Narrative, Genre, and Script in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by Rowling - Book Report/Review Example

Narrative, Genre and Script Introduction Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth instalment in the Harry Potter series of books and films. The book(s) are crafted and written by J.K Rowling. The books tell us the life of Harry Potter, whose parents were killed when he was young, and his battle with Lord Voldemort (Victoria, 2011, p34). The latter leads a group of wizards, known as the death eaters, who want to establish a new order in the wizarding world and presumably the whole world. As a part of the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, precedes the Prisoner of Azkaban and is followed by the Order of the Phoenix. In the Goblet of fire, the audience follows the life of Harry Potter in his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Janice, 2013, p67). The book concentrates on the efforts the death eaters; lead by He Who shall not Be Named, to kill Harry during the Triwizard tournament. The books, with those that precede and follow it, all belong to the genre that is speculative fiction. Speculative fiction encompasses all forms of fantastical fiction in literature and arts. The books together with the films target the youth especially children (Victoria, 2011, p38). This is because the characters in the books are all children who later grow up to become adults. Throughout these series, the author narrates the challenges that Harry Potter encounters while growing up to become a wizard (Heilman, 2008, 21). The stories of his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, are also intertwined with his. This book is halfway in the series and is key in the development of Harry Potter as the main character in the story. The book shows us the first glimpse of Harry as a growing adult who now has responsibilities (Janice, 2013, 73). In film, the characters that play Harry, Ron and Hermione have all grown up since the first instalment of this series. This essay will try to summarize and at the same time criticize this book, which is over seven hundred pages, to try to see if it fulfils the expectation of its alleged genre. Main Body Harry Potter, in all essence, is an unlikely hero. This is because of his stature, he has a skinny frame and wears spectacles, together with the fact that he learned about the wizarding world quite late in his life (Heilman, 2008, p93). Furthermore, Harry’s relatives do not appreciate him and often undervalue his prowess as a wizard. The Dursleys, his only surviving family members, mistreat Harry and they are wary of his abilities. The odds stacked against Harry are insurmountable from the beginning of the series, H.P and the Philosopher’s Stone, but he succeeds fairly well throughout his life at Hogwarts (Anatol, 2003, p57). With the assistance of his friends, he is able to defeat and kill creatures that pose threat to his existence. The Harry Potter universe, as it is referred to by its fandom, coexists in our world. People who do not practice magic are referred to as Muggles and are oblivious of the magical world. J.K Rowling in all her books blurs the distinction of realness and fantasy, because even if wizards existed none of us would know (Victoria, 2011, p47). This series is successful because it offers everyone something to enjoy. The Harry Potter universe is comprised of monsters, creatures, sports, magic among other things (Heilman, 2008, p105). The mature audience enjoy the series because it greatly resembles detective fiction and majority are stuck figuring out the allegiances of the powerful wizards in the tale. The young audience, on the other hand, relates to the concept of Hogwarts and learning and sympathise with Harry (Janice, 2013, p89). The Hogwarts environment is akin to any other school in the universe. The language in the book is suitable for the youthful audience and the overall theme of the book is the growth of Harry, which makes it a coming-of-age-novel (Anatol, 2003, p34). Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, expounds on the Magical World as it introduces us to other wizards from other countries. In this book, we are introduced to international competitions such as the Triwizard competition and the Quidditch World Cup. Harry’s struggle with Voldemort is still rife despite being dimmed in the book’s precedents (Anatol, 2003, p70). Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire start with the mysterious murder of the Riddle family. Frank Bryce, the family’s grounds man, is suspected to have perpetrated the murder. He is later declared innocent. In the book, Bryce is an old man and still tends to the Riddle’s home (Rowling, 2000, p48). One night, after seeing a light in the Riddle’s home, he wakes up to check on the house. He overhears two men, Voldemort and Wormtail, conspiring to kill a boy named Harry Potter. Lord Voldemort discovers Bryce eavesdropping and kills him. Simultaneously, Harry wakes up after his scar starts seething with pain. Afterwards, he wakes up and starts writing to his godfather, Sirius, about the pain and his suspicions about Voldemort (Rowling, 2000, p121). The following day, Uncle Vernon receives a letter from the Weasley family requesting Harry to attend the Quidditch world cup. Uncle Vernon agrees and the Weasley’s picks up the following day Harry. The group travels with a Portkey, a magical device that uses trash for teleportation. They arrive at the campgrounds and start pitching their tents. We are introduced to Ludo Bagman and Mr. Crouch and his assistant Percy (Rowling, 2000, p59). The latter two mysteriously hint on the upcoming event in Hogwarts. Harry, Ron and Hermione buy souvenirs and return to their seats and the Top Box. They encounter Winky, Crouch’s servant house-elf, who is saving a seat for Mr. Crouch. The world cup is won by Ireland despite Bulgaria’s seeker finding the snitch. After this spectacle, Death Eaters start torturing and humiliating Muggles. The trio: Harry, Ron and Weasley, escape this ordeal by running into the forest. While there, Harry discovers that his wand is lost (Rowling, 2000, p89). Moments later, the Dark Mark hangs over the camping grounds of the world cup. The Dark Mark is the sign of Lord Voldemort and it is ominous in signifying the return of the Dark Lord. Harry’s wand is later found with Winky. This mark causes mayhem at the Ministry of Magic as they try to contain the situation and avoid public panic (Rowling, 2000, p93). After this incident, the trio prepares to head back to Hogwarts for their fourth year of study. Ron complains about the robes he is given by his mother for the year. Amos Diggory, Cedric’s father, tells Mr. Weasley about the killing of an intruder by Mad-eye Moody (Rowling, 2000, p23). Shortly after, Mr. Weasley goes to the ministry to sort things out. Afterwards, the trio goes to Hogwarts where they are welcomed, with the rest of the students, by Dumbledore. Dumbledore, Hogwarts headmaster, addresses the school about the Triwizard competition and the introduction of a new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher, Mr. Moody. Mr. Moody teaches Harry and his class about the three unforgivable curses, Imperius, Cruciatus and Avada Kevadra (Rowling, 2000, p50). Hermione founds a free house-elves club and creates badges for the same. As school progresses, the Triwizard competition begins. This is signified by the arrival of the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Ron is awed by the arrival of Victor Krum, a Durmstrang student and the star of the Quidditch world cup. On Halloween night, the goblet of fire spits the names of the students to participate in the tournament. Each school is expected to produce a champion to compete (Rowling, 2000, p38). Durmstrang produces Viktor Krum, Beauxbatons produces Fleur Delacour while Hogwarts produces Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter. Chaos in the school ensues, as Harry does not qualify to partake in the tournament. First, he is too young and second the rules state that Hogwarts should produce one, and not two, champion. The goblet’s decision to allow Potter to compete is regarded as final and he is allowed to compete. Ron becomes envious of Harry and refuses to speak to Harry for a while (Rowling 2000). Due to his infamous nature at the school, everyone believes that Harry placed his name in the goblet. The tournament involves three tasks that tests the champions mettle, wits, and marks are awarded according to how one fairs in each task. The first task is ominously announced through a riddle and the champions are given time to decipher the riddle and prepare for the task. A reporter, Rita Skeeter, who interviews him and writes an exaggerated record of events regarding Harry’s tragic past (Rowling, 2000, p92), approaches Harry. This greatly embarrasses Harry and he starts being teased in school. Afterwards, during one of his night strolls with Hagrid he discovers what the first task is: dragons. He rushes back to the Gryffindor’s common room where Sirius’s head appears (Rowling, 2000, p92). Sirius warns Harry about Karkaroff, a former death eater, who is the headmaster at Durmstrang. The first task involved fighting dragons and retrieving a golden egg and Harry tells Cedric about the first task. Harry wins the first task using his Quidditch skills. Afterwards, Ron and Harry resume their friendship (Rowling, 2000, p96). The second task involves the saving of the champion’s most loved friends from the underwater Mer people. Harry goes above and beyond to save Delacour’s sister after she fails to do so. Harry, however, is not awarded the highest marks for his bravery. The third task involves the retrieval of the trophy that determines the winner of the whole tournament (Dr Katrin, 2013, p23). Cedric and Harry arrive at the trophy, through a maze, and grab the trophy at the same time. The trophy turns out to be a Portkey, which teleports them to a cemetery where they are greeted by Lord Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew. Pettigrew later kills Cedric and drains blood from Harry and uses it to restore the physical body of Voldemort (Fenske, 2008, p59). Later, Voldemort summons his followers and tries to kill Harry. Luckily, Harry escapes and carries Cedric with him (Rowling, 2000, p34). He uses the trophy to teleport back to Hogwarts. Upon returning, he finds that Mad-Eye Moody was actually an impostor; Barty Crouch Jr. had impersonated the auror. Barty was the one responsible for putting Harry’s name in the goblet (Rowling, 2000, p87). Later, a dementor devours his soul as punishment for his actions. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, refutes the return of Lord Voldemort. The book ending is on a dark note, the full return of Lord Voldemort is an omen of the dark things in store for them in the future. J. K Rowling writes Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire with the sole intention of developing Harry as an adult and the magic world. The detailed level of description of the book is similar to that of a masterful painting (Heilman, 2008, p83). The book introduces us to the larger magical world, which the reader was oblivious of in the first three books. The reader knows the existence of several schools in the form of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, which teach; magic (Dr Katrin, 2013, p67). In this book, Harry is experiencing full adolescence with all its accompanying struggles. His emotions are all over the place together with uneasiness around girls (Fenske, 2008, p59). He also has a continued urge to prove himself among his peers and his thoughts on the world around him expand. During the Quidditch world cup, Harry’s world is expanded beyond its former self, which comprised of Privet drive and Hogwarts (Heilman, 2008, p154). He sees how different cultures practice wizardry. During the brandishing of the Dark Mark, Harry discovers the fear and panic associated with Lord Voldemort and his death eaters. During the whole book, the reader rarely interacts with the villain. Lord Voldemort is introduced at the end of the book where he duels with Harry and fails to kill his arch-nemesis. Voldemort in the Harry Potter series is a villain who is akin to the devil in the human world (Fenske, 2008, p58). He propagates fear and has a following that is vast and loyal. Furthermore, Voldemort is the antithesis of all the good that magic promises the world. His use of the Avada Kevadra curse is in direct violation of the wizarding rules as the curse is among those regarded as unforgivable. Another developing theme in the book is that of enslavement. House elfs, a magical race who are basically more powerful than wizards, are enslaved by wizards (Ruthann, 2006, p69). Hermione disapproves this practice and she forms an organization known as SPEW (Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare) that seeks to fight for the rights of the elves (Ruthann, 2006, p127). Throughout the book, Hermione fights to free elves from their masters, however, she is not successful with Winky. This enslavement mirrors that of the death eaters to Lord Voldemort who uses fear and unforgivable curses to elicit loyalty. Albus Dumbledore leads the war against this form of enslavement (Ruthann, 2006, p49). This book portrays the effects of enslavement, in the form of blind loyalty by Winky, and protests against the same despite the scale. Bibliography Anatol Giselle Liza. 2003. Reading Harry Potter: Critical Essays. Greenwood Publishing Group Dr Katrin Berndt, Dr Lena Steveker.2013. Heroism in the Harry Potter. Ashgate Publishing Ltd Fenske Claudia. 2008. Muggles, Monsters and Magicians: A Literary Analysis of the Harry Potter Series. Peter Lang Heilman Elizabeth E. 2008. Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter. Routledge Janice, Bland. 2013. Childrens Literature and Learner Empowerment: Children and Teenagers in English Language Education. A&C Black Rowling J. K. 2000. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Bloomsbury Ruthann, Mayes-Elma. 2006. Females and Harry Potter: Not All that Empowering. Rowman & Littlefield Victoria, Peterson-Hilleque. 2011. How to Analyze the Works of J. K. Rowling. ABDO Read More