Radha Patel

UCOL 1103-009 Fall 2015

Professor Ashlyn Walden
November 3, 2015

Background/ Introduction:
Harry Potter was born into the magical world. He came from a half-blood family; which means
that, in his case, Harrys father, James Potter, came from a pure magic family and Harrys mother,
Lily Potter, came from a non-magic (muggle) family. Being a half-blood is looked down upon by

Commented [RP1]: Overall I think that you did a great job

with your paper. I just think that you need to specify a bit
more on the main idea or ideas that you are trying to bring
out. Just use more detail and I think that will do the trick.
(Valentina Sosa)
Commented [RP2]: Which magic world? I think you could
elaborate more on this. It will help the reader understand
more about the world that Harry lives in. (Valentina Sosa)

certain, snobbish, people in the magic world. Those that believe that are, essentially, the followers
of Voldemort, or Tom Marvolo Riddle. Voldemort is, basically, the evil mastermind in this story,
he is the main villain. He was orphan that was realized to have magical powers and when
Dumbledore, the head master of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry discovered that fact,
he enrolled Voldemort, who at the time was not evil, into the school. He was a very bright and
curious student at Hogwarts, but as time passed and he aged, he started to experiment with things

Commented [RP3]: You indeed gave readers an attention

grabber by introducing the fact that he was born into this
"magical" realm. This indeed incites curiosity from the
reader as they want to find out more about Harry Potter's
background story and his battle against Voldemort. For
those who know nothing about the story, they could get a
good look into what Harry Potter has to face throughout his
journey at Hogwarts because of your brief introductory.
(Veronica Garcia)

that was illegal and forbidden. He began to study the art of living forever; what that entails is that
he would have to, essentially, leave behind pieces of his soul into different objects or beings which
are called Horcrouxs. He left behind seven different Horcurxs that he made.
But what was it about Harry Potter that Voldemort needed? Why was Voldemort so desperate to
find Harry? Well When discovered through his own prophecy (yes, every wizard has their own
crystal ball that holds their prophecy) that Voldemort would die at the hands of Harry Potter,
Voldemort sought out Harry. Voldemort went to Harrys house one night in an attempt to kill him.
But, as it happens to be, Harrys parents were some of the brightest people in the magical world.
Just as Voldemort came to kill Harry, Lily had cast herself between Voldemort and Harry, causing
the spell to rebound on Voldemort and kill him. But in that instant, since that for Voldemort was
human, and he himself was a Horcroux, his soul needed something to latch on to and the closest
thing that it could find was Harry.

Commented [RP4]: I think that it would better for you to

which up how the "he" in every sentence. It can make it a
little confusing when you keep saying he, he, he and it can
make the reader lose who you are talking about. So I
suggest you put the characters name when youre talking
about him in various sentences. (Valentina Sosa)
Commented [RP5]: I think that you should incorporate
this into your actual work and not in parenthesis. It will add
more of your personal knowledge to your paper and make it
sounds more professional. (Valentina Sosa)

Radha Patel
UCOL 1103-009 Fall 2015
Professor Ashlyn Walden
November 3, 2015

Ever since I was introduced to the magical world that Harry Potter lived, learned, and laughed in
as a child, I knew that I would never tire of the adventure and thrill that came from these stories.
Harry Potter is a most beloved and fascinating character that had come to life through the eyes of
his author, J.K. Rowling and the eyes of her readers (like me!). Harry was a character that was,
more or less, fairly relatable to every age group. It teaches how to live in the moment, since we are
not able to foresee our future. It taught us about the idea and the power of LOVE (yes, love). It,
also, taught us the dynamics of a friendship: of its life-long journey and loyalty. In my take on this
series, I will be discussing the literal and emotional journey of Harry Potter as a child to an adult
at Hogwarts. When Harry began Hogwarts, he was like a vulnerable young kid oblivious to
everything that he had come from. In this paper, I will be discussing the physical and mental
journey of Harry Potter through his time at Hogwarts while impressing the use of prophecy in this
series and real life.
Literature Review:
Harry, along with his greatest enemy: Voldemort, are two of the most important characters
that can be used to show the significance and the power suggestion and influence, whether it may
be at a young age or not. By analyzing Book of Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics and A Story
of the Exceptional: Fate and Free Will in the Harry Potter Series, I was able to see that the influence that
the world had around Harry and Voldemort changed their complete outlook of the world. Voldemort
became this egotistical and oppressive evil while Harry became oblivious to it and did what he wanted.
Also, in Salman Rushdies The Satanic Verses we learned about the full impact of the power of suggestion
that shows how even the slightest influence can both shape and change a person.

Commented [RP6]: The interjections "(Like me!)" "LOVE

(Yes, Love) are interesting and potentially attention
grabbing ways of writing. They could be adding a lot to your
paper. They could also be affecting your "Professional
writing voice/tone" and taking away from it. A suggestion
for fixing this to help would be to maybe move these to an
earlier place in your introduction, to create more of an
attention grab, or to adjust them slightly to keep a
professional voice/ tone. (Amalia Striker)
Commented [RP7]: I understand that you are connecting
this sentence back to Harry's journey as a child but what is
he like now as an adult? Also the placement of this sentence
doesn't follow through especially with the sentence
following it. I would maybe suggest maybe going forth and
making the claim on HOW he has made his transition into
an adult and what characteristics he has now that
distinguishes from his young "oblivious" self.(Veronica
Garcia)
Commented [RP8]: You did a job at connecting your
sources based on the themes. But I thought the overall
summaries of the sources themselves were too brief. I
know, we had a limit on the number of sentences we could
write. But I suggest just adding in a couple of sentences that
would better explain what the authors of your sources were
trying to convey. That way, we can get better clarity on how
they connect back to the story. (Veronica Garcia)
Commented [RP9]: These two sentences feel like they
have a missing element to make them really make sense
and get the point across. When we discussed it your
explanation was excellent and really made sense. Explaining
that they have prophecies in this area and that it is the
prophecies that really affected Harry and Voldemort could
really clear this small area of confusion up for people with a
lesser understanding of the Harry Potter universe. (Amalia
Striker)
Commented [RP10]: I like how you provided an example
for the theme of your sources. It was not only this source,
but the other ones as well. It was a good way of connecting
the themes of your sources back to the storyline and the
characters themselves. (Veronica Garcia)

Radha Patel
UCOL 1103-009 Fall 2015
Professor Ashlyn Walden
November 3, 2015

In Nikolaus Windingers Sacrifice in the Harry Potter Series from a Girardian

Perspective, we learned of the ways and ideals of sacrificing. There were two ways to sacrifice:
scapegoating and self-offering. We can see both of these forms of sacrifices throughout the Harry
Potter series, from the moment that Lily gave her life to save Harry.
In Sara Ann Beachs The Power of Harry and Joseph A. Talamos Harry Potter and the Haunted
Prophet we got the true effects of venturing and learning and prophecies, as we did in other sources. Beach
and Talamo used the significance of the friendship between Harry, Hermione, and Ron to show the
importance of always progressing.
In my Assignment One Observations that I made, I was able to see that the idea that Harry was
adopted had shaped him up in a way that we cannot even fathom. In Lemn Sissays Ted talk, he spoke of
how he was shipped between foster houses and adoption agencies throughout his adolescence and teenage
years. Though both Harry and Lemn were tossed around throughout most of their adolescence, they did not
hide from it. But, however, they simply learned from it.

Entering the Conversation:

At any age, the idea of knowing that everyone is in this world for a reason can be mind
boggling. At the age of eleven, Harry just knew that his parents died when he was young and that
he was an ordinary child that had absolutely no idea about the world that he had really come from.
Though he was intentionally uninformed about his reality, he always knew that there was some
aspect of himself that he knew he did not know about since there were things that he was able to
do that he knew others couldnt. He always knew that he could do things, in the heat of moments,
the others could not even fathom. But when he learned about his reality, his parents, and his life
up to the moment, he knew that he held an important role in the magic world. He, eventually, did
end up discovering that he held a certain prophecy that was considered a threat to a single person

Commented [RP11]: When we received instruction for

the Literature Review section, and the annotated
bibliography, Ashlyn made the comment a couple times
about trying to vary the beginnings of your annotations
(which eventually become the Literature review) in the
same way, as it makes repetition and can harm your flow of
writing and sentence structure. The "Ins are an easily
noticeable repetition that makes these paragraphs seem
less cohesive. (Amalia Striker)
Commented [RP12]: It feel like the central argument, or
at least it being stated, is missing. This section is full of
wonderful arguments and connections for a subject that has
to do with Harry and orphans/ foster kids, but it really feels
like the central theme/argument is not stated in this
section. It makes this feel like its missing a big chunk that
will make it feel whole. When you explained to me this
connection it really made the whole section click together,
and make sense. (Amalia Striker)
Commented [RP13]: I really like your word choices in
many of your sentences like this one. It makes your paper
sounds more professional which is always good! Try to
incorporate these kinds of words more throughout your
paper. (Valentina Sosa)

Radha Patel
UCOL 1103-009 Fall 2015
Professor Ashlyn Walden
November 3, 2015

that he would come to know as an enemy, and that he would annihilate: Tom Marvolo Riddle also
known as Voldemort. But that is it; it was a singular prophecy that led to the inevitable duel
between Harry Potter and Voldemort (Talamo, Joseph A.). Not just now, but for a very long time,
our world runs on psychological, or cognitive, suggestions. No matter where you go, to a wedding,
an interview, a school, prayer edifice, or even just watching TV, you will always be told or shown
something along the lines of what your role in this world is (Beach, Sara Ann). Everyone is
believed to have a set prophecy created for them by their respective deities.
Harry, in this case, had a very similar set up. Harry, when he was born, had a prophecy that
was formed that was made just for him that was able to show every aspect of Harrys life, including
his past, present, and future. According to Julia Ponds A Story of the Exceptional: Fate and Free Will
in the Harry Potter Series, philosophy finds an appropriate balance between fate and free will,

echoed throughout the series which takes us through the thought processes that Harry conducts
when making his life altering decisions to take down Voldemort by finding all of the Horcruxs.
One reason why the book is so contested is that people who saw its prophecies against the
Roman Empire, suggesting that the empire was going to be destroyed by God realized that those
prophecies had failed; (Book of Revelations) we see the same sort of transfiguration in Harry
Potter. As we progressed from the first to the last book, and the movies, we saw, particularly, in
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that Dumbledore told Snape that Harry must die at the
proper moment since that was what Harry was prophesied to become. The Roman Empire in this
case would be Voldemort, and God being Harry (we can presume since we know how their fight
unravels). Even though Harry was prophesied to be killed by Voldemort himself, the actions that
took place did not unfold the way that they were foreseen to be.

Radha Patel
UCOL 1103-009 Fall 2015
Professor Ashlyn Walden
November 3, 2015

Having a predestinated prophecy did not phase Harry in any way. He made so many
decisions that included only him getting hurt instead of all of his friends and professors that he had
come to know over his time at Hogwarts. Though we may not realize, there are many ways in
which we can all relate with Harry. We all have sacrificed something, if not nothing, in life to be
where we are now. Sacrifice in terms of making hard decisions, not death. In Nikolaus Windingers
Sacrifice in the Harry Potter Series from a Girardian Perspective, he discusses the two types of
sacrifices. One being a form of scapegoating, which does not relate to Harry. And the other being
self-offering which we see a lot in this series. While in the early stages of infantile when
Voldemort came to kill him, Harrys mother Lily had cast herself between the two and sacrificed
herself in order to ensure that Harry stayed unharmed. It was Lily Potters motherly love that
kept Harry from being killed. Later on in his life after Dumbledore, Harrys greatest mentor, was
killed Harry went on a quest to seek out every Horcroux that he needed in order to kill Voldemort.
He even attempted to go on this expedition by himself to ensure that no one else that he cared for
did not die because of something that only dealt with him and one other person.
Salman Rushdie said clearly such metamorphoses are symbolic of the power of
suggestion, and in particular of the way racial prejudice works like a self-fulfilling prophecy. This
is true to a certain point, because it was not racial prejudice that led Harry to do what he when he
did it. It was the fact that it was Voldemort that killed his parents. Harry was driven to not die. It
wasnt revenge, so much as annihilation of evil, that he wanted, but he wanted to rid the world that
he knew of the one person that ruined the most important things in his life: his parents and his new
found uncle: Sirius Black.

Commented [RP14]: I think it would help readers if you

actually explained/summarize this quote. Instead of just
saying that it is true to an extent and then connecting back
to the story. And try to refrain from using straight
quotations as it takes away opportunities for you to include
your own words. (Veronica Garcia)

Radha Patel
UCOL 1103-009 Fall 2015
Professor Ashlyn Walden
November 3, 2015

Throughout his progress from his first year at Hogwarts to his last, Harry had always
grown somehow. From my assignment one observations, I was able to see the changes that took
place, both mentally and physically, in Harrys life. Harry began Hogwarts as an obliviously
famous child the survived the world most deathly (pun intended) curse. Harry went from a deprived
child to someone who could offer his appreciation and company to anyone the wanted to be around
him. He became someone stronger mentally, less so physically. He began to learn about new
things. He discovered things and people that he loved and that loved him back. He is one of the
most important role models for everyone around the world.
Lemn Sissay was tossed back and forth between orphanages and adoption agencies for
almost eighteen years in his life. But even to this day, he was not ashamed of where he came from.
He was, I wouldnt say proud, but he sort of compared his early life to that of many classic
characters like Harry Potter. He was discussing how he could not comprehend why there are
so many parentless children [who] feel compelled to hide their past. He said that they should not
feel that way. There are so many examples of class literary pieces that describe the struggles and
triumphs that orphaned and/or adopted kids like Harry Potter, Oliver Twist, Cinderella, Jane Eyre,
and others who have done great things while they lived. Harry was, I believe, never personally
angry with his uncle, aunt, and cousin because he knew that it was not in their nature to be nurturing
and caring.
Conclusion/ So-what?:
It can be a limiting factor when there is a set story of your life and no space to either
improve upon, or explore different things that can be altered. That is basically what happened to
Harry most of his adolescence time. His aunt, and uncle never let him find out about where he

Commented [RP15]: This is an amazing argument and I

adore your word choice here. It leaves room in the wording
to connect this back to Harry, or to connect it back to
oneself. When you make revisions to this paper, this is a
sentence that would really be a considerable piece to keep.
There is a lot of power in the statement, (Amalia Striker)

Radha Patel
UCOL 1103-009 Fall 2015
Professor Ashlyn Walden
November 3, 2015

came from. The world that took his parents from him and the place that he could really be himself.
I believe that something that the articles that I have presented did not focus on was Harrys actual
journey and progression throughout his time at Hogwarts and beyond. We saw that Harry came
into Hogwarts as a fickle boy, oblivious to the word that he was quickly beginning to learn about.
The articles that I have presented spoke merely of how Harry shaped up; they spoke mostly of his
enemy and the prophecy that he was living and fighting with. The reason why it is important to
show Harrys journey, both mentally and physically, is because it shows relatability between Harry
and the people who read the stories. Harrys journey has been a very inspirational one. He has
shown how to rise up when no one else could and succeeded. Having relatability between
characters and readers gives people a sense of hope and pride to be able to change the way he had.
There may have been studies upon this topic very long ago. But why is that? Is it that people are
starting to realize that the books that they may read now have characters that are not relatable and
use that knowledge to compare to Harry Potter going in? I think that knowing the triumphs as well
as downfalls throughout Harrys life show us how life is hard. It is not always good and not always
bad, but to have the two at an equilibrium is a very hard task to achieve.

Radha Patel
UCOL 1103-009 Fall 2015
Professor Ashlyn Walden
November 3, 2015

Works Cited
Beach, Sara Ann. The Power of Harry. ProQuest. Accessed October 19, 2015.
Book of Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics. (2012). Accessed October 19, 2015.
Patel, Radha N. Assignment One: Harry Potter Observations. Accessed October 19, 2015.
Pond, Julia. A Story of the Exceptional: Fate and Free Will in the Harry Potter Series. Vol. 38
(2010):181-209
Rushdie, Salman. The Satanic Verses. (2008): 92-93 Accessed October 19, 2015.
Sissay, Lemn. A child of the state. (June 2012) Accessed October 27, 2015.
Talamo, Joseph A. Harry Potter and the Haunted Prophet. Vol.52, Iss. 3, (2009). Accessed October 19,
2015.
Wandinger, Nikolaus. Sacrifice in the Harry Potter Series from a Girardian Perspective. Vol 17

(2010):28-51