Goblet of Fire

I finished Goblet of Fire ages ago, but I've just been at a loss of what to write about. Many of my other posts are centered around details that are carried throughout the series. But this didn't feel like the right structure for my post, even though GoF references many details and provides many for the later books.

What I want to discuss instead are relationships. Not only "ships", but the friendships between characters as well. I feel like this is a prominent theme in this novel, it is even the main goal of the Triwizard Tournament, which is the main plot thread.

GoF is when Ron and Harry finally have a falling out. Ron, constantly in the shadow of his brothers and his best friend, snaps. Even though he probably knows that Harry never put in name in the Goblet, he is unwilling to believe the truth because it doesn't fit his agenda. Harry spends a lot of the time during this fight wishing that Ron would just come and make-up. But, he refuses to talk to Ron himself. JKR puts emphasis of the importance of this relationship in Harry's life. One portion that stood out to me about this was when Harry had just gotten past the dragon in the first task and says, "'What?' Ron bellowed furiously. 'Four? You lousy biased scumbag, you have Krum ten!' Harry didn't care, he wouldn't have cared if Karkaroff had given him zero; Ron's indignation on his behalf was worth about a hundred points to him." The strength of this relationship is tested again and again throughout the series, but Ron is always loyal to Harry.

I also want to touch on father-son relationships. There are two that come to mind when examining this novel: the Crouchs and the Riddles. JKR draws parallels between them: both father and son share a name, both sons killed their fathers, and both fathers did not play a part in the upbringing of their sons. This final point also applies to Harry, but he didn't turn out to be the sort of man that can just murder in cold blood. I feel like JKR is trying to tell the reader that while a parent is important in a child's life, they are not the only thing that shapes a child's personality.

This is a novel about relationships and the strength that can be gained from them. In his end-of-term speech, Dumbledore says, "We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open." These words ring true in this modern-world of today, especially with the upcoming anniversary of September 11th. As a globe, we want to eliminate hate and discord, but we can not do that if we ourselves still have hate and discord in our hearts for others. Most of our fears as a nation is of that which we don't know or are unfamiliar. Therefore, if you don't know something about someone or some culture, don't be afraid to ask. My prophecy is that knowledge is the tool that will lead us into an age of peace.

Time read: 15 hrs 13 mins 17 secs
Pages read: 1819/4195