voldemort. Sirius Black was accused by many of being Voldemort’s helper because he found out that Peter Pettigrew was actually Voldemort’s helper and tried to kill Peter. But the people didn’t know that Peter was actually the real Secret-Keeper who also happened to be Voldemort’s servant. The truth finally becomes clear to Harry as he listens to Professor Lupin and Sirius Black’s side of the story.

Harry Potter had heard rumors about Sirius Black’s escape and that Black was coming back to kill him. He was convinced that Black was coming for blood. The plot of the book is set up in a way that convinces the readers that Black was truly going to kill Harry. It was during the night before Harry, Hermione, and Ron, and his siblings would leave for Hogwarts in the morning that Harry had overheard Mr. and Mrs. Wesley talking about the danger of Black’s escape. As he was listening, he heard Mr. Wesley say to his wife, “The guards told fudge that Black’s been talking in his sleep for a while now. Always the same words: “He’s at Hogwarts…he’s at Hogwarts.” Black is dangerous Molly, and he wants Harry dead. If you ask me, he thinks murdering Harry will bring You-Know-Who back to power. Black lost everything the night Harry stopped You-Know-Who, and he’s had twelve years alone in Azkaban to brood that…” (66). But Harry thought to himself, “I’m not going to be murdered” (68). With all the rumors about Sirius Black coming back to kill Harry, Rowling stated that “nobody would want Harry to leave the safety of the castle until Black was caught; in fact, Harry suspected his every move would be carefully watched until the danger has passed” (68). This causes the reader to think that Sirius Black’s escape from the prison has everything to do with Harry being dead and giving back power to Lord Voldemort. This quote is important because it ties in with both Lord Voldemort and Sirius Black’s downfall, which Harry had caused when he defeated Voldemort.

Anyways, the book continues onward and stresses more information about who Black was. It was during the Hogsmeade trip that Harry had sneaked off illegally by using his invisibility cloak and made his way there. While he was there, he hid under the table where Ron and Hermione were sitting at in the Three Broomstick (restaurant) and overheard a conversation about Black’s escape that some of the professors and the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge had going on. Harry heard that Fudge answered Madam Rosmerta’s question when she asked, “Black betrayed them”? (206) and Fudge said: “He did indeed. Black was tired of his double-agent role, he was ready to declare his support openly for You-Know-Who, and he seemed to have planned this for the moment of the Potters’ death. But, as we all know, You-Know-Who met his downfall in little Harry Potter. Powers gone, horribly weakened, he fled. And this left Black in a nasty position indeed. His master had fallen at the very moment when he, Black had shown his true colors as a traitor. He had no choice but to run for it-” (206). This is the main rumor that is going around about Black and it was because of Harry Potter’s actions leading towards his defeat against Voldemort.

After Harry heard the rumors that Black was coming back for him and that he also betrayed his family, he was thinking about what he wanted to do with his dad’s best man, Black. Both Ron and Hermione knew that Harry was upset but knowing Harry, they did not want him to go out looking for Black. Harry saw that his friends did not seem to understand how Black was a problem to him so he explained saying: “D’you know what I see and hear every time a dementor gets too near me? I can hear my mom screaming and pleading with Voldemort. And if you’d heard your mom screaming like that, just about to be killed, you wouldn’t forget it in a hurry. And if you found out someone who was supposed to be a friend of hers betrayed her and sent Voldemort after her-” (214). This causes the reader to clearly understand the text and ask the question; who else apart from Black might also do this to the Potters’ since Harry mentioned friends. This quote is important because it gives a clue to who might also be involved in this mess. Since Voldemort has his own servants who serve him, there might be others who transfer information to him personally while they are also friends with the Potters.

Speaking of Harry and his friends, things got a little bit weird when Ron had a nightmare about Sirius Black. Turns out it wasn’t a nightmare because Ron screamed louder saying, “Black! Sirius Black! With a knife!” (266). As Professor McGonagall came into the Gryffindor common room looking irritable, Ron yelled again saying, “IT WASN’T A NIGHTMARE! PROFESSOR, I WOKE UP, AND SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME, HOLDING A KNIFE!” (267). This causes the reader to think that Ron seeing Black could be a sign that Black is already at Hogwarts. The reader might also develop some confusion as to why Sirius Black would go to Ron instead of killing Harry since everybody is saying that Black escaped out of Azkaban to kill Harry. Both of the quotes are important because they provide a better clue that Sirius Black is already at Hogwarts, ready to kill whoever he wants to kill after waiting for 12 years. This creates more danger in Harry’s life.

In addition to the risk in Hogwarts, everybody tries to keep Harry away from danger thinking that Sirius might be somewhere in Hogwarts. But Harry doesn’t seem to have fear. He decides to go to Hogsmeade again, illegally by using the Marauder’s Map. On his way to Hogsmeade, he met Professor Snape and Snape told him to return back the Gryffindor tower. However, Harry managed to make his way back to Hogsmeade after seeing that Snape was gone. When he arrived in Hogsmeade with his invisibility cloak on, he found Ron. But then Draco Malfoy and his two friends decided to come up to Ron and talk about Hagrid’s situation in which Malfoy had an incident with Buckbeak, Hagrid’s flying lesson bird. That annoyed Harry so he hit Malfoy on the head. Somehow, Malfoy happened to see Harry’s head under the invisibility cloak and decided to tell Snape about it. Since Snape does not like Harry, he told Harry right away saying: “Everyone from the Minister of Magic downward has been trying to keep famous Harry Potter safe from Sirius Black. But famous Harry Potter is a law unto himself. Let the ordinary people worry about his safety! Famous Harry Potter goes where he wants to, with no thought for the consequences” (284). This causes the reader to think that Snape does believe that Sirius Black wants Harry dead. And that it is not safe for Harry to randomly go to places that are not safe for him. This quote is important because it fits well with the fake story that people are believing of Sirius Black’s escape.

However, it got to the point where Harry finally met Sirius Black. It happened when Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to Hagrid’s House to check up on him before the Committee member and the executioner, Macnair would come and kill Buckbeak. While they were there, Hermione found scabbers after scabbers had faked his own death by having blood on the sheet earlier. On their way back to the castle, Sirius Black, who was now in the form of a dog came and pulled Ron into the Whomping Willow together with Scabbers. So Harry and Hermione decided to go down to the Whomping Willow too because they didn’t want to leave their friend. When Harry saw Sirius, he got angry and said, “HE KILLED MY MOM AND DAD!” (340). He wanted to kill Sirius Black but Black reminded him saying, “I don’t deny it. But if you knew the whole story-” (342) but Harry replied saying, “You sold them to Voldemort. That’s all I need to know” (342). Even though Harry didn’t believe Black, he reminded Harry saying, “You’ll regret it if you don’t… You don’t understand…” (342). This causes the reader to think about Harry and Black’s situation now. If Sirius wanted Harry dead, why did he took Ron and Scabbers into the Whomping Willow instead of Harry? It also causes the reader to wonder what kind of story Black is talking about because all Harry knows is that his parents were sold to Voldemort by Sirius Black. Those quotes are important because it’s leading to the real story of the real Secret Keeper.

In addition, it got to the point where the true story of James and Lilly Potters’ death became clear. While Sirius, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Scabbers and Crookshanks, Hermione’s cat were still in the Whomping Willow, Professor Lupin arrived after he saw Harry and Black’s name appearing on the map. He couldn’t believe his eyes. He saw on the map that Sirius was pulling two people into the Whomping Willow. But Ron reminded him that no it was only himself. But Lupin said, “No, Ron. Two of you.”(348) and then he asked Ron if he could see Scabbers. Ron replied saying, “What’s my rat got to do with anything? “And Lupin responded saying, “That’s not a rat…He’s a wizard. An Animagus by the name of Peter Pettigrew” (348). This causes the reader to think; why would Lupin support Black instead of helping Harry and his friends. It also causes the reader to ask the question, is there a connection between Lupin and Sirius? What’s with the rat? Those quotes are important because they are also leading to the real story of the Potters’ betrayer.

Furthermore, Lupin and Sirius had told Harry the actual story of the real betrayer, Peter. Lupin told Harry about the connection between Sirius, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew and himself. Lupin went on saying, “I had friends, three great friends. Sirius Black…Peter Pettigrew…and, of course, your father, Harry-James Potter” (354). Lupin also told Harry that because he was a werewolf, his friends transformed themselves into Animagi to support his wolf form. He told Harry that they were familiar with all the grounds of Hogwarts and said, “That’s how we came to write the Marauder’s map, and sign it with [their] nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. James was Prongs” and Lupin himself was known as Moony (355). While Lupin was telling Harry his side of the story, Professor Snape appeared and wanted to kill Sirius in that instant but Lupin stopped him saying, “Severus, you’re making a mistake. You haven’t heard everything. Sirius is not here to kill Harry-” (359). Then Harry stormed out on Snape and knocked Snape out together with his friends help because Snape was trying to kill Sirius. But still, Harry does not believe Sirius and Lupin. So Lupin told Harry the truth saying, “All this time we’ve thought Sirius betrayed your parents and Peter tracked him down-but it was the other way around, don’t you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father-Sirius tracked Peter down-” (365-364).

Then Lupin and Sirius finally did the honor of transforming Peter back into his human body after Ron gave Scabbers to them. As Lupin told Peter that he wanted to ask him something, Peter screamed saying, “He’s come to kill me again! He killed Lily and James and now he’s going to kill me too” but Lupin reminded him that “No one’s going to try and kill you until we’ve sorted a few things out” (367). Peter tried to come up with all sort of assumptions that will cause Harry to think that he was not the one who betrayed his parents but Black told Peter saying, “You haven’t been hiding from me for twelve years. You’ve been hiding from Voldemort’s old supporters…Voldemort went to the Potters’ on your information…and Voldemort met his downfall there” (368). But Peter denied the truth saying, “If Voldemort’s supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban-the spy, Sirius Black!” (369). Yet Sirius kept on unfolding the truth, leaving Peter in an awkward position. This causes the reader to finally come to the conclusion that it Peter betrayed Harry’s parents, not Sirius. Those quotes support the text and are important because they fit in well with the idea of finding out the true betrayer of Harry’s parents.

In the light of Peter Pettigrew finally coming out in his human form and feeling guilty of what he has done, both Lupin and Sirius continued to expand facts to the true story behind what really happened during the Potters’ incident with Voldemort. Sirius then told Harry that he saw Peter in a picture with Ron and his family a while ago and said: “I realized he was at Hogwarts with Harry…perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again…ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies…and to deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Harry, who’d dare to say he’d betrayed Lord Voldemort? He’d be welcomed back with honors… So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive…” (371). Then Harry finally decided believed Sirius when Sirius said, “Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them” (372).  

Anyways, Black and Lupin finally decided to kill Peter together and Peter was begging Harry for mercy saying, “Harry, James wouldn’t have wanted me killed…James would have understand, Harry… he would have shown me mercy…” (374). Peter also admitted saying,” Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus (Lupin) and James. I never meant it to happen…He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me.” But Sirius screamed at Peter saying, “DON’T LIE. YOU’D BEEN PASSING INSIDE INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!” (374). As things got a little bit worse, Harry told them to stop what they were doing and take Peter up to the castle, rather than killing him. Harry reminded Peter saying, “I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing this because I don’t reckon my dad would’ve wanted his best friends to become killers-just for you.” Then Harry told the others that “[Peter] can go to Azkaban. If anyone deserves that place, he does…” (376). This causes the reader to think; what if Peter transform back into his rat form again? Or is it over since Peter, the betrayer was caught? Will Black tell Harry more truths behind his friendship with Harry’s dad? Those quotes that I chose support the text and connects to the main focus of my thesis, identifying the real betrayer and the true story of Lord Voldemort’s servant.

In the hope that Peter Pettigrew would be sent to Azkaban and that all would go well, there seems to be a little conflict that Harry somehow seems to manage by showing his true strength. On their way back to the castle, Sirius told Harry the big secret about his connection with him saying, “I don’t know if anyone ever told you-I’m your godfather” (379) but Harry already knew about it so it wasn’t a big secret at all. Then Sirius told Harry that he could come live with him if he wants to when his name is cleared and that made Harry really happy. Harry was happy because he wouldn’t deal with the Dursleys anymore.

Uniquely, as a werewolf, Lupin forgot to take his potion that keeps him from transforming back into his werewolf form. So Sirius transformed back into his dog form and both of them had a fight. While they were fighting, Peter managed to take Lupin’s wand and transformed back into his rat form and ran away. It was too late for anyone to stop him. As the fight was over, Lupin went away while Sirius transformed back into his human form. But Sirius was having a difficult time because the dementors walked towards where Sirius, Hermione, Harry were staying. Immediately, Harry got out his wand and pointed it towards the hundred dementors saying, “EXPECTO PATRONUM!” while think about his godfather, Sirius (383). Harry kept on thinking, “We’ll be okay- I’m going to live with him – Expecto Patronum!” (383). But then Rowling said “something was driving the dementors back…It was circling around [Harry] and Sirius and Hermione…The [dementors] were leaving… The air was warm again…” Rowling then said, “Harry saw an animal amid the light. It was as bright as a unicorn. For a moment, [he] saw, by its brightness, somebody welcoming it back… someone who looked strangely familiar…but it couldn’t be…” and Harry fainted (385). This causes the reader to question, who could be that “familiar” person or who was that powerful wizard that defeated the one hundred dementors. Those quotes fit in well with the text because they lead the reader into finding how important Harry was portrayed in the book.

In addition, there was one last thing that needs to be done before all could go well and that Harry would finally save everyone. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were in the hospital the next morning after the incident with the dementors. When Harry asked Madam Pomfrey to go see Professor Dumbledore right after he woke up, she surprised Harry by saying, “It’s all right. They’ve got Black. He’s locked away upstairs. The dementors will be performing the Kiss any moment now-”. Immediately, Harry ran up to Minister Fudge and said, “Sirius Black’s innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can’t let the dementors do that thing to Sirius.” But Fudge said, “We’ve got everything under control…” Harry then yelled and said, “YOU HAVEN’T! YOU’VE GOT THE WRONG MAN!” And since Hermione was there too, she rushed to the Minister as well and said, “I saw him too. It was Ron’s rat, he’s an Animagus, Pettigrew, I mean” (389). Fudge didn’t believe Harry and Hermione at all. Suddenly, Professor Dumbledore came and talked to Harry and Hermione and listened to them. He trusted them and told them that the only thing they need “is more time” (393). So he told Hermione to use her hourglass, a Time-Turner that Hermione was using to go to all of her classes at the same time. The Time-Turner would go back in time.

Moreover, Professor Dumbledore reminded them that “Sirius is locked in Professor Flitwick’s office on the seventh floor…If all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But remember this, both of you: You must not be seen” (393). Harry and Hermione had gotten back in time and made their way to Hagrid’s house. While waiting, Harry wanted to see that “familiar” person who came and defeated all the dementors so he went and hid by a bush. When it was the time that the “familiar” person would arrive, Harry was waiting impatiently saying, “Where are you? Dad, come on-”. Rowling then made it clear saying, “no one came. Harry raised his head to look at the circle of dementors across the lake. It was time for the rescuer to appear- but no one was coming to help this time-. And then it hit [Harry] – he understood. He hadn’t seen his father- he has seen himself-.” The author also mentioned that “It was a stag” that Harry saw earlier, not a unicorn. Rowling said the “[stag] was shining brightly as the moon above…it was coming back to [Harry]…Slowly, it bowed its antlered head” (411). Then Harry finally seems to understand and he whispered to himself saying, “Prongs” (412), which was his father’s Animagi. Hermione went back with Buckbeak where Harry was and fiercely said, “What did you do? You said you were only going to keep a lookout!” But Harry explained to Hermione saying, “I just saved all our lives” and Hermione replied saying, “Harry, I can’t believe it…You conjured up a Patronus that drove away all those dementors! That’s very, very advanced magic…” (412).

Anyways, while they were inspecting on what might happen next, they saw someone coming back out of the castle and Harry said, “Macnair! The executioner! He’s gone to get the dementors! That’s it, Hermione-” (413). In that instance, both Harry and Hermione rode on Buckbeak and went to rescue Black. After they got Black, they had given Buckbeak to Black so that Black could run away before anyone finds out and Black finally made his way out of Hogwarts with Buckbeak. Harry and Hermione then went back after three hours and met up with Dumbledore and all was well. Nobody knew about Harry and Hermione going back in time and rescuing Black except Professor Dumbledore because they quickly went back to the hospital as Professor Dumbledore helped them. But Professor Snape couldn’t help himself because he believed that Harry and Hermione had helped Black to run away by telling Madam Pomfrey, “THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!” (419) but no one believed Snape. This causes the reader to see Harry’s strength in the book. Harry finally made a Patronus that defeated the dementors. Those quotes are important because they help the reader to see Harry’s strength as one of the strongest wizards through his action. This portrays Harry as an important character in the book.

In conclusion, the Secret-Keeper, Peter Pettigrew was found and was confronted by Sirius and Lupin to speak the truth about the incident that happens to the Potters’. Harry then agrees to believe Sirius Black that he was not the one who betrayed Harry’s parents. All of this leads back to Harry saving the lives of everyone through his action of defeating the one hundred Dementors who came after Sirius Black by creating a Patronus. Harry is important in the book, “Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban” through his action of causing Voldemort’s downfall and defeating the dementors by creating a Patronum.

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban. New York: Scholastic, 1999. Print.

 

Social Action Project

This is a pdf of my project Hunger/Poverty presentation.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire-Reading Response #2

I continued to read and completed chapters 6 through 14 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I was amazed to see how the the context of the text in this book make up the novel itself to be entertaining and interesting.

From chapters 6 to 8, Rolling introduces new characters as the people from the Wizard world were traveling to the Quidditch World Cup. These people were on their way to watch the match between the Bulgarian and the Irish teams. Harry, and Hermione went with the Weasleys to watch the game but sadly, Mrs. Weasley didn’t go with them. They went and stayed at a campsite where the rest of the wizards and witches stayed at. Rolwing uses description in this section when describing the characters from the campsite. She said, “Here and there adult wizards and witches were emerging from their tents and starting to cook breakfast. Some, with furtive looks around them, conjured fires with their wands; others were striking matches with dubious looks on their faces, as though sure all this couldn’t work” (81-82).

Speaking of the Quidditch World Cup, the Irish won against the Bulgarians. In this section, Rowling was using humor in her writing when the announcer or commentator said “Let’s have really loud hand for the gallant losers – Bulgaria!” (115). It was really interesting to read and imagine how the Ireland’s were celebrating their victory while the Bulgarians had some silent, strong and angry emotions.

The remaining chapters from chapters 9-14 were fascinating. After the game, everyone went back to the campsite. While the others were sleeping, the Ireland’s were celebrating their victory. But then a group of marching wizards who had no face came to the campsite and destroyed everything. They scared the people/wizards. Hermione, Ron and Harry ran into the woods where it was silent and they heard someone cast a spell. Then suddenly, to their eyes, “something vast, green, and glittering erupted from the patch of darkness” (128). They realised that it was a colossal skull “comprised of what looked like emerald stars, with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue” (128). As confusing as both Harry and Ron looked with terrified faces, Hermione finally figured out what it was and said “It’s the Dark Mark…You-Know-Who’s sign!” (129). Then the wizards made it disappear as they approach Ron, Hermione and Harry.

Then later on in this section, Rowling introduces the new first year students that were now attending Hogwarts. The students went through the sorting hat and were sent to their correct houses; Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Hogwarts then gained a new Professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Moody (Mad-Eye-Moody). In his first lesson with Harry, Hermione, Ron and the others, he thought them the Unforgivable Curses – Avada Kedavra, Imperius and Cruciatus. The students enjoy his class because he is really good with curses and spells. While teaching, he said, “using of any one of them on a fellow human being is enough to earn a life sentence in Azkaban….that’s what you’re up against. That’s what I’ve got to teach you to fight” (217). Then later in the end of chapter 14, Sirius finally writes back to Harry and tells him that he’s coming back to see him immediately after Harry wrote to him that he had a dream about Voldemort, which caused pain on his scar.

I cannot wait to find out more on the remaining chapters!

Writing for Community Awareness- Ethnicity

Pan Dulce Panaderia Bakery

Pan Dulce Panaderia Bakery

April 10, 2016, 5:00 PM By Romonah Kond

Lincoln is home to many cultural backgrounds. What makes each one of them different is the type of service they provide to the community. One of them is the Pan Dulce Panaderia Bakery. It is a bakery owned by Hispanic immigrants that do a better job of serving the people’s appetite.

Above the exact name of the bakery, you can see the big bold name titled, “Esquina de los Hispanos,” which translates as the “Corner of Hispanics.” The red brick building together with its outstanding Hispanic title stands out the most in the south street.

Located right at the corner of the street at 801 S 11th Street, Downtown Lincoln, Panaderia Bakery does seem to attract a lot of customers. Panaderia Bakery seats in Lincoln’s own neighborhood, the Everett neighbourhood.

This outstanding bakery features a lot of goods as in “better” and delicious collections of traditional Latin American bakeries. As you open the door and walk into Pan Dulce Panaderia Bakery, the aroma of the delicious Hispanic food will completely melt your mouth. The moment you set your foot in Panaderia Bakery, you will be amazed and tempted to try out everything at once. This is because as you walk in, the amazing and delicious good looking treats will stare right back at you outstandingly.

The baked goods are well organized and are really appealing to the eye. They are stored in neat display shelves with glass and easy handles for opening and closing. They have serving utensils such as tongs and small trays for customers to use, and small packages for packing those delicious treats too. This makes it easy and convenient for the customers to take it to go.

They have a section of their own Hispanic pastries that come in different types of sizes with amazing designs and icings. There is a section of different types of flavoured cookies and cupcakes that taste so good when you take a bite too. Their cakes also come in various flavor such as lemon, chocolate or even red velvet. Also, they have their birthday cakes in a separate freezer that stands right next to the collection freezer of pastries, cookies, cupcakes, and cakes.

What makes it even more compelling to grab a treat at Pan Dulce is that the prices are inexpensive. This causes the customers to stop during the day and grab their favourite treat. All of those amazing and mouth satisfying treats are so tasty that can fill up your hungry stomach.

Speaking from past experience, Pan Dulce has been one of my favourite bakeries. The type of goods they provide and the warm atmosphere gives a welcoming call to their customers. Also, the people that work in the Bakery are so welcoming and open towards their customers. One more thing to add to this review is that they have their Hispanic songs on the radio played as background music, which makes the Bakery even more energetic.

So, if you ever want to satisfy your taste bud with some mouthwatering treats, don’t hesitate to stop at Pan Dulce Panaderia Bakery.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire-Reading Response #1

For the April book challenge in class, I chose to read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This novel is about Harry Potter’s fourth year in Hogwarts. I chose to read Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire because from my last book challenge, I read the third novel, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Also, I read it because I really like how J.K.Rowling writes her Harry Potter novels in a way that will make the reader want to know what would happen next.

After every chapter, there’s always a follow up and clear recap of what is going to happen next. This gives a clear understanding of the text and draws the reader to be interested in what is actually going to happen next. In chapter 2, Harry woke up from a nightmare when he saw Voldemort in his dream and woke up having his scar hurt. Rowling gives a brief recap of Harry’s scar being hurt by saying, “the one thing that was bothering Harry was the last time his scr had hurt him, it had been because Voldemort had been close by… But Voldemort couldn’t be here, now… The idea of Voldemort lurking in Private Drive was absurd, impossible…” (19). Rowling also reminds us about Sirius Black by stating, “Sirius was his godfather two months ago” (23). Rowling is reminding us of these events again because she wants us to follow up from last time and have a clear understanding of why the event is important or why an event happens because of an important reason. I really like how Rowling is reminding us as readers to understand the context of the text first before she introduced us go goes deep into a novel. Also, Rowling uses a good amount of description of the characters that gives you a sort of realistic picture of what the character looks like.

Rowling used one of her character, Uncle Vernon (Harry’s uncle) by describing Mrs. Weasley when Uncle Vernon said, “Dumpy sort of woman?… Load of children with red hair?” (32). This description then enlightens us that Mrs. Weasley is a short woman that has a lot of children with red hair. Mrs. Weasley was also described as “ a short, plump woman with a very kind face, through her eyes were presently narrowed with suspicion” (53). Also, Rolwing described Mr. Wesley as “tall, thin and balding” (44). Rowling then introduces Hermione Granger as “very bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth, was Harry’s and Ron’s friend” (54). Descriptions and intruding characters helps a lot with writing because we will know in advance of what the character looks like. Rowling is trying to help us understand the character and know what they look like before digging in deeper into the text again. This helps a lot with reading because it will be more interesting as we read more on the upcoming chapters.

Hunger as an Issue in our World today – Post #6

In my previous post (post #5), I talked about some possible solutions in ending the issue of hunger in our world today. I also talked about some suggestions that were made by my sources towards the government and nations such as the United States. So, in this post, it will be my final post on the “series of posts” week. I will talk about how we can contribute towards the issue in our world by helping the needy and saving lives in our community. This will then lead to the conclusion of my research paper on “Hunger as an Issue in our World today.”

---

The main concern of hunger is that people need to actually help each other. The government needs to be more involved in this issue with other organizations so that hunger is reduced or solved. It’s not safe to see or hear that people are losing their lives from food shortage. We have a lot of food in our communities from crops or farming that we can help each other. This then leads to the conclusion of how we need to act against the matter of hunger in our community.

Starting in our communities, we need to do our best by helping others who are starving. Most of the time we do not realize or watch our surroundings in our own community. We tend to focus on ourselves and ignore strangers or poor people who are suffering out on the streets. We need to be open-minded and look out for our surroundings. See if anybody needs a meal, breakfast or even snack. There are a lot of people living outside on the streets with having nothing to eat at all.

Personally, I’ve seen people that look for food in the trash bins outside on the streets back home. These people are mainly homeless people who have nowhere to go that live near trash areas and outside of big buildings or stores. Sometimes during the day, those homeless people walk randomly into restaurants and check the trash bins for any leftover food items. This then causes an argument where the manager or the securities yell at them to get out of the restaurant. But when I compare homeless people back home and people I see here, it’s a little bit different. I barely see a homeless person walk into a restaurant and grab leftovers out of the bin; they have their little signs and little cans/hats on the side of the roads. Anyways, most of the times, I see people going to food pantries around Lincoln. Also, I know that some churches provide free food and clothes to people who don’t have enough every Tuesday’s and Thursday’s. Just like those church organizations providing food to the needy, we as individuals must take a stand and do the same. They might need at least a dollar to buy their meal. We must be generous enough to give with our hearts so that we are helping those in need. You will feel really good after giving food or even money to the needy because I’ve done that before with my siblings. Even though you have enough for yourself, at least giving little to others in need will make a big difference in their lives and your life too.

To summarize, hunger is the main issue that needs to be solved by government, other organizations and even small community organizations. If the government and powerful nations in our world could come together as a greater force and have their main goal of eradicating hunger, then it could save a lot of lives who are living in developed and developing nations. Also, governments should establish effective policies that could actually work towards helping out the needy. The topic itself is an effect of poverty. In order to solve hunger, there has to be a combination of political will from powerful nations and their government, and other organizations. Hunger needs to be solved promptly because it causes a lot of damages in the lives of the people that are going through this experience.

---

 

 

Hunger as an Issue in our World today – Post #5

In my previous post (post #4), I gave a detailed knowledge on how the government and other organizations have contributed toward the goal of eradicating hunger. There were some lacking of actions between the government systems and not much has been done yet. The issue is still a major topic in our world today and therefore, action must be taken by the government and other organizations. In this post, I will be talking about some possible solutions that could be helpful in eradicating hunger around the world. This post will include organizations that have helped in taking a stand in this issue, suggestions on how nations should contribute to the issue, and also a little bit on the government and its political will.

---

 

There are some organizations that are slowly working their way towards eliminating hunger in our world today. Hilal Elver implies that “the greatest challenge for the sustainable development goals (SDGs) is to eradicate poverty and hunger while maintaining sustainable food security for all in a crowded and dramatically unequal world” (Guardian News). Elver’s point is that we need to focus on eradicating poverty and hunger in our world by working with other organizations and even the government. With that in mind, “Upholding women’s financial, educational and legal rights would be the best use of funds dedicated to eradicating hunger, poverty and child undernourishment” (Elver). In other words, the government can support women’s rights to finance, education, and legal rights so that those funds could be used to contribute toward the goal of eradicating hunger. In order to eradicate hunger, the political will of the government needs to be exercised in solving hunger (Elver). Elver is surely right about saying that strong political will could contribute towards eradicating hunger because, as she may not be aware, recent research have said that “Eradicating hunger requires commitment—political will. It will require sustained efforts in many areas, particularly pro-poor investments in rural areas, where the majority of the world’s most vulnerable live” (Silva). In addition to having powerful forces like the government contributing towards eradicating hunger, other powerful nations such as the United States should consider contributing to this subject too.

In Per Pinstrup-Andersen’s journal “Feeding the World in the New Millennium,” he suggests that powerful nations like the United States “should make the eradication of hunger the top priority of its relations with developing countries, as the Presidential Commission on World Hunger recommended 20 years ago” (29). Andersen is recommending that if powerful nations like the United States took into consideration the goal of eradicating hunger together by working with other developing countries, there may be a greater chance of actually eliminating hunger in our world. That way, many lives will be saved and there would not be several cost on the lives of the people. Speaking of powerful nations, the United States is also known for being the world’s wealthiest country. So, if America could increase aid to developing countries, it would be really supportive (Andersen, 29). Andersen then went on stating how America would be a helpful nation in solving hunger by suggesting that “The United States should target aid resources based on need (i.e., to countries with high levels of poverty and hunger, particularly in South Asia and Africa)” (29). Andersen’s theory of the United States providing aid to countries that are suffering from poverty and hunger is extremely useful because it shed insight on the difficult problem of people in developing countries that need a lot of assistance because they are the ones who are undergoing poverty and hunger. However, Josette Sheeran argues in her journal, “Preventing hunger: Sustainability not aid” by saying, “Food aid has saved millions of lives, but it cannot, by itself, solve hunger” (470). Sheeran is right that food aid itself cannot solve hunger, but she seems on more dubious ground when she claims that food aid cannot by itself solve hunger. If food aid is saving millions of lives, then we must think positive and believe that as people rely on food aid, this might influence government and other associations to provide more food aid. By doing that, the concerns of hunger would slowly and eventually be solved. Furthermore, we must consider the main responsibility of how we can go about in contributing to solving the problem of hunger.

---

 

Sources:

Elver, Hilal. “Why are there still so many hungry people in the world?.” Guardian News 19   Feb 2015. Print.

Graziano da Silva, José. “Opinion: We Can End Hunger. Here’s How.” National Geographic 16 Oct. 2015: 1-3. Print.

Pinstrup-Andersen, Per. “Feeding The World In The New Millennium.” Environment 43.6 (2001): 22. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.

Sheeran, Josette. “Preventing Hunger: Sustainability Not Aid.” Nature 479.7374 (2011): 469. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.

Hunger as an Issue in our World today – Post #4

In my previous post (post #3), I talked about the issue itself and the places in the world that are most common for experiencing hunger as an issue in their lives. That was on developed and developing nations, and how they help each other in some ways. I also gave you a lead on how the government and other organizations have taken care of the issue. So, in this post, I am going to talk about the government and other organizations, and how they have contributed in eradicating hunger as an issue or not. This post will include how the government and other organizations have contributed to solve the issue of hunger in our world today. In the end of the last paragraph, there will be a transition leading on to my next post.

---

 

According to Hilal Elver, she argues that “Although the world has succeeded in reducing poverty in accordance with the millennium development goal (MDG) targets, food security and adequate nutrition have not been achieved” (Guardian News). Elver is basically stating that even though systems like MDG tried to help reduce the issue of hunger, they failed to succeed at all. The MDG has declined to help reduce the issue of hunger because they “failed to treat food as a human right” (Elver). I concur that Elver said the MDG saw the issue of hunger as a non-existing difficulty of human right because my experience of seeing other people in the world experiencing famine confirms it. Food must be treated as a human right. Everyone needs food in order to survive because without it no one can live a healthy life. Not only did the MDGs fail to see hunger as “human rights” but, according to Elver, “Experience shows us that neither markets nor governments protect access to sufficient and nutritious food for everyone” (1). What Elver is saying is that the government and other organizations are too weak and ignorant to look at the bigger picture of hunger. These people that are starving to death may be at the point of choosing either between hope and moving on in life or giving up.  As Josette Sheeran writes in her journal “How to End Hunger,” she claims that “Without food, people do one of three things: revolt, migrate, or starve. When governments can no longer provide food security, states fail” (5). Governments need to improve their game and help those poor people in suffering nations around the world and solve this issue of hunger. Furthermore, governments, organizations and even nations must help to solve hunger by reducing it or even getting rid of it for everyone’s sake.

Hilal Elver suggests that “The SDGs should encourage governments to work towards policy coherence: agricultural policies should be compatible with environmental sustainability and trade rules consistent with food security” (Guardian News). Hilal is saying that the SDG (sustainable development goals) needs to step up and advise the government to take an action on this topic because a good government system that supports a policy might create an active force in ending an issue. According to Clare Ulrich, she quoted Pinstrup-Andersen’s comment on the how biased the policies were without empirical evidence when he said: “It’s the combination of appropriate policies and the application of science that will make the difference in the lives of poor and hungry people” (18). Anderson is insisting that policies and science should work together to put an end to an issue. Since Andersen’s “current research focuses on the effects of globalization” (Ulrich, 18), he made a statement to Ulrich by saying: “his chief interests is to gather empirical evidence that he can use to propose international and domestic policy interventions that will change the outcome of globalization to enable poor people to escape poverty, redistribute income more equitably, and support sustainable development” (Ulrich, 18). I agree with Andersen’s statement when he made a comment saying, “Once people earned their Ph.D.’s, they would conduct research according to what they thought farmers needed rather than ask the farmers what they wanted” (Ulrich, Page #18) because those scientist need to consider digging more into the needs of farmers, rather than focusing on the general idea. As a fact, it is a good idea to see the main cause of hunger rather than focusing on the bigger picture. In addition to science and empirical evidence, as I mentioned earlier, the government needs to act now because progress have not been made in solving hunger in our world today.

The case of hunger needs to be fixed because innocent people are losing their lives. Governments, together with other organizations, must act now because “Acting now can also avoid higher economic and human costs down the road” (Sheeran, 4).  It will help us have a better economic cost and we may even save a lot of lives. I am on the same page of the idea that we should act now because if we don’t, then those delays would mean “lost and shattered lives for the youngest and most vulnerable, and a future of poverty for their families, communities, and countries” (Sheeran, 4). That would not be a better outcome so we must not allow such things as losing lives and living in poverty in this world. According to Jennifer Clapp, she writes that “Uneven distribution of both food production and food trade, and poor access to food, are the key reasons that people continue to go hungry in this world of plenty” (3). It is accurate that uneven distribution of food production and trade, and poor access to food cause people to go hungry in this world because in my experience of watching documentaries and video clips about the people who are experiencing starvation confirms it. Also “Poor weather, economic difficulties, and violent conflict create short- and even long-term food shortages affecting millions of people” (Andersen, 26). Basically, Andersen is saying that hunger could come from poor weather conditions, economic difficulties and violent conflicts in the lives of those innocent people around the world. Just to be clear, “Hunger is not just a problem of consuming too little food. Diets may also lack vitamins and minerals” (Andersen, 26). With that being said, “Roughly 75 percent of people in the developing world consume too little iron: one billion suffer from anemia as a result” (Andersen, 26). In other words, Andersen believes that when people lack too much iron in their body systems, they may suffer from starvation because having to eat less each day may result in harmful life. According to Hilal Elver, she stresses that “The world produces enough to feed 10 billion people. Poverty and hunger prevail because of economics, not scarcity” (Guardian News). I’m of two minds about Elver’s claim that poverty and hunger prevail because of economics, not scarcity. On the one hand, I agree that we live in a world where there is enough to feed 10 billion people. On the other hand, I’m not sure if scarcity causes poverty and hunger to prevail. It is a known fact that a lot of developing countries are so poor that they do not have enough to eat. After talking about developing countries in my previous paragraphs, we can come to a conclusion that hunger and poverty exist because of both economic and scarcity and other causes of hunger that I mentioned earlier. Also with all those effects and impacts that hunger has in our world today, could we think of a better way to work our way out of hunger? What might be some possible solutions to end hunger in our world?

---

 

Sources:

Elver, Hilal. “Why are there still so many hungry people in the world?.” Guardian News 19   Feb 2015. Print.

Ulrich, Clare. “Enlightened Policies Can Benefit The Poor And Hungry.” Human Ecology 33.2 (2005): 16. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.

Sheeran, Josette. “How To End Hunger.” Washington Quarterly 33.2 (2010): 3. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.

Clapp, Jennifer. “World Hunger And The Global Economy: Strong Linkages, Weak Action.” Journal Of International Affairs 67.2 (2014): 1. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.

Pinstrup-Andersen, Per. “Feeding The World In The New Millennium.” Environment 43.6 (2001): 22. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.

Hunger as an Issue in our World today – Post #3

In my previous post (post #2), I talked about the issue of hunger and what effects it had on the lives of the people around the world including babies and pregnant mothers. I also gave an insight on the possible diseases that could come from the issue itself. In this post, I am going to talk about the places where hunger is most common at. This will include information on developing and developed nations or countries around the world, how the different economic nations help each other in some ways, and a transition toward government and other organizations that are somewhat helpful in solving the issue.

---

 

This then leads into places that are mainly struggling with the concern of hunger. The locations that are common for having insufficient food are mainly developing countries and also few developed countries as well. Even though “We have made considerable progress since 1990” (Silva), Josette Sheeran reminds us that “Hunger is still on the march. Risk and volatility define a global economy in which seemingly isolated food price and supply shocks increasingly ripple outward to developing nations, often with broad and devastating effects” (14). Sheeran’s point is that hunger is a big issue that we need to take action against and help others as they go through the devastating effects. Hunger is not a problem where we can solve very quickly but it is necessary to reduce the causalities that it has in our world today. Speaking about developing areas, “One of every five people in the developing world is hungry” (Clapp, 23). Clapp’s whole point is that hunger is a terrible issue that needs to be solved immediately because people are enduring famine. Hilal Elver addresses that “Of the world’s hungry people, 98% live in developing countries” (Guardian News). That statistic itself is horrifying because it’s depressing to know that some people in our world today live in a terrible world of their own. Just like developing countries suffering from hunger, developed nations are also suffering too. With developed nations, they suffered many damages from natural disasters and some of those effects were taken care of by the governments or other organizations.

According to Josette Sheeran, “In developed countries, livelihood and asset losses sustained in natural disasters are often covered by international insurance, capital markets, or government budgets which act as contingency funds” (9). Developing nations are unfortunate because “About 1.2 billion people in developing countries – almost five times the U.S. population – live on $1 a day or less. These people often cannot afford to buy all the food they need, although they may spend 50 to 70 percent of their incomes trying, and many do not have access to land to produce food” (Andersen, 24). Andersen is saying that people who live in the world’s poorest nations are suffering from having enough to eat in a day. Many people are dealing with this misery from hunger because they are not fortunate enough to satisfy their needs. Besides, developing nations and developed nations may support one another to overcome hunger in our world.

Despite the fact that both developing nations and developed nations carry their own differences, one must look to another as an example for help. For example, developed countries may “provide technical assistance and financial support for poor countries’ agriculture, as well as technical support to developing countries to create strong animal and plant health standards so that they can produce for developed country markets” (Andersen, 25). Also, both the developed nations and developing nations are already working together in some cases because “Developed countries stand to gain from support for agricultural research for developing countries. For example, high – yielding varieties of wheat and rice bred by the Future Harvest centers for use in developing countries are now widely planted in the United States as well as in the developing world” (Andersen, 27). Andersen is informing us that both developed and developing nations are already supporting each other by planting crops like wheat and rice in their countries. It would be amazing to gain more support from developed and developing nations because if those nations support each other from importing or exporting crops, the problem of hunger would be reduced.  Speaking about developing nations and developed nations supporting each other to solve hunger, governments and other institutions may be helpful or not helpful in some ways too.

---

 

Sources:

Graziano da Silva, José. “Opinion: We Can End Hunger. Here’s How.” National Geographic 16 Oct. 2015: 1-3. Print.

Sheeran, Josette. “How To End Hunger.” Washington Quarterly 33.2 (2010): 3. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.

Clapp, Jennifer. “World Hunger And The Global Economy: Strong Linkages, Weak Action.” Journal Of International Affairs 67.2 (2014): 1. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.

Elver, Hilal. “Why are there still so many hungry people in the world?.” Guardian News 19   Feb 2015. Print.

Pinstrup-Andersen, Per. “Feeding The World In The New Millennium.” Environment 43.6 (2001): 22. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.