52 Dates: #36 - Gold Butte Days & Harry Potter #5
Okay, so we have been struggling fitting date nights into our busy weeks the last little bit. This weekend after our long run we went over to a little artisans festival with music put on by the city called Gold Butte Days. We didn't know they were ending so early, so we were only there a short time before all the booths started to go down. However, we did get to see Elvis, so clearly it was a success. ;)
Rowling does such a fantastic job in this book creating characters that you absolutely loath like Dolores Umbridge and Cornelius Fudge. Every time Umbridge does that horrid fake cough I can't help but cringe as I'm reading, thinking how dearly I would like to take a whack at her! I also love how Rowling creates a third-dimension with Professor Severus Snape in this book. Rather than painting Snape as the despicable jerk as in the past 4 books, having Harry see Snape's teenage memories of being taunted and humiliated by Harry's own father allows the reader to realize there may be a very legitimate reason why Snape is so nasty, particularly towards Harry, and creates a sense of pity and empathy for a character we've only been allowed to see as swarmy and cruel. I also appreciate that it helps Harry to realize his parents, though overall wonderful people, were not perfect. I think all of us have a moment in life where we realize our parents don't know everything and are flawed beings, just like ourselves. This can be a hard pill to swallow. When Harry tries to deal with the disappointment of seeing his father act like such a pompous oaf, he turns to his father's old friends to get a better sense of who his father really was. I love how Sirius tells him, "Look, your father was the best friend I ever had, and he was a good person. A lot of people are idiots at the age of fifteen. He grew out of it."
Amen and amen! Sometimes I think back on things I said or did in high school or my early college years and I still blush thinking about them. I am so glad I grew out of my adolescent mindset, but sadly, like Snape harboring a burning grudge against James Potter, many of the people we grow up with only remember us as our 15-year-old selves. Maybe that's why people go to high school reunions, so they can prove they have changed!
Another adolescent theme this book dwells on is the constant emotional upheaval Harry and many of his classmates are experiencing. I remember reading this book for the first time many years ago and being so annoyed by the all-caps print, suggesting the frequent shouting Harry is doing as he struggles with his feelings of anger, fear and general teenage-angst. However, now it seems to me another brilliant writing choice Rowling made as an author to reveal that Harry at this age is much like all other teenagers; dominated by his emotions, desperate for belonging and feeling horribly misunderstood by friend and foe alike.
Throw a girl into the mix and you've got some explosive emotional levels going on. I love the scene after Harry and Cho Chang finally kiss when Ron is laughing his head off and Hermione is analyzing everything from Cho's perspective. She gives this long list of conflicting stresses and emotions Cho must be carrying and the boys just stare at her flabbergasted until Ron says, "One person can't feel all that at once, they'd explode." And Hermione retorts, "Just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have!" Love. It.
I was a little creeped out by this guy and not too delighted when Burke handed him our little lady. Daph isn't too sure about him either!
As we had just finished reading "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" that afternoon we decided to watch the movie after we put our sweet baby to bed. They did a much better job on converting the action from book #5 to the film than they did with book #4, but I've decided we need to stop watching the movies the day we finish the book - it's too disappointing!
Rowling does such a fantastic job in this book creating characters that you absolutely loath like Dolores Umbridge and Cornelius Fudge. Every time Umbridge does that horrid fake cough I can't help but cringe as I'm reading, thinking how dearly I would like to take a whack at her! I also love how Rowling creates a third-dimension with Professor Severus Snape in this book. Rather than painting Snape as the despicable jerk as in the past 4 books, having Harry see Snape's teenage memories of being taunted and humiliated by Harry's own father allows the reader to realize there may be a very legitimate reason why Snape is so nasty, particularly towards Harry, and creates a sense of pity and empathy for a character we've only been allowed to see as swarmy and cruel. I also appreciate that it helps Harry to realize his parents, though overall wonderful people, were not perfect. I think all of us have a moment in life where we realize our parents don't know everything and are flawed beings, just like ourselves. This can be a hard pill to swallow. When Harry tries to deal with the disappointment of seeing his father act like such a pompous oaf, he turns to his father's old friends to get a better sense of who his father really was. I love how Sirius tells him, "Look, your father was the best friend I ever had, and he was a good person. A lot of people are idiots at the age of fifteen. He grew out of it."
Amen and amen! Sometimes I think back on things I said or did in high school or my early college years and I still blush thinking about them. I am so glad I grew out of my adolescent mindset, but sadly, like Snape harboring a burning grudge against James Potter, many of the people we grow up with only remember us as our 15-year-old selves. Maybe that's why people go to high school reunions, so they can prove they have changed!
Another adolescent theme this book dwells on is the constant emotional upheaval Harry and many of his classmates are experiencing. I remember reading this book for the first time many years ago and being so annoyed by the all-caps print, suggesting the frequent shouting Harry is doing as he struggles with his feelings of anger, fear and general teenage-angst. However, now it seems to me another brilliant writing choice Rowling made as an author to reveal that Harry at this age is much like all other teenagers; dominated by his emotions, desperate for belonging and feeling horribly misunderstood by friend and foe alike.
Throw a girl into the mix and you've got some explosive emotional levels going on. I love the scene after Harry and Cho Chang finally kiss when Ron is laughing his head off and Hermione is analyzing everything from Cho's perspective. She gives this long list of conflicting stresses and emotions Cho must be carrying and the boys just stare at her flabbergasted until Ron says, "One person can't feel all that at once, they'd explode." And Hermione retorts, "Just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have!" Love. It.
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