Goblet of Fire: Notable Moment

I found it very interesting how different some things in the Goblet of Fire movie were compared to in the book. One of the main parts in the book that I think differed drastically from the movie was when Harry, Hermione, and the Weasley family went to the Quidditch World cup. In the book it was portrayed in way more detail of course because the movie could only put about two hours worth of the 734 page book. Because of this, I was able to get a way better picture of the famous tournament from the actual book. The magical atmosphere before the actual game was shown in greater depth along with the teams mascots performances. The movie also does not include the Weasleys getting to sit in the nice box seating therefore not introducing the character Winky.

I believe the difference between the movie and the book is something important to notice. Sometimes a sceene from the movie can poorly portray something from the book that you really enjoyed. My favorite part from the book, the Quidditch World Cup, was definitely not even close to my favorite scene in the movie. The books details of the magical flags for each team and the descriptions of the souvenirs Ron, Harry, and Hermione bought was better than the movies portrayal. I feel like some of the magical essence in the book was left out in the movie. The movies short scene of the Irish team’s mascot was nothing compared to the books description of the leprechauns and veela. “A hundred veela were now gliding out onto the field, and Harry’s question was answered for him. Veela were women…the most beautiful women Harry had ever seen…except that they weren’t-they couldn’t be-human.” I don’t even remember the movie showing the Bulgarian mascots. Without these important details from the book this scene in the movie was not nearly as cool to me.

Anticipating Goblet of Fire

My only prior expierence with the Harry Potter series is seeing some of the movies. Although I enjoy the movies I would definately not consider myself a huge fan like many of my friends. My sister and many of my friends have read all the books and highly inticipate when a new movie is to come out. I think I find myself somewhere in the middle spectrum of how I feel about Harry Potter.

I do wonder if not having read any of the first three books will negatively effect my opionion of the Goblet of Fire. I have never started a series in the middle before and am curious to see how it will turn out. On the other hand, I have seen the first couple of movies so maybe this will be enough for that not to matter. I am also interested in why the fourth book is the one you chose for us to read. I am looking forward to finding out alot about Harry Potter and this book in our disscusions in class.

The Magician's Nephew: Notable Moment

For me, a notable moment in The Magician’s Nephew was when Digory grabbed hold of Polly’s wrists and held her back so he could strike the bell. This is a significant moment because it perhaps reveals C.S. Lewis’s views of females and children. In class we discussed that Lewis was thought by some people to favor men in his books. In this novel, I do see a few instances where women might be shown in a negative way, one being the moment before Queen Jadis was awoken by the bell. Digory is tempted so badly to ring the bell he turns against Polly saying “Girls never want to know anything but gossip and rot about people getting engaged.” It bothers me that Digory acts this way towards Polly. Until this part in the book, the two young characters have seemed to have an equal relationship, but now Digory holds the fact that Polly is a girl against her. Right after this he uses physical force over her to get his way. Although this is out of character for Digory, he uses he strength against Polly to have power over the situation. Another negative depiction of women is Queen Jadis. Unlike Aslan, Jadis is an evil ruler. The good ruler is male while the evil ruler is female.

Before Digory strikes the bell, he also calls Polly a kid. “I should never dream of calling a kid like you a woman.” This could also show how Lewis idolizes youth. The negative things Digory said about women are perhaps not true for young girls. I think Lewis was trying to suggest that children are not the gossiping and rotting adults they will someday become.

Anticipating The Magician's Nephew

I am looking forward to reading something by C.S. Lewis. I have learned some things about Lewis from a religious stand point but have never read any of his actual literature. I have seen both The Chronicles of Narnia movies that came out and enjoyed them. I knew previous to watching them about the religious allegory so i did not feel the betrayel that i know some talk about regarding Lewis. Hopefully The Magician's Nephew will be as good as I am expecting. I am interested in reading the rest of the collection after this book.

I find it interesting that this is another fantasy with talking animals. I am curious to find out if it is at all similar to Redwall. On the other hand though I know The Magician's Nephew has human characters as well. As a fantasy book, I wonder how it relates to others we have read so far in class.

The Phoenix and the Carpet: Notable Moment

I believe the moment when Jane and Robert fall through a hole in the carpet is interesting in a couple of different ways. The whole idea of a magic carpret is very much something that would be found in childrens fantasy. The carpet in The Phoenix and the Carpet is thing that actually allows the children to go on adventures that kids with normal carpets and rugs are not able to do. When the magic carpet actually rips and gets worn down i believe this takes me out of the fantasy element in a way. This is a notable moment to me because i believe a magic carpet should not break so easily.

The chilren actually being able to ware down a magic carpet is also interesting to me. The fact that the children did not treat the carpet with much care shows another negative side of them. When Cryil rips the carpet in chapter ten they act like it is not that big of a deal and simply sew it up. If me and my friends had a flying carpet, we would treat it with much more care and respect.