The Harry Potter series has been with me since I was ten years old and I have grown up with these characters ever since. A set of books about a boy who lived through death and overcome everything with the help of his friends and family. In the wizarding world we learn that love and friendship is strong enough to fight off evil. Not to mention that being courageous is the fight within. Although the series presents with dark themes about death and discrimination, we also learn about the true meaning of friendship, love and courage. Therefore, I will be creating a graphic art piece on 11 x 17 about Harry, Ron and Hermoine and other important elements that have made an impact to the story and ourselves.
My main goal for this piece is to make sure I convey the importance of friendship, family, and courage. I will be including the main characters Harry, Ron, and Hermoine as the center of the piece. They are the glue to this series and the main attraction. Their friendship plays a huge role on how the series plays out. The backdrop will be the castle of Hogwarts where the series mainly takes place. Hogwarts is the foundation for these characters, it’s not just an institution its home for many wizards. They are also many objects throughout the series that have had a significant impact. I will be placing these objects on my piece. The placement of these objects will not be random, but there will be a point as to why it belongs there. Although there will be sketches involved in the making of this piece, everything will be done through my laptop. I am a senior here at CSUDH and will soon be graduating with a degree in art and design. Next semester I will be taking Portfolio, a class where we gather all of our works that we have done in the past three years and finalize and clean up our works. A portfolio is a book that features our work for clients and future employers. I wanted to include an illustration piece for my portfolio to show range in my abilities. The applications I will be using to create this piece are Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. The type of illustration I will be doing is called flat illustration. This means that the work will be flat and you will not be able to see any 3D dimensions. You create dimensions on a flat illustration by adding layers of colors or textures. This type of work is trendy right now and captures the attention of younger adults.
Friendship is a major theme in the Harry Potter series. We are able to read on why is it important to have friends in this world and what does it teach us. Harry soon realized at a young age that having the support of his friends is more valuable and helpful in defeating evil in the wizarding world. As the storyline gets darker and the situations become dangerous, we learn that Harry, Ron, and Hermoine are they when needed the most. Harry at a young age dealt with a family that never gave him love or support. They treated him horribly and made him feel like a freak because he had magical abilities. He was never able to feel like himself in the muggle world. When Harry arrived at Hogwarts, he learned how different his new world is compared to the one at home. He made real friends that loved him and supported him when no one ever did at the Dursleys. Friendship is a complicated thing here in the series especially during these characters adolescent years. There are many contributing factors that can be a dent in friendships. J.K Rowling taught us that friends are important to have, but they cannot fight our own battles. Harry realizes that his friends are not going to be able to fight every single one of his battles, it would not be fair. Especially when these battles are of his own. Although Harry takes extreme measures, Ron and Hermoine prove to Harry that he still able to fight his battle with their help when needed. There is a line that these three characters learn in the series. When help is needed and when do they back off. We see this during “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” when Harry battles Voldermort by himself.
The ability to do something that frightens you is a trait that proves to be important in the series. Courage is not something that can be easily found or discovered. It comes from within, no amount of money or persuasion can teach you how to be courageous. Many characters in the Harry Potter series teach us that courage is a choice. When we think about courage in the series, we think about Harry’s constant battle with Voldemort or the time when Harry, Ron, and Hermoine defeated a troll in their first year. However, I believe that J.K Rowling envisioned her readers to look past everything we would think is courageous and pay attention to the small but important choices her characters make. Being courageous means “not caring what anyone thinks of you.” Luna Lovegood is the perfect example of someone who chooses to be herself everyday and not care what anyone thinks of her. She is someone that is unique and witty and often aloof, but she doesn’t care if anyone judges her for it. Ron is courageous because he makes a choice to “face his fears and insecurities” to help the people that matter most to him. When he takes it upon himself to defeat a horcrux or tell Hermoine that he loves her is an act of courage. Ron has spent his whole life feeling insecure and not confident in his abilities because he is a Weasly. So for Ron to face the little voices in head that tell him can’t and believe that he can is courageous. Hermoine is a Mudblood through the eyes of the Ministry and wizarding world. She is constantly told that she is a “filthy mudblood” in the “Chamber of Secrets” who does not deserve to have magical abilities. (p.112) However, Hermoine chooses to not let people tell her what she can’t do because she believes in her abilities and is confident for it. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Hermoine stated “Mudblood, and proud of it!” Harry Potter is probably one of the most courageous characters in the series. From the minute he was born to the finale of “Deathly Hallows.” Harry dealt was constant battles of evil in all seven books from Professor Quirell, to a basilk, Tom Riddle’s diary, a werewolf, dementors, death, and Voldemort himself. There is nothing Harry has not encountered in his years at Hogwarts. In contrast, I believe that Harry’s courage does not come from the battles he faced in life, but the choices he’s made in response. Harry learned that although it is difficult, doing the right thing is always better like, saving Draco in the “Deathly Hallows.” Choosing the “right path in the end” no matter the outcome, even if its harder to do. Above all, the moment Harry “accepted his fate” in the “Deathly Hallows” was his most courageous act in the entire series. Accepting death is the hardest thing anyone can do, and Harry did it to save the people he loved. Nevertheless, I truly believe that someone else was far more, if not, the most courageous in the series. That character is Neville Longbottom, a true Gryffindor that beat the odds against everyone when we believed he couldn’t. Neville was a character who seemed like he could never get it right at Hogwarts. He constantly faced scrutiny from his peers and was laughed at all the time because he was never good enough to be a wizard. Against all odds, he never gave up on himself. He proved to himself that he had what it takes to be a great wizard. In the end, Neville knew that it “would take a great deal of bravery to face his enemies.” Thus, making him the most courageous character in all of the Harry Potter series. Overall, the one thing I have learned from reading these books, that it takes more than just a battle of evil to be courageous.
Works Cited
Rullo, Sam. “21 Times ‘Harry Potter’ Taught Us What True Courage Is.” 21 Times ‘Harry Potter’ Taught Us What True Courage Is, Bustle, 2 Mar. 2014, https://www.bustle.com/articles/23149-21-times-harry-potter-taught-us-what-true-courage-is.
Sajid, Bilal. “What Harry Potter Can Teach You about Friendship – Openforwards: Birmingham Psychology & Counselling Service -.” Openforwards, 6 July 2016, https://www.openforwards.com/harry-potter-can-teach-friendship/.
LitCharts. “Love, Family, and Friendship Theme Analysis.” LitCharts, https://www.litcharts.com/lit/harry-potter-and-the-sorcerer-s-stone/themes/love-family-and-friendship.
Klar, Elizabeth, et al. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling: Teacher Guide. Novel Units, 2001.
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows. Bloomsbury, 2018.