Huck and Jim

Jim and Huck form an unusual friendship for the time period and area they are in. I think this is mainly possible because of Huck’s deviation from being ‘sivilized’. As the story goes along, Jim becomes Huck surrogate father. When they first meet, Jim has the know-how and makes sure they both eat. As the story continues, Jim protects Huck from seeing a dead body while on the island. All this being said, Huck still struggles with what is the right thing to do. It isn’t until the end, when Jim puts Tom Sawyer’s health above his own freedom that Huck realizes that Jim should be free because ‘he is white on the inside’. This looks like a racist statement at first, but I should be interpreted as we are really all the same on the inside. Huck knows that there is so much good inside Jim just like other white men (like Judge Thatcher).

Bildungsroman

Harry Potter encompasses the bildungsroman genre. The main character has a difficult life growing up in society, and then he finds out he is a wizard. This pulls him out of the world he’s known all is life and throws him into another one where most of the rules have changed. Dumbledore dies and he is forced to leave the Dudley’s house forever. It is obvious that Harry doesn’t have a problem leaving his only blood-relatives, but now is the time that he knows he must go on his destined journey of collecting horcruxes.
I love the theme we discussed in class about ‘love v evil’, and the obvious parallel between Harry and Voldemort. Both are orphans, single children, have little or nothing growing up, and lived in the muggle world. I didn’t ever connect those dots before. J.K. Rolling just proves that people can have the same background, but it is what they do with their lives, that is truly important. Lord Voldemort could have done so much good in his life, but he chose evil, whereas Harry Potter didn’t.

Hermione Granger

Hermione, like most Harry Potter characters, holds a unique role within the books. She is brilliant, and always knows the answer whether in class or in the real world. However, she is mistreated and looked down upon by other characters, like Malfoy, because she is from a muggle family. Although she tries to pretend it doesn’t bother her, this adds to her need to be the best and her fear of failure. It is also because of this unfair treatment that she cares very much for different creatures, like house-elves. Later in her life, she will dramatically improve the lives of house-elves through her job at the ministry.
In the seventh book, she has developed into the rescuer of the trio. From the very beginning of the book, she is always thinking ahead and planning for everything they may (and often does) go wrong. Within this book, Hermione astonishes Harry and Ron, as well as the readers. She has connected what she has learned in the classroom to real-world uses. This is something that I think many college seniors go through once they graduate and try to find a job.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry Potter seems to exponentially grow in the seventh book. Because Harry turns seventeen and this is of legal age in the wizardry world, Harry no more is protected by the defensive spells of his mother and the order around his childhood house. Potter no longer has Albus Dumbledore to ensure his protection, or Hogwarts to shield him from the brutal world. With in the first few chapters of the book, he recounts all the people he has lost and shares his deep desire to protect the few true friends and family he has left. Yet his two best friends, Ron and Hermione, let him know they won’t leave him to fight on his own. They are in this quest, so to speak, together. It is together that they make an incredible trio. With each clue or new discovery they are one step closer to the destruction of Lord Voldemort. As the prophesy states, ‘Neither one can survive while the other lives.’