Dante's Inferno

One of the books I read for my Honors class this past semester was Dante's Inferno, which was finished in 1314. It is the first section of Dante's Divine Comedy, and is the most famous. It is an epic poem that is written in Italian, or the vernacular. Most works at that time were written in Latin, the universal language of the church. It helped popularize the idea of works written in the common speech.

The plot of the Divine Comedy lasts three days. It starts on Good Friday in 1300, during which the events of Inferno occur. The narrator is Dante (the character) who is exactly 35 years old, which was considered to be half-way through life. He is lost in a wood and being chased by three creatures: a lion, a leopard, and a she-wolf. He is rescued by Virgil, the famous Latin poet who is symbolic of human reason, who was sent by Beatrice, who is symbolic of pure love.

They then travel through the nine circles of Hell. Here is a web page with a few maps: http://www.waggish.org/2011/dante-old-maps-of-hell/. Each layer of Hell has a different type of punishment, but they are all contrapasso, or fitting in the way of poetic justice. There are some pretty gory details, so I will spare you if you have a weak stomach. But the point is, that everyone in Hell chose their fitting punishment by acting a certain way during life.

I personally enjoyed Dante's Inferno. I thought the punishments were interesting to read, even if they do scare you a bit, if you put stock in them. I also enjoy the numerology and all of the patterns in the series. There are 100 Cantos (like chapters), and each book has 33, plus one introductory. This is the suspected age of Jesus at his death. Also, each verse is written in terza rima, which means they are in the pattern of aba, bcb, cdc, etc... This is also called the golden chain. These connections and the repetitive number three are external ways that this work is related to the Trinity, which gives another layer of depth to the work. I'm just a sucker for "Form Follows Function", as my high school English teachers taught us.

Finally, I get to mark one off the list! 1 down, 99 more to go!

December!

I can't believe how quickly this year has flown. It just seems like yesterday I had this romantic idea that I would read not only 100 books, but even more in a year. On top of anything that I would be reading for school or pleasure. Now we are entering the final month of that year. And I actually accomplished nothing, if we're measuring success by the amount of works that I completed and blogged about. I literally crossed nothing off the list. But that doesn't mean I didn't finish any of the items. I have several items on the list that I've recently read that I still need to write about. That will happen in the month of December, once I finish my finals. I hope to have at least 5 strike-throughs by midnight of December 31st. I want to finish Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and write about Brave New World, The Inferno, and Henry V. Talk to you then!

Best wishes and DFTBA!
Nadia

Order of the Phoenix (Magical Creatures)

For this instalment of Nadia talks about how much she loves the brilliance of Harry Potter, let's talk about magical creatures.


I decided to focus on this because of the new creatures introduced in OotP: Kreacher and the thestrals. Also, I want to discuss dementors and centaurs.


Kreacher, I think is desperately addled and distraught. While he redeems himself in the later books, his character is despicable in OotP. Dumbledore explains Kreachers behavior when he says, "Kreacher is what he has been made by wizards... Yes, he is to be pitied. His existence has been as miserable as your friend Dobby's... Sirius was not a cruel man, he was kind to house-elves in general. He had no love for Kreacher, because Kreacher was a living reminder of the home Sirius had hated" (832, 834). Sirius mistreats Kreacher, not from any prejudice against house elves, but because Kreacher is a symbol for the past that Sirius has been running from for so long. I, for one, am glad that Kreacher showed up again in the later books, especially DH, and redeemed his character.


The other creature introduced in this book is the thestral. These are deeply misunderstood as well, because only people who have witnessed death can see a thestral. Therefore, they have an almost Grim-like reputation. But, they also are extremely clever and have an amazing sense of direction. These creatures are a symbol for acceptance of death, opposite the freedom the hippogriffs. There is an interesting essay comparing and contrasting threstrals and hippogriffs that can be found here: http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/features/essays/issue10.


Next on the list is dementors. JKR herself said that these characters symbolize depression, and there are very few things more terrifying than the thought of a dementor. A creature that takes away your soul through a personal and intimate gesture? One that can force you to only live in the worst times of your life? One that takes away all your happiness and all your hope? That is positively petrifying. These creatures truly do symbolize clinical depression and I admire the way JKR put a personal bit of her life into Harry's world through this creature. Better keep some chocolate on hand, just in case.


Centaurs are found in mythology, including Greek and Roman. In some of them, they are teachers like Firenze the Divination teacher. I am fascinated with the idea of such a creature being an instructor. I can't even say how many times I've said, "Mars is bright tonight". I like that they know that their predictions can be misinterpreted easily, even by the centaurs themselves. I also love how all of their situations in the books are complex in some way- they usually involve arguing between two groups of centaurs. It opposes them to the image seen in Fountain of Magical Brethren seen in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic, in which the centaurs, along with a goblin and house-elf, are all "looking adoringly up at the witch and wizard".


Many of the creatures in the world of Harry Potter are mistreated and underestimated. This is most prevalently seen in OotP with Umbridge and her discriminations against "half-breeds". These non-human intelligent beings are hated and feared by Umbridge. But, one of the main themes of Harry Potter is to not judge by appearance. Hagrid, a "half-breed", is one of the most lovable and loyal characters in the entire series. These magical creatures that are prejudiced against are symbols for any group of people that a majority discriminates because of some trivial difference.

Time read: 24 hours, 12 minutes, 45 seconds
Pages read: 2689/4195

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

Prisoner of Azkaban

After a marathon read from last night and this morning, I finished PoA. Growing up, this was my least favorite Harry Potter book. (Though I still love them all.) Thinking back, I assume it was because there was no confrontation with Voldemort in this one. But after this reread, I'm just left in awe of JKR's skills. This book is a masterpiece. It is delicately woven with details that are relevant to the plot of the entire series as a whole. I'd always considered Cedric's death in GoF to be the turning point of the series, and I still consider that to be mostly true. But that moment that Harry decided to let Wormtail live is a defining moment for his character. His mercy and compassion end up saving him, and others, multiple times through the series.

I also loved this foreshadowing that JKR put in. "'But trust me... the time may come when you will be very glad you saved Pettigrew's life.' [Dumbledore] Harry couldn't imagine when that would be."Oh Harry, little do you know, in less than four years, you will be very grateful for this because it allows you to save your friends, escape, steal the Elder Wand, and live.

So, while GoF might be the turning point of the series, PoA is the last few feet of that upward climb. Without the plot and characterization of PoA, the series might have gone a completely different direction. While it still isn't my absolute favorite HP book, I can admire the intricate details that JKR put into it and her dedication to producing a tightly-woven plot that spans across over 4000 pages. Now, on to GoF and the longer books!

Pages read: 1085/4195
Time read: 8 hr 18 min 36 sec

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

I haven't posted a spoiler alert for these posts because I've just assumed that anyone who reads them have either read the books for themselves or has seen all of the movies. Just be warned, I will be discussing connections between ALL SEVEN BOOKS. This means that I will assume things have already been revealed to you.

I finally finished Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets! When I was young, this was one of my least favorite HP books. The plot just never appealed to me, and the Deathday Party terrified me and gave me nightmares.

There were many details in this book that are carried through the rest of the series. For example, this is where Harry learns Expelliarmus!, which will later become one of his signature spells and helps his characterization. Also, we see Polyjuice Potion, which for such a dangerous potion, is used quite frequently through the rest of the series (GoF and DH come to mind instantly).

The most important item from this book that will be relevant later is, of course, Riddle's diary. This is our first look into Riddle's past and the dark magic that created Lord Voldemort. What struck me the most was that JKR even told us that Harry is a Horcrux.

"Voldemort put a bit of himself in me?" Harry said, thunderstruck.
"It certainly seems so." (Dumbledore)

At this point, we didn't know that this "bit" was a part of Voldemort's soul, but Dumbledore had knowledge of Harry's destiny. But he gives him a warning that should sum up the difference between Harry and Voldemort: "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities".

Pages read: 650/4195
Time read: 4 hr 47 min 03 sec

Second Half of Sorcerer's Stone

I finished SS! It took me a lot longer than I had hoped, but isn't that the way that life seems to happen? Anyways, this section had some of my favorite parts in the entire series.

1. Through the Trapdoor

This is chapter 16 of SS, and by far one of my favorites in the entire series. When I was younger, I loved the obstacles that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had to overcome to reach the Stone. My favorite, though, was Snape's. The logic puzzle with the potions was brilliant in my eyes, and I always wanted to have the bottles in front of me so I could prove my aptitude at logic, just like Hermione. Thinking back, I think that I always appreciated that Ron, Hermione, and Harry were all vital in the quest for the Stone. None of them could have reached the Stone without the other two. This foreshadows the quest they go on for the Horcruxes in DH, and is a motif pulled throughout the entire series.

2. The Man with Two Faces

This is the final chapter of SS, and has some of my favorite quotes from Dumbledore. Here are a few:
"To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."
"As much money and life as you could want! The two things human beings would choose above all- the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them."
"The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution."


SS has always been one of my favorite HP books. Now to move onto CoS!

Pages read: 309/4195
Time read: 2 hrs, 31 mins, 16 secs