R/Hr vs H/Hr Essay - Free Essay Example

I have been of the firm belief that Ron and Hermione are going to be a romantic couple in the Harry Potter series, and Harry and Hermione are most decidedly NOT going to be a romantic couple. Though I could wax on about how likely they are because of how they are compatible, the evidence in the books etc. I am going to instead use the words of someone I trust to know just who will end up with whom: The Author herself, JK Rowling. â€Å"I cant believe that some of you havent worked this one out yet. † When addressing the question ‘Does Hermione love Ron or Harry’ she replied, ‘I can’t believe that some of you haven’t worked this one out yet. This statement from our beloved JKR points out something. Know what it is? *stage whisper* it’s not exactly a secret†¦ It’s not some unfathomable mystery. It’s not something hard to figure out. It’s quite simple. She is baffled that it’s up for debate. That having bee n said, here are the quotes I find significant: Do Harry and Hermione have a date? No! Theyre, theyre very platonic friends. But I wont answer for anyone else, nudge, nudge, wink, wink. Because this quote was given to us on MPR radio on Nov. 20th 1999, many wish to believe that this ONLY refers to her (then) upcoming novel Goblet of Fire. GoF was published July 8th of 2000. ) Considering that she stated very clearly when she was referring to something that only applied to GOF in this interview, and the rest of the time was talking about the series as a whole (*1) there is no authentic reason to believe this quote only referred to GOF other than desperately wanting it to. (I have yet to see anyone cite any kind of actual evidence that this quote only referred to GoF other than the possibility that it could. ) (If anyone has evidence, please do post it. ) She also infers that there is someone else who WILL have a date with Hermione and WILL NOT BE ‘very platonic friends†™ with her. The phrase ‘nudge, nudge, wink, wink’ traditionally can be translated ‘ya know what I mean? ’ When someone says this, it means you already have the info, and should know that the person is hinting at something specifically. In this case the ‘nudge, nudge, wink, wink’ implies that we should already know who that other person is. The thing is, as this is before GOF came out she couldn’t be hinting at Krum, as we hadn’t been introduced to him yet. Who was that ‘nudge, nudge’ referring to? Who was that ‘anyone else’ she ‘[wouldn’t] answer for? ’ Well, who else is Hermione friends with? Let’s see†¦ She seems to talk with Neville occasionally. And Hagrid†¦ She’s talked to Ginny†¦ OH! WAIT A MOMENT! RON! Yes†¦ yes, she does happen to be very good friends with Ron Weasley. Perhaps he is the ever elusive ‘anyone else’ that she wo n’t speak for. He’s the only person that it makes sense for her to be hinting at in such a way. That having been said, let us pretend for a moment that this quote only was referring to Goblet of Fire, just for the fun of it. If it did, that means that Hermione would be non-platonic friends with someone who was already established in the series. But wait! THAT never happened in GoF. She and Ron never dated in GOF. Also, if the quote only refers to GOF, then that also means that every bit of ‘romantic evidence’ there is to support H/Hr from that whole novel must be negated, as none of their actions are anything more than the platonic actions of a friend. The kiss she gave Harry was not romantic. It was platonic. When he found her to be attractive, it was not in a romantic way. It was in a platonic way. So, if you support H/Hr and believe that this quote only refers to GOF, then you can’t say anything between Hermione and Harry in that book was r omantic between the characters as they were platonic friends. *1(Only 2 out of 21 or so questions had to do specifically with GOF, And it was very clearly indicated when she was talking about GoF or not (as either the question would say ‘in the next book’ or she would say ‘in Goblet of Fire’) But then, there’s this quote: Q: Does Hermione like Ron as more than a friend? A: The answer to that is in Goblet of Fire! Well, that means that from Hermione’s actions in GOF we can tell whether she likes Ron as more than a friend or not. This also can tie into the ‘Does Hermione love Harry or Ron’ quote. According to JKR it is rather obvious. Also, Hermione either loves one or the other. If the answer to ‘does she likes Ron as more than a friend or not’ is in GOF, and we know for certain that in that book Hermione and Harry ‘[are] very platonic friends, but JKR ‘wont answer for anyone else, nudge, nudge, wink, wi nk,’ that means that someone in GOF is NOT a platonic friend. Someone who was already established in the series before GoF came out. That also means that someone who was already established in the series was to go on a date with Hermione. But wait! No one already established in the series had a date with Hermione. Does that mean the ‘platonic friends’ quote is NOT referring to only GoF!? That’s right, all signs point to yes. By using our skills of logic, it means that this quote couldn’t only refer to GoF. That means that for the whole series Harry and Hermione are nothing more than platonic friends. It also goes to mean that Ron and Hermione will be ‘more than friends’ and are not â€Å"very platonic friends. † Here’s another quote that ties into this: Q: Is it just me, or was something going on between Ron and Hermione during the last half of Goblet of Fire? A: Yes, somethings going on, but Ron doesnt realize it ye t. Typical boy. This means that Hermione DID realise that something was ‘going on’ between them. So if there is something ‘going on between them’ and Hermione recognises this, and the answer to ‘Does Hermione like Ron as more than a friend? ’ is in GoF, and also let us remember that Hermione says ‘Next time there’s a ball, ask me before someone else does, and not as a last resort! ’ what logical conclusion does this lead you to? Well, logically, it must lead you to conclude that yes, Hermione DOES like Ron as more than a friend in GoF as there is ‘something going on’ between them that is not platonic. quote: JKR: and he, yes, he does have certain adolescent, umm, rites of passage happen to him. Couric: And he’s snogging with Hermione? JKR: Hermione and Harry? Do you really think so? Couric: No, I’m kidding. JKR: Ron and Hermione, I would say, have theres more tension there And for those of you who would like to watch that snippet of the interview, you can go HERE When JKR states ‘Hermione and Harry? Do you really think so? ’ that is a rhetorical question. Couric answers this question anyways with ‘No, I’m kidding. ’ JKR never rights her when she says ‘No’, so by not correcting Couric, she is either lying by omission, or Couric answered the rhetorical question correctly. JKR then goes on to mention Ron and Hermione. Why the heck would she do that? We were talking about Harry and Hermione, then for some unknown reason she mentions Ron and Hermione right after they were talking about snogging. She says they have ‘more†¦ tension there. ’ More tension where? Oh right, more tension when it comes to ‘certain adolescent, umm, rites of passage’ and ‘snogging with Hermione. ’ So they have ‘more tension there. ’ Well here is the dictionary. com interpretation of the word ‘ tension’: 1. Mental, emotional, or nervous strain. 2. Barely controlled hostility or a strained relationship between people or groups. Some nice synonyms for tension are: anxiety, apprehension, concern, disquiet, edginess, jitters, jumps, nerves, nervousness, pressure, restlessness, shakes, strain, suspense, unease, uneasiness, worriment, worry. Again, WHY oh WHY did JKR mention RON when the question was about Harry and Hermione? If there were to be some ‘snogging with Hermione’ in the future, then she could have said something to the extent of ‘you’ll see’ as she usually does when we’re on the right track with question. Also, to compare this quote with another one: Question: Is Harry Potter ever going to fall in love with Hermione or is he going to fall in love with Ginny Weasley? JK Rowling: In Book IV Harry does decide he likes a girl, but its not Hermione or Ginny. However, hes only 14, so theres plenty of time for him to chan ge his mind. 😉 She mentions a mystery girl (who is obviously Cho) and which book it is that he decides he likes her in. With the Couric interview quote up there, she went on to mention RON. They are similarly structured in that she was asked about certain people, but instead of saying yay or nay for the people in the question, she mentioned a character that the interviewer didn’t. Also, this parallels with the ‘Do Harry and Hermione have a date? No! Theyre, theyre very platonic friends. But I wont answer for anyone else, nudge, nudge, wink, wink. † Quote. She is very direct and gives an all out NO, but then says there is someone else who will date Hermione and won’t be platonic friends. The nudging and winking suggests that we already KNOW who it is, and as I said above, the only logical person would be Ron. Why should there be any tension between Hermione and Ron over snogging? Aren’t they just good friends who have no romantic interest in e achother? Perhaps the reason there is ‘tension’ there is because there ARE romantic vibes coming from them. So, if you want to make the ‘tension’ quote not stand in the way of H/Hr, you must assume that JKR was 1) lying by omission 2) misleading us by mentioning Ron and Hermione 3) misleading us by saying there was more ‘tension’ in the area of snogging between Ron and Hermione and 4) putting such an emphasis on SHIPPING that she had to resort to these fiendish tricks, because romance is one of THE most important things in the series. So, the conclusion we can reach is that either JKR purposefully misleads us in interviews only whenever she is talking about romance, OR we can reach the conclusion that JKR has no reason to mislead us, and was VERY straight forward in all her answers. small children: yaaaaaay!! Small child #1- But, Cambryn? Isn’t there another quote? -Why yes there is, small child #1. Thank you for reminding me. The ‘dreaded â€Å"everyone is in love with the wrong person,† quote. Here’s the quote: Harry is changing as hes getting older. He and his friends are 14 now and their hormones are kicking in, so its really fun to write about. Everyones in love with the wrong person, its brilliant. full transcript can be found HERE This quote, seems to me, to be a very odd one, as I don’t think that anyone was really ‘in love’ in GoF. Does anybody honestly think that Harry was ‘in love’ with Cho in GoF? LOVE is a word a bit too strong to use in this case. And unless Hermione and Krum are going to ‘get together’ in the future, the vague quote would apply to them. And Ron? Who was it he was lusting after so vehemently and constantly turning beat red and constantly trying to impress? It was Fleur. Some argue this negates R/Hr from happening in the future if you believe they were in love in GOF. The thing is, I DON’T believe Ron and Hermione were ‘in love’ in GoF. As JKR herself said ‘something’s going on, but Ron doesnt realize it yet. Typical boy. ’ If Ron can’t recognise his own feelings, does that mean he’s ‘in love? I am of the firm belief that she was referring to Harry/Cho, Hermione/Viktor, Ron/Fleur when she said ‘everyone’s in love with the wrong person,’ but think that LOVE was WAY too strong a word for that. Ron seems more taken with Fleur in an open romantic manner than anyone else in GoF, BUT is VERY jealous of Krum’s attention to Hermione (for some unfathomable reason, that is even a mystery to himself. ) Also, considering the context of this quote (not a Q A, but an article that simply quotes her) it’s hard to know what her answer was in response to. This quote, out of all of the ones I’ve given, seems to have the least amount of credence due to her using the word love to refer to feelings that don’t really constitute love, the article isn’t showing her response in context, and it is very vague by using the word ‘everyone’ along with ‘Harry and his friends are 14 now. ’ Does that mean that everyone who was fourteen and a friend of Harry’s was in love with the wrong person? To take it literally means that it applies to Neville, Parvati, Lavender, Dean, Seamus, Padma and any other 14 year old who is a friend of his in the book. I doubt she meant ALL of them. This was a throwaway comment that is very unclear as to whom it applies and which relationships constitute being ‘in love. ’ Conclussion: The quotes JKR has supplied us with are straight forward answers that clearly indicate R/Hr as a possibility, and do not indicate H/Hr as a possibility, unless JKR has lied in her previous interviews and feels H/Hr is so important that she must use R. Hr as a red herring, even in interviews.

A Grandmothers Wisdom The Power of Family in Persepolis - Literature Essay Samples

In the graphic memoir Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi discloses her experiences as a young girl growing up under the oppressive regime of the Iranian revolution. Throughout the novel, she faces moral dilemmas, suffers culture shock, and struggles to adapt to constantly changing societies, forcing her to turn to her family, as many do in times of chaos. The grandmother’s influential voice and guidance plays a pivotal role in shaping Marji into the women she becomes. Growing up under such dire circumstances pushes Marji to mature at a rate too rapid for most children and teenagers, but with the thoughtful aid of family, she is able to build a life of peace for herself, contrasting the violence and destruction she witnessed on a daily basis in Iran. In Satrapi’s, Persepolis, the grandmother embodies Marji’s cultural roots and values through her comforting support, memorable advice, and reminders regarding ancestral pride, demonstrating the significant role family plays in shaping identity. The grandmother represents hope in Marji’s life, emphasizing the way relatives provide a reliable support system, while simultaneously shaping character. As Marji is growing up, she dreams of becoming a prophet, because her â€Å"grandmother’s knees always ached,†(6) and she did not want to see her loved ones in pain. Instead of laughing at the seemingly absurd concept, the grandmother responds,â€Å"In that case, I’ll be your first disciple† (7), revealing the security Marji is lucky enough to find in her family. Marji can be stubborn at times, but also incredibly selfless as she strives to help those she cares for most- her family specifically. She complains about how her maid did not get to eat at the dinner table with her and how others were not privileged enough to drive a cadillac like her father, but her motivation to end the suffering of her grandmother proves just how much she cares for her relatives. The grandmother is an authority figure that Marji feels safe sharing ideas with, as a child and throughout her teenage years; however, it is also evident that Marji feels the need to repay her grandmother for all she has done, and becoming a prophet appears to be her way of doing this. The grandmother remains a steady role model throughout the memoir, while concurrently providing an abundance of warmth and safety. Before Marji leaves for Austria, her last moment with her grandmother seems to be one she cherishes and remembers, as she explains how, â€Å"When she undressed, you could see the flowers fall from her breasts† (150). Marji almost idolizes her grandmother, seeing through her age to the radiance that lies underneath. As Marji deals with puberty later in the novel, she struggles with femininity, so it would make sense that she would appreciate the steps her grandmother takes to feel feminine, from picking â€Å"jasmine flowers to put in her bra† (150) to soaking â€Å"them [her breasts] in a bowl o f ice water for ten minutes† (150). Family plays a fundamental part in guiding their children through their confusing, awkward teenage years, but because Marji moves away from her parents at such a young age, she is forced to soak up all the advice she can before departing. Breasts can be used to symbolize nurturing, growth, and transformation, as they are a necessity for babies who breastfeed, but after a certain age they are no longer an imperative resource. In an unconventional way, the grandmother’s breasts amplify the way Marji desperately relies on her grandmother as a child, but slowly becomes less dependent on family as she progresses through life. Although the grandmother vastly contributed to the foundation that allowed Marji to grow and develop away from home and ultimately shape her identity. As Marji’s journey to adulthood progresses, she transforms, learns, makes mistakes, and faces consequences for them, but the thoughtful words of her grandmother consistently hold her morally accountable for the decisions she makes. The grandmother gives Marji powerful advice before she leaves for Austria, whispering, â€Å"Always keep your dignity and be true to yourself (150). This notion obviously strikes a chord with Marji as it follows her throughout her Austrian experiences and pulls her back to her Persian roots when she begins to stray from them. The wisdom exerted on that night is referenced many times as Marji’s story progresses, acting as a moral compass. In order to find her place in Austrian society, Marji begins to avoid discussing heritage in order to distance herself from stereotypes; however, when she does this, she feels immense guilt. In Austria, she attends a school party in which a boy asks her where she is from and she introduces herself as French. Marji then comes to the realization that it is much easier to lie about being Iranian than to bear the burdens of telling the truth, though later that night she thinks to herself, â€Å"I remembered that line my grandmother told me† (195). In a new community surrounded by new people, Marji holds her grandmother’s words close to her heart, exposing the universally experienced impact family can have on growing minds. The grandmother’s single piece of advice evokes feelings of guilt in Marji that fortunately hinder her from betraying her background. While disregarding her heritage seems like the simplest solution, it was bound to have caused inevitable feelings of self-reproach if it had not been for the guidance of the grandmother. By the time Marji returns to Iran, she has become her own person, though the acceptance of her family remains a primary concern, grounding her in confusing situations. When Marji frames an innocent man in order to distract the guardians of the revolution from her controversial lipstick, she finds the situation comical. Though this humorous attitude is abruptly stripped when she explains it to her grandmother who responds, â€Å"It’s the blood of your grandpa and your uncle that runs in your veins! Shame on you!† (291). This is a turning point in Marji’s life, a situation in which she decides she never wants to feel the guilt of dishonoring her family again. She makes showing respect to her ancestors a top priority in order to gain her grandmother’s forgiveness, which is more easily attainable than Marji expected. The significance of family is depicted through the inevitable reconciliation between Marji and her grandmother, alongside Marji’s sudden u rge to better her character after the argument. When Marji becomes more independent in her decision making, her grandmother appears less and less. The guardian angel of the novel begins to fade as Marji gets married and continues on with her life. During her final departure from Iran (341), the grandmother does not start crying until the last panel, when everyone else is smiling. Marji had viewed her grandmother as a figure of strength and wisdom throughout her childhood and this vigor falters for the first time as the novel concludes. The tears of the grandmother reveal that Marji no longer needs the stabilizing factor of her family as much as she used to, because she is now an independent women with a future of her own. Marji then reflects on her grandmother and the pivotal role she has played, narrating, â€Å"I only saw her again once, during the Iranian New Year in March 1995. She died January 4, 1996†¦ freedom had a price† (341). To be free, Marji had to leave her family, causing her to be unable to say goodbye to her grandmother, but Marji does not seem to express severe sorrow, because she now has a firm grasp on life and is done learning from her elders. This is the final separation between Marji and the family that provided her foundation, expressing how the grandmother further represents the Satrapi past, family pride, and cultural values. For Iranians during the era Marji grew up in, poverty, death, and brutality was conventional, so civilians—especially children—had no choice but to turn to family when hopelessness began to take its toll. As a child in Iran, a teenager adapting to Austrian society, and a young women moving to Europe, family, especially the grandmother, reminds Marji to honor her heritage and be proud of her moral values. Society teaches the younger generations to conceal anything abnormal, creating insecurities for many, and leading those with distinct cultures, like Marji, to distance themselves from their roots. This not only leads to undiversified communities, but it can be tormenting for those whose values define them. Marji was fortunate enough to have the stable foundation of a close-knit family during the turmoil caused by the Iranian revolution, though without the wisdom, support, and hope put forth by the grandmother, Marji would not be the resilient, self-sufficient women she became.