The Alchemist: The quest for the personal legend

The alchemist is probably one of the greatest inspirational stories ever written. Its reading helps us try and organize our thoughts and put into perspective whether what we are doing in life is indeed important or just a means to achieving our personal legends. Yet what is a personal legend? According to the book it is that which the universe has set out for each of us to become. It is a journey, an adventure or simply a way of life. What the book is trying to teach us goes beyond the boundaries of the small paperback in which it is encased. It is trying to tell us that we must never give up on anything that we want to achieve. It does not matter whether what we want to do in life sounds absurb to some, but as long as its imagined and wanted by us is all that really matters. As the book would say if you really want something, " the universe will conspire in order for you to get something you really want". Now doesnt this quote represent what life truely is about. We tend to forget that life is about living and striving for the impossible. Its about becoming a hero in our own life and taking the drivers seat onto new adventures. Its about holding the reins of something that might be dangerous but makes our adrenaline pump. Its about doing what we want to do and not become just mere spectators of our own lives. Grasping the knowledge that to want is all there needs to be in order to accomplish something, is what this book tells us. The only barrier between us and our dreams is ourselves. Once we remove all of our inhibitions we are set to go along for the ride called life. So as I hop on board to my own train of adventure, I'm ready to hold the reins of danger and the unknown as well.

The House on Mango Street: Reaching the end of the street

The story of Esperanza is a story that I personally can identify with. It's a story of trying hard to figure out who one is within the greater scheme of things in society. It's about trying to organize ones own ideas and personality according to what the environment around us wants us to do, yet fail to do so because our inner spirit tells us that there is more to life than just what is around us. The story is about going after what you think is right, its about following the road that is laid out for you yet have yet to wander onto it. Its about becoming yourself despite all odds. Thats what this story is about and thats what a bildungsroman is about as well. Its about going on a journey in order to determine how one fits into the universe. For Esperanza her journey was a hard one. She had to face dillemas concerning herself with respect to her family, her friends and her society and the expectations that each of them had of her. She rose up to the challenge and went beyond, because she realized that the expectations that were there were not the ones she truely had for herself. It is this inner deep realization that makes her such a strong character. It is because of this that we are able to see just how amazing she truely is. She followed her gut and became her own person. Whether she liked it or not, Mango street helped develop her, and it is through this that we can see that all the things in life that are given to us are for a reason. There maybe times in which we ask why couldnt things have been different, but life has a plan for everyone of us. It is up to us whether we listen to her plan and follow it.

The House on Mango Street: Who's Esperanza most similar to?

The assignment for this blog was to determine which character from all of the readings we've had before is most similar to Esperanza. For me I considered two characters to be similar to her. The first one is Harry Potter. I found that they are similar because they are both young people trying to figure out who they are in the world. They are both trying to make their own identities without having to resort to being identified with their past. In the first few books Harry Potter wants to create his own person, be known as Harry Potter, not just Lily and James son. But in the end he becomes proud of who he is because he has formed his own identity and combined it with his family roots. At the same time I found that Esperanza is similar to Lucy because both of them are women with different struggles they have to endure. In Lucy's case it was trying to break away from her society and her family and to be able to think freely and give in to love. Esperanza's struggle is that of breaking away from her heritage, her traditions which she thinks might be holding her down. Its interesting to analize how all of the characters we've encountered have tried to forge their own identities dispite adversities like society, family and their own personal demons, yet in the end these are the very things that are what make us become who we are. If it werent for these struggles we would not know how to live or what to live for.

The House on Mango Street: The first walk down this street

Reading this book has been an experience so far. Being able to present about it is also going to be an experience. The root of this book is about finding ones identity admist such a diverse and rich culture which is submersed in another culture as well. The hispanic heritage which Esperanza has is a rich one she is trying to get away from, yet at the same time she is afraid of the American culture which surrounds her, for she feels she does not fit in. Not fitting in either cultures is the cause of her loosing herself but in the end, she must embrace her own identity without letting many aspects of society influence her. This is the challenge she must face, especially during her adolescent years which we all agree are the hardest. This is the prime time in which we are faced with trying to not fit in and make out our own paths and also trying to assimilate with our surrounding so we fit in and are liked and therefore lead a pleasant social life. Its quite a struggle.

Life of Pi: The last look

For me life of Pi was a significant book because it ventured into areas which i seem to consider important, such as religious views and its role within society. Growing up in 2 cultures which expect you to fall under certain faithful denominations is a hard choice one has to make. Like Pi i found myself just trying to be a combination of Catholic and Baptist. Althought these 2 are more similar than Pi's three religions I can understand where he is coming from. In the end I concluded that faith should have no boundaries, that if you are comfortable with your identity and belifef system then there is no need to search further or try to persuade others to think and believe like you do. If this ideology became true then the world would be pretty boring and loose all of its marvel and distinctiveness that make the world what it is. The big question in this blog is whether Life of Pi is a bildungsroman. In my opinion it is and isn't. It isn't because in a way Pi doesnt really identify his personality, he doesnt seem to choose something concrete to which identify with, thus making it easy for him to believe what he believes. At the same time this is a conflict for he critisized those who wouldnt make or change their minds either. All of this confusion sums up at the end when we're dealing with both stories and cant determine which one is real. Yet at the same time, it is a bildungsroman because Pi is unique, the story we come to read the first time around tells us about his travel and his struggle with survival, making him who he is later on in life. This is what being a bildungsroman novel is all about.

Life of PI: Chapter XXII, An existentialist chapter

In this chapter we encounter just how the deaths of an atheist and an agnostic would go about. Pi is the one who is trying to capture the way this event would happen to both of them. In this image we are able to see how in the mind of the atheist just as he is about to approach death he is convinced of the afterlife. On the otherhand the agnostic still refuses to believe in anything and continues to hold on strong to his own beliefs. At this point I didn't know whether to be impressed by the fortitude of a person holding on to such strong convictions despite being shown the contrary or to be disturbed by this. This lead me to think about a topic we have been discussing in class about time and how sometime throughout the course of our life we always seem to put things off for later or tommorrow, always trying to keep our convicions or way of life by not regretting anything we do in this life, just like the famous Don Juan, who never repented of the way he lead his life. Just like him, I sort of imagined this agnostic person not regretting or changing what he believed in his entire life despite being shown there is something more. Yet on the other hand as we discussed in class the Christian view of him would make him stay within the limbo, for eternity. In reference to my title, I do consider this chapter to be one of the most existentialists ive read in a while because of the view of death and the afterlife, for the modern existentialist there is no afterlife. You live life the way you live and theres nothing more, this reminded me of the agnostic character to which Pi makes reference to. In life there are many beliefs, people may be wrong or right, who are we to judge if they are or we are. We won't know until it's our time to pass. This life is given to us to tolerate and love those who think different than us, who believe differently then us. Otherwise what was the point in God making such diverse of a creation. Doesn't this give us something to think about? All we need is love.

The Life of Pi: 1st view

After going to war and being in the middle of the woods, we encounter a tale that is refreshing and provides a breath of air to our minds. In this story we find Pi or Pistine, but he prefers Pi. The beginning of the book we find ourselves reading his naration as a grown man. He recounts his life as a boy later on in the book. Whats facinating is his view on life. He considers himself a Hindu, Muslim and a Christian. This is amazing since the root of his belief is that the love for God should have no boundaries or separation, for loving God has no name and requieres only true love. This is so interesting to me because it has been through BIC that I have been able to experience all of these other religions around me. I've learned that indeed, loving God is what is essencial, it doesnt matter what denomination one is. It was in World Cultures as well where we learned that all of these religions have the same roots. Pi seems to understand this notion, which is why he is happy with his view on life.

Special visit

Today's class was one of the most interesting and thought provoking I've had in awhile. Being able to listen to the experiences of someone who was actually in such a controversial war was quite an experience. Listening to their points of view is always fascinating when trying to put into context what we hear when we listen to the news, read from newspapers or even from the government. Many times we do not know what it is that we should believe because we dont know how much information is being given to us. Media, government and even our own beliefs tend to sheild us from the realities that are happening. for instance today provided great inside into the issue of drug abuse during the war, i have read a few articles from the late 80's and early 90's completely denying that drug use was common among soldiers. So our guests insight along with the book have provided a more accurate picture as to what went on in reality. it is only through bits and pieces of information that one can truely gather the whole picture of an event for one must never rely completely on one source for gathering information.

Going After Cacciatto: In Pursuit of Innocence

With the finale of this book, one tends to conclude that in a way Paul needed an escape from all of the chaos that surrounded him. Sometimes, when we are not able to physically go somewhere our imaginations serve as the best refuge. Our mind can harbour us from the most disturbing and saddening situations, thus allowing us to become free even if it is for only a moment. This way of coping with such difficult situations like the Vietnam war in which Paul is in. Being such a young man, one can see that he has to grow up quickly. He is not able to experience the carefree feeling that many other people of his same age are experiencing due to them not going to war. But, having to face such situation as the war makes you grow up and change in ways that are unexpected. How many times have we met a friend of ours how is happy, carefree and content with life, but then gets to go to war and comes back a completely transformed person. Their ways of viewing life have changed dramatically. Because of this reflection of growth in Paul I conclude that this is a bildungroman book, we see transformation and a journey of somewhat going on thus enabling us to have a glimpse into a life in war.

The Violent Bear it Away II

To decide whether or not this novel is a bildungsroman was a very difficult thing to decide. We are so used to reading about characters who have happy endings or at least have things result for the best. Yet in this novel there was something so disturbing about it that personally it moved me to my very core. It could have been because it presents us with the dark side of real things. The events, characters and themes of this book are all things that maybe are not known to us and our inmediate surroundings but that inevitably are out there. Things so disturbing that our minds cannot possibly grasp the lure of such confussion and dispair as we see in all of the characters. In contrast to the characters we've seen before, many of them already had a predetermined mindset of their own and developed normally under societal standards. In the Violent Bear it away we saw a completely different young man who was immersed in something so deep that he could not overcome it on his own. Yet, characteristic of all bildungsroman is the adventure and a set journey in which the character embarks. Frankie goes on the journey to try and find himself and figure out life. thing which did not end well unfortunately. Yet the basis for this journey and wanting to grow is there, thus making is a bildungsroman.

The Violent Bear it Away: Part I

In starting to read this book I was half expecting to find some fantastic tale about far away lands as in Harry Potter. The other half was expecting to encounter something along the lines of a woman or young girl starting a journey of some sort to find herself. Yet what I came across while reading was something darker and deeper than any of the books that we have read so far. The main character in this book, in my opinion, cannot be read as easily and from time to time cannot be determined if he has made up his own mind or if he’s guided by previous suppositions. At one point during my reading I questioned whether or not the character was even a good person. Yet, when I asked myself this I ventured to try and explain why he had become the way he had. The boy in this story is named Frank even though he goes by the name Tarwater. We encounter him as a young boy of 14 who has had an isolated upbringing and was learned only in the ways his great uncle had taught him. He became comfortable in the way he was and struggled with the mission his great uncle had left him. He was caught in between trying to make his own decisions and attempting to listen to those around him. He reminded me greatly of Harry Potter because of the repression they both grew up in and the closeness in the age gap in which they discover their lives could be different.

The Bear: Part III

Having come to an end in reading the story of The Bear the question asked at the end of every book is whether or not the story is representative of a Bilingsroman? Every story in order to fall into this category has to show that the character and their environment have affected them in such a way that it has changed them. At the same time this change has to happen throughout the course of time. In The Bear we do happen to find a particular character who goes through transition and growth in a peculiar way. At first we don't know much about the character but are in a way experiencing the woods with him. Instead of reading discriptions about what the woods were like for him I felt that i was walking through them at the same time he was. When he was going out without a compass or anything manmade it was an experience for me as well to imagine being in the middle of no where without anything to guide me but intuition. This boy, Isaac, learns about himself while experiencing nature. He chooses the path of going out there and discovering what there is to be discovered. He ventures into the unknown with fear, yet he does so because he feels that is his calling. These experiences marked him in such a way that made him the man he grew up to be. Being this man helped him understand the burden of recieving an inheritance which he felt did not deserve and thus did not accept. He showed us truth, understanding and humanity at its most natural level. We don't need philosophy books to explain to us what is right or wrong, moral or immoral, we need to connect with our true selves in a true setting such as nature to help us gather our thoughts and understanding of a real world. So, the Bear in this case has proven to a Bildingsroman as well because of what he teaches us about himself and also about ourseleves as a human society as a whole.

The Bear: Part II

The question which we were left with was what is myth? Dr. Larson told us that this whole story was surrounded by the idea of myth. Yet, when myth comes to mind, I immediately think of Greek and Roman stories. Then I think about mythical creatures like the Lock Ness Monster or dragons and the sort. Yet in reality our conceptions about what a myth is couldn't be any further away from its true meaning. A myth is actually a sacred story concerning the origins of the world or how the world and the creatures in it came to be in their present form. Hence when reading over Faulkner's story we indeed do come across mythical beings in it. First off we have the Bear. How more mythical can we get than that? The bear is the legend of the being who roams the forest and cannot be killed. At the same time there is so much more surrounding the existance of the bear. This meaning impacts the lives of these men who travel for the sole purpose of seeing him. This reminds me of a pilgramage people traditionally do in the name of religion. These types of pilgramages are used to guide people and their spiritual experiences, much like these men that go hunting. To them, nature, the bear and hunting is in their spirit.

The Big Scary Bear

I started reading this story it struck me as being completely diffrent than any of the material we've been reading throughout the semester. I had never before read anything by Faulkner so when I picked up the book it was quite different and didn't think I would like it. But once I started getting through the descriptive part of the novel and focused on the actual situations it was a lot easier to understand. The story so far introduces us to a group of woodsmen, campers, or something along the lines of. Their annual trip into the woods consists of attempting to see and possibly kill a bear that has been around for ages. Within the group there is a young boy. This boy has a different connection with the woods, he enjoys it, some would say he has a bond with it. Due to this bond, as he grows he gets better as finding his way around the woods without compasses or any other manmade instrument. This surprises the rest of the group since they're older men who have more "experience" than the young lad. Another surprising fact is that the boy is the only one who has ever actually gotten close to the bear. While the others go for the sole purpose of finding the bear, the boy actually goes out and encounters him. This is facinating. A mix of nature and innocence meeting in the wild. We'll see what the rest of the book brings along and just how much this boy learns to develop in this world.

There Eyes Were Watching God: A bildungsroman?

I must say that it is a bildungsroman book. Why? Well in the first place the book presented us with Janie, a character who has several layers to her and who throughtout her life was able to discover the different layers she had. She was able to enbark on a path of autodiscovery due to the choices that she made. Now, the choices all characters faced in the past novels are what make their novels bildungsroman. These decisions are what ultimately guide them to find a life of meaning and fulfullment. If it were otherwise, then I don't think we'd be interested in reading the lives of people who choose to stay on the safe side of things in order to avoid struggle, conflict or even change. Janie to me represents a character who doesn't want to stay on the safe side because throughout the whole novel she's given the opportunity to do so, but she knows something doesn't feel right about it. In a way she knows deep down that she's meant for so much more. She truely wants to achieve happiness and goes out to find it, in her case it kind of found her ;).

Their Eyes Were Watching God: The meaning in the title

In the literary since, this expression is used in the book to describe the expressions that the people had during the hurricane disaster. It describes it as them looking up at the sky with a look of wonder. Yet, there is an underlying meaning underneath this which evokes a much deeper meaning. The problem here is to try and understand what its saying and at least try to hit within the ballpark. The title, this very expression is very emblematic. Why is it that these people’s eyes were watching God? As explained before there is a bit of an explanation but it’s not very satisfying. In that case, was Janie’s observation of this representative of her life? I believe that the context in which she would use it is probably used to describe the way people behave. Especially when referring to her town. What first came to mind for me is that people look up to the sky as to blame God for anything that might be going wrong or out of control. As in the case of the hurricane people looked up as a way of pleading for help or asking Him why did he allow for this to happen? Yet sometimes when it occurs that something within our hands happens, we like to not take responsibility and just blame God for whatever is happening. Also, it might refer to the fact that many people claim to be righteous when in fact they are not. People have the tendency to become preoccupied with showing off how religious they are and always in a way “watch God”. Yet they tend to forget that there’s a physical world to which they are bound and have responsibilities in it as well.

Their Eyes were watching God: Part I

Their eyes were watching God seems to me to be a different story than the rest we have read so far. The characters are passionate and set in their own ways and thoughts. The main character Janie starts off the narrative as a little girl describing how she saw herself for the first time and didn’t consider herself different from the rest until others pointed it out to her. But it’s not just a story about identity it’s a story about survival and about finding the true meaning of life through its various stages. Janie is faced with a series of obstacles that she must overcome differently each time. She thinks about what is best for her and does it but then realizes that she can do so much more and decides that happiness is what she really wants to pursue in life. Yet, like all humans, we are afraid to face the unknown and actually venture into this quest for happiness. We fear the unknown and decide that stability is the best to lead a happy life. This stability we see is not enough for Janie until she meets Tea Cake. He becomes the one man whom treats her the way she should be treated and discovers the true meaning of love.

Room with a view: the finale

Having finished a room with a view and having heard all the different experiences from my fellow classmates, supported the idea behind the title of this book. Why? Well because we were able to establish a little bit of a view into people’s lives. How many times do we know people but not really KNOW them? This was in my opinion the essence of this book when it came to Lucy, George and even her ex fiancé. Everyone seemed to know everyone else and their characters, yet at the same time these characters did not seem to know themselves from time to time. That is probably because in life the only thing that remains as a constant is change. Everyone changes as well as everything and as human beings we adapt to these changes loosing a little bit of the view of ourselves in order to gain new perspectives and change some views. This was the case with Lucy, she had to get out of her comfort zone and adapt to the changes that were occurring, she didn’t like those views that went along with such changes so she changed in order to become truer to the self she had evolved into. Thus, because of these views and changes and choices made by her this book falls into a true bildungsroman.

Lucy's Wedding

So today's conversation in class brought up the topic of Lucy's marriage within the book. While for the majority of the time i thought that she was sure to wed Cecil, in hopes that maybe while she was changing he would change as well, that did not seem to be the way the story was going. On the other hand we have George, dreamy bad boy George. The guy that no mother wants her daughter to marry because he's beneath her status or is just not good enough. Yet, what makes another person capable of determining who's fit to marry someone else. Why is it that back long ago ( and even some cases today) society was the one to put dictates over a woman's life with regard to marriage? This is something that puzzles me, yet is all not to unfamilar for just a few months back I was found in a very imposed engagement which seemed like the adecuate choice to remedy all problems and secure an easy life. Well, relating with Lucy, I knew that there was more to me than a marriage and this man who didnt even know truely who i was. Heck, from time to time even I seem to still question if I know myself entirely. And I think this is where the root of this book lies. Lucy, her family her fiance all seem to know who she is, what she wants and whats good for her, yet finally she discovers through George that theres more to her than she even knows and thats the beauty of love. This is why she knows that he's the one for her and goes on to live her life with him in the end. Love, the unexpected passion that rushes through your veins and makes you feel queezy and excited. This should not just be the norm for finding love but for living life, everything should undoubtedly make you feel this way just so you know that you are truely living. Was it once said by Socrates that the unexamined life is not worth living?

A Room with a View: Part I

A room with a view is a very distinct reading in which we are introduced to complex characters. One of the most complex, and also the main character of the story is Lucy Honeychurch. From the beginning of the reading we’ve seen that she has a long way to go with regards to growing and finding herself. Thus, this book plays perfectly well with our other readings about young people who are on a quest to find themselves. The difference here is that Miss Honeychurch does not realize that she is venturing on this quest until she is confronted to think on her own. For her, the capacity to maintain her own opinion is a hard one since everyone around her tells her how to act and behave. Among one of the most influential persons in her life during the first part of the story is Miss Bartlett, her cousin whom traveled with her to Italy. This is a very enthralling story which I cannot wait to read the ending and see if indeed there is a growth, not only in Lucy but in those around her as well.

Huck Finn: Part III

Finishing this book one can definitely see the changes that Huck went through in this book. Thus due to these changes we are able to incorporate it into our list of books representing a bildungsroman. During the first part of the book we see that Huck is more of a sidekick to Tom Sawyer, (as mentioned by Dr. Larson). Huck would in a way glorify anything that Tom did believing it was the best way of doing it. Yet in the end we found that although Huck would listen to Tom, Huck would have his own idea of how things would work out best in the end. Having had this personal growth with regards to his way of thinking helped him decide later on that he would; “prefer to go to hell!!” in order to help Jim. This is the most important aspect of this novel, making it a blidungsroman because despite adversity and despite the decisions that Huck could have made, he chose those options which undoubtedly changed him and made of him who he was supposed to become.

Huck and Jim

In class today there was the discussion about the relationship shared between Huckleberry Finn and his slave friend Jim. An aspect that’s peculiar in this relationship is that for the time setting of the novel a friendship between a black man and a white boy may seem out of question. Yet I believe that what is behind this relationship is more than just a friendship, but a need for human companionship. Like Dr. Larson expressed today in class, there is no worst feeling for a human being than to feel a loneliness and solitude that was not chosen. And we saw this in Huck during the first part of the book. We see that he dislikes being alone and when he indeed finds himself in that situation he has the need to go out and do something or change of scene because he does not feel comfortable anymore, yet the problem isn’t the place or the people but Huck’s own psyche with coping with solitude. This brings us to Jim. For Huck, in a way, Jim is convenient for him since he provides not only a friendship but a sort of constant care that he has not received from a male figure in his life. This is why, when Huck seems to have lights of acknowledging this situation, he feels torn about what he should feel and what society regards as being right. For it is obvious that a friendship such as that is not to exist within Huck’s world. This may also be why Huck refuses to adapt to the societal norms and feels that they are nuisances and prefers to be uncivilized. This is an in depth look at the situation which can possibly be reflected on with many other cases that are known in society as non proper such as the rich girl and the poor man and so on. Despite the implications of their friendship and the barriers they encounter, they seem to be constant to each other providing that which the other needs or lacks, for Huck it’s the father figure willing to look out and provide for him and for Jim its another son, a boy who has not betrayed him to the authorities and this owes him loyalty.

Mr. Finn. Huck Finn

I shall have to admit that this is the first time that I have been exposed to the wonderful adventures of Mr. Huckleberry Finn and I must say that I am impressed. Not having the chance to read it before I find that it is just as easy to become a part of his world as it was to penetrate into the Harry Potter world. I am also a bit ashamed to confess this but I had rather low expectations for Mr. Finn, thinking it would be quite a nuisance to read but boy was I wrong. I discovered that it was a very wonderful adventure with character and a story behind the character which has to embark on a type of quest towards self discovery, hence probably why it’s on our reading list. So far I’m enjoying this book as a good read especially with this winter weather. In the beginning of the book I encountered the relationships that Huck Finn has with his friends, father and the widow. In regard to relationships with his friend he seems to be the more realist, always doubting Tom Sawyer and his adventures and not using his imagination (the way Tom does) to play and see the world in a new light. I think that further on in the book, Huck has the ability to use this imagination as well as his wit to get out of situations which he encounters, thus showing us his capacity of growth. The relationship with his father is a turbulent one in which Huck doesn’t seem to see a way out of until his wit and imagination help him get out of it. One thing that kind of disturbs me at this point of the reading is his conscious. He seems to be weary of doing the right thing, and then seems to balance out that if he would have done a bad thing or a right thing they would balance out as being the same. So I guess we’ll see how this develops in the rest of the reading. Hopefully in a mature and good manner.

Growth

As it has been read throughout the entire series of these books there is a common thread that unites all of the characters, and that is change or growth of some type. With this growth the characters were able to overcome challenges and obstacles that if confronted with before would probably not have been able to deal with. In this case, the ability for Harry to give his life up because he thought it would be for the greater good. He demonstrated this selflessness and because of this I consider him to be worthy of being called a hero. In class it was discussed that he may not have owned up to that title, but it is because of his ability to make wise decisions under the circumstances that he has been born into that makes him who he is and makes us at the same time admire his ability to live life the way he does. He is the true example of what it means to come of age. He was able to go through so much turmoil and still come out being the character we came to love since the first book. The same goes for other characters like Ron, Hermione and Neville. They all showed this great grasp as to who they finally had become and defended it. Unlike when they were younger and in a sense more childlike and didn’t have to worry about finding their true identities. It is in this book in which they all become who they want to be and embrace that notion of themselves, especially when faced with the gravest dangers they could possibly be forced into, such as having to fight evil. Maybe what Rowling wanted to show us in this last installment was that when we are faced with the darkest moments there can possibly be in life; it is here that we truly find ourselves and fend for what we truly believe in despite the costs that may come.

Hermioneeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

Hermione Granger. A great character is this story, quintessential when it comes to the development of it I might add. She’s always shown great loyalty and love towards her friends and great respect towards her peers. Only times she’s shown anger or frustration have been at those who are intolerant of Muggles, those who abuse house elves, and a slight bit of frustration at Ron for not displaying his emotions. Overall Hermione’s character is full of courage. Yet, this courage has developed over the series. At the beginning she was timid and slightly afraid one may say because of her status as what others like Draco Malfoy call her “a mudblood”. But she comes to terms with the obstacles that are in her path, she learns to be proud of her identity and to fight for it. Especially in this last installment in the series in which there is a great oppression almost hinting at genocide of those who are different. It is here more than ever that she has to show the courage to fight against those who are threatening all those who “don’t belong”. Throughout the series I think that she’s the poster child for a feminine activist, fighting against those whose rights are being oppressed such as the house elves and at the same time recognizing that she herself is different and learning to embrace her identity.

Harry Potter and his personal battle

Harry Potter is a complex character that shows great development throughout the many books in this series. In all of the books we seem to encounter the notion that the battles around him are only his and that no one should risk their lives for him. It is however in this last book in which we see that he embraces his true character and is capable of coming to terms with who he finally is. In this book, in the first few chapters we see how stubborn he is by wanting to face the challenges that are thrown upon him on his own. He believes it is only his duty to fight the Dark Lord and battle the forces of evil that are taking over. Yet over and over again his friends and loved ones prove to him that he is not alone. They show him that he does not have to face these terrible events by himself because others are capable and willing to show their loyalty and faith in him by fighting with him. Such examples would be Ron and Hermione who despite quarrels and feuds between them, the two never leave Harry alone on a deadly quest.