Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix #2

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix #2

Pages 174-348

After they stayed in the Orders Headquarters for a few days it was finally time for Harry and his friends to go back to Hogwarts and on the train they meet Luna Lovegood a very weird girl that was the same year as Ginny that was very odd they spent the whole time in the train cabin and all she did was very weird. After a little bit of time on the train Harry was sprayed by a black liquid that came from a plant that Neville Longbottom owned and just at that same time Cho Chang the girl Harry liked since his fourth year came and saw Harry covered in that liquid so it was a really awkward moment for Harry. When they arrive to the main feast the sorting hat sings a song before he starts choosing the house for the first years which is all about the four wizards who had founded Hogwarts had meant for the four houses to be together but instead they had a rivalry between them and that they should be together in those dark times. After that Dumbledore introduces the new defense against the dark arts teacher which is Dolores Umbridge a lady that works for the ministry of magic and is very close to him which means that like the minister himself he doesn’t believe Harry that Voldemort is back. The next day Harry and the others have their first classes and after some classes they arrived to the first class of Dolores Umbridge where they had all sorts of agitations by the student because they learn all lessons will be theorical and they won’t actually practice magic and they ask what would happen if they would get attacked and when Dolores asks who would attack them Harry answers Lord Voldemort and everybody reacts badly because most of the student and Umbridge don’t believe him so Harry gets put in detention with Dolores. In the next chapter Harry goes to detention and Umbridge tells him that he should write I must not tell lies over and over again. After a while Harry starts feeling a little bit of pain in his hand and then after a while thinking he was seeing things he saw it clearly that on his hand was being cut in- I must not tell lies- and after a bit it healed but every time he wrote that again and it was carved into his hand each time he wrote that. After that Ron discovers Harrys wound and tells him he should tell Professor McGonagall but he refuses because he says he does not think she has much power over Umbridge and when Ron suggested Dumbledore Harry simply says no because he thinks that Dumbledore is being very cold towards Harry since the last school year.  After that while doing Homework Ron got a letter from his brother Percy who had distanced from the family because he also worked for the minister and he also thought Harry was lying. So in his letter Percy recommended Ron to stop being friends with Harry because he was nothing but trouble. Also he mentions that Umbridge plans to do some serious changes in Hogwarts. Right after Ron threw his brother’s letter into the fire harry thought he saw Sirius in the fire and after a little bit Sirius appeared in the fire again. Well really it was just his head  and he asked Harry about his scar and how it hurt because of Voldemort’s emotions and also he told them that Umbridge was not teaching them real magic technique because she and the minister thought Dumbledore was making an army of students to take over the ministry of magic. The next  day in the paper the ministry put on the paper that they were going to name Umbridge the high inquisitor of Hogwarts and with her new powers she can now supervise and fire other teachers and also dictate what activities both school and social they could or could not do. After that Umbridge went to see other teachers while they were doing their class and gets into a little bit of a fight with professor McGonagall. After classes Ron and Hermione have an idea that just might help them and all the student in Hogwarts a little bit. Their idea is that Harry who has a lot of experience fighting dark magic will teach all of the kids in their year or anyone who wants to learn how to defend themselves. Harry is against the idea at first because most people think he is lying about Voldemort but eventually he agrees to put up a meeting in the hogs head the bar. At the meeting most people are convinced by Harry that he is telling the truth (maybe) and that he is a very good defense against the dark arts teacher because he has had a lot of adventures and a lot of experience. In the last page Ron finds out a guy is dating his little sister Ginny and he does not like it at all.

You don’t know what it’s like! You--- neither of you---- you’ve never had to face him have you? You think it’s just memorizing a bunch of spells like you’re in a class or something? The whole time you’re sure you know that there is nothing between you and dying except your own. I really liked these quote because it really shows how Harry’s past experiences that many have been near death have kind of marked him and have thought him a hard thing to learn which is that nothing can fully prepare you for life and for what’s out there but you have to trust yourself and rely on yourself to overcome any obstacle that gets in your way and that nothing in life is easy but you have to at least try to beat anything that gets in your way. Also it shows how Harry’s experiences have made him more mature than his friends and it shows how ones experiences really make you who you are and how you are.

I really liked these few chapters because a lot of things happened and one of the main problem of the story appeared which is really to some extent Umbridge because she will have a great influence in the story and she will try to stop Harry and his friends from ever learning any defense against the dark arts and of course the main antagonist of Harry Potter is Voldemort but she and the minister will be like the main opposing forces of Harry Potter for this particular story of how nobody believes that Voldemort is really back and that the minister is doing everything he can to discredit Harry and make him look like he is crazy just because they don’t want him to accept the fact that the most terrifying dark wizard in the whole magic world is back from the dead. Anyway I really enjoyed this part of the reading and this story is really getting more and more interesting and really intense because Hogwarts is completely changing and it might no longer be the safe place Harry has always thought of it to be.

Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix #1

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Pages 1-174

Harry Potter is a kid who is not like any other, he…. is a wizard and he goes to Hogwarts a special school for wizards where they teach them to control their abilities and use them correctly. And the year before this he saw Lord Voldemort one of the most powerful and feared dark wizards in history come back to life and then he fought him. The story begins with Harry lying on a hiding spot where no one would see him in the bushes near the window of his house his goal was not to be spotted while at the same time listening to the news in search for news about Lord Voldemort. After a while a crackling noise forced Harry out of his hiding spot and after a fight with his uncle and aunt he flees to the park to be alone. After a while Harry hears the voices of his cousin’s friends and him so he followed them and when they all went to their house and the only one who was left was Dudley, Harry’s cousin. After a fight between the two cousins who had a mutual hatred the climate in the area starts changing suddenly they both can’t see anything and also they start feeling very cold and Harry realized that what was happening was that the dementors where coming. Dementors are horrible creatures that attack people and then suck out their souls from their body so the dementors attack Harry and his cousin so Harry does the only spell he knows can ward off dementors, Expecto Patronum! After that when they both go back Dudley is really weak because of the dementors. And when they are home Harry receives a letter from the ministry of magic where they tell him he is expelled from Hogwarts because he had used magic outside of Hogwarts and that they were to have a hearing to destroy Harry’s wand so he can’t do magic again. When his uncles take Dudley to the hospital a group of wizards come to Harry’s house to take Harry to a safe house where he meets all of his friends some he knew some he just met and they told him that he was not yet expelled that he would be judged and in the hearing they would decide if he was going to stay in the school or not. Harry’s friends are all part of the order of the phoenix a secret organization that is devoted to stop lord Voldemort. The house he arrived to was his godfathers family house which is the house of black his godfather is called Sirius Black and he tells Harry the history of his house and his family he tells them that they were not really good people and that his brother Regulus was a death eater death eaters as are the servants of Lord Voldemort those who pledge allegiance to him he also tells him that he gave this house to Dumbledore to use as a safe house for the order of the phoenix. After a while the hearing finally came and Harry was not in a good position because he was trying to tell the truth about the dementors but the minister who was personally leading the hearing did not believe the dementors really attacked Harry then Dumbledore arrived and managed to beat the minister in the hearing so Harry was cleared of all charges and he could go to Hogwarts that year. After that everyone is excited and happy for Harry but Harry had noticed Dumbledore did not go to celebrate and also when he had gone to the hearing earlier he hadn’t even looked at Harry much less spoken to him and also Sirius became irritable because he knew that soon Harry would have to go back to Hogwarts. After some days the booklist arrived along with the badge to Ron and Hermione because they were named prefects and Harry and almost everyone else is shocked that Ron was named prefect instead of Harry. We finish on page 174 with Madeye who is showing Harry a photo of the members of the order of the phoenix when they had last fought Voldemort.

 Harry’s heart turned over. His mother and father were beaming up at him, sitting on either side of a small, watery-eyed man Harry recognized at once as Wormtail: He was the one who had betrayed their whereabouts to Voldemort and so helped bring about their deaths (Rowling 174) - I chose this quote from the book because it really does give some very interesting insight into Harry’s reaction to seeing his fathers and wormtail together he kind of takes it in a bad way and he is kind of in a bad mood afterwards. I think by seeing that picture he kind of sees how he could have had a normal life with his parents by his side if it wasn’t for that man that betrayed them and that was sitting right next to them pretending to be their friend and I think he kind of realized how easily the death of his parent could have been avoided and how if only Wormtail hadn’t been a coward or he hadn’t been friend of James and lily. I think he was really not emotionally prepared at the moment he saw that picture to handle such a wave of emotions that would flood into him really rather unexpectedly because perhaps he didn’t even know his parent were in the order although I think he did or he wasn’t really thinking about that and he forgot they were in the order so he wasn’t expecting to see them and have all this emotions and thoughts just pop up to him.

I am really liking this book it really shows some a lot more detail than the movie and it helps you learn new things about the characters in the story that were just omitted in the movies which I have seen and really do show things about the character that you don’t know if you just watch the movie because for example we see that Harry gave all of his triwizard contest winnings to Fred and George to finance their joke shop and that shows me a character trait about Harry  that we really don’t see that much in the movies which is that he is really understanding and he really encourages the twins to follow their dreams of opening a joke shop and do what they are good at and what they like which as it is mentioned is not really a suitable career and it might really go wrong for them but he supports them to the extent where he gave them his winnings that he could have used for anything else he likes but he decided to give it to them. I also believe this portrays a relationship with Harry and the twins which we don’t see in the movies. In the book thus far Harry has had a very good relationship with the twins which is not or is very briefly touched upon in the moves and that it’s really fun and interesting to watch. For example they let harry into knowing what they are doing with the Joke shop while they are dealing with Mundungus Fletcher and he kind of warns them that they should be careful in case they get caught and also they kind of console him or are sympathetic towards him when he finds out he is not a prefect and instead Ron is. Anyway that’s what I have thought about the book so far I really like all the detail there is in the books differing from the movies and I think I will really like to talk about in other posts and also I would definitely like to read some of the other books of the Harry Potter saga after this one

The terrifying veldt

The Veldt

The Veldt by Ray Bradbury is the story of a futuristic family who bought a house that did everything for them the house cleaned, made dinner, brushed their teeth and bathed them. But one of the best aspects of this house was the nursery where the kids of this family, Peter and Wendy, can imagine anything they like and it will be projected in three dimensional video all over the walls so they feel like its happening in real life. But in this story the kids imagination is creating a terrifying african Veldt and their parents George and Lydia are worried because that veldt feels too realistic and the kids don't seem to want anything pictured on the walls but that violent, overly realistic African veldt. Because of their worries George and Lydia call in their Psychiatrist to look at the nursery and when he does he comes to the conclusion that the kids have a reserved hatred towards their parents because they never do anything for them the house does, so George and Lydia decide they need to shutdown the entire house and take a vacation, but the kids hate this idea and they beg their parents to at least open the nursery for a little while. Later George and Lydia hear their kids screaming for help so they rush to the nursery but once they arrive there is nothing there but the African Veldt, then the door locks behind them and then they realize why the veldt seemed so realistic it was because it was real so at the end they are killed by the african lions of the Veldt.

Characterization

     "I'm afraid." She  came to him  and put  her body against him and cried

steadily. "Did you see? Did you feel? It's too real."

     "Now, Lydia..."

     "You've got to tell Wendy and Peter not to read any more on Africa."

     "Of course - of course." He patted her.

     "Promise?"

     "Sure."

     "And lock the nursery for a few days until I get my nerves settled."(3) 

I think that what Bradbury is trying to show us about the character Lydia with this quote is that she is a good mother that cares for her childrens well being  and she is afraid that they are exposed to any danger. Also it shows that she doesn't want her kids to be thinking about such violent things as african lions she wants them to be sheltered from that until they are a little older and more mature. 

Imagery 

  "Now  the  hidden odorophonics were beginning to blow a wind  of odor at

the two people in the  middle of the baked veldtland. The hot straw smell of

lion grass, the cool green smell of the hidden  water  hole, the great rusty

smell of animals, the  smell of dust like a red paprika in the  hot air."(2)

In here bradbury is using good imagery to show in detail how it would feel to be in this veldt. How it would feel to smell the scents of africa and to show the readers how realistic this nursery was. 

The Giver Chapters 17-20 The great escape planing

Last time we saw Jonas he had learned about love, that strange and very strong feeling that for so long had been taken away by the pill, but now that he has stopped taking it he can now feel. One day the community had an unscheduled holiday so Jonas went around looking for Asher and he found him playing a game, a harmless game to them, but to him it represented warfare so he starts to tell them to stop and to be very sad.

After that Jonas beggs the Reciever to tell him about the failure of the previous Reciever and so he does he tells him her name Rosemary and how after five weeks of Reciever training she couldn't take it anymore so she applied for release. After that Jonas wants to know what release is so The Giver showed him a video of Jonas father releasing a baby and there Jonas realizes release is death. That when he decides to flee so all the memories within him go back to the people of the community.

 I have some thoughts on this quote on the book: Jonas stared at him "Release is always like that?  For the people who break the rules tree times? For the old?". So the poor pilot who made a mistake died? the old Larrisa? They all got killed because they were no good to the community what kind of life is that if you are of no use they kill you.And if Jonas succeeds in leaving the community how will the people that were in charge of releasing feel. Because if Jonas leaves then everyone will know what death is and the people who used to release in the community would feel terrible!

I really liked these chapters and i really hope that Jonas can leave the community. I want the people in the community to feel love and see color and have choices. Also if Jonas does not succeed then all the killing in the community will keep on going so i really want Jonas to succed. I think that the giver by Lowis Lowry will have a really interesting ending and i cant wait to see what the ending is.

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Jonas the new receiver of the community has started his training he realized that the strange cuality he could see but others couldn't and what the Giver told him was seeing beyond was color and we saw that the community was colourless. Jonas is courious he wants to know the other mysterious things about his task that he was warned about but have not yet happened during his training. The indescriptible pain Jonas was warned about when he was to be receiver of memory had not yet happen but when he asked the Giver about the giver knew he couldnt shield Jonas forever and he gave him a painful memory the memory of a broken bone. All of Jonas lessons have started to be painful, but some days the Giver was on too much pain and Jonas was sent away one of those days Jonas told the Giver he could take some of the pain that the giver was experiencing through the memories  and so he ddid but the painful memory was one of the most painful memories of all war. The next sessions the Giver gave Jonas only good memories and he even gave Jonas his favorite the memory of love and family on a very important holiday Cristmas and thats how Jonas learned about love. 


"Do you love me? Jonas said" In this quote Jonas is asking his parent if they love him and they say that love is a very generalized word that has become almost obsolete on the community, I think that the biggest problem that the people in the comunity would have if they knew about the things in the memories would be love. If the people in the comunity about love and knew that they were being deprived from it they would probably ask for it and then probably revolt if they dont get it. I infer this because love for your parents children and other people is one of the strongest emotions in the world so i dont think that if someone didnt have love and could get it he wouldnt want to get it.

What i predict will happen is that Jonas will cause a revolt. I talked about love and how the people knowing about love  could revolt. In class we talked about how Distopias are mostly about how someone rebbels against the oppresing goverment and takes them down. So i believe Jonas will talk about love and tell the people that there could be love like he told Gabe and that way they will all rebel and stop being the community they are now.