Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Haven’t read any of my other “In Which Jessica Finally Reads” posts? Check them out: Sorcerer’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, and Goblet of Fire.
Where to start on Order of the Phoenix? Oh yeah, this was a super long book! 870 pages? I’m amazed and pleasantly impressed by the fact that so many younger children and adults are willing to hitch a ride to such a large novel with such heavy subject matter!
Heavy subject matter indeed: Death, Treachery, Belief, Slander, Student Punishment, and Yellow Journalism.
FINALLY, Harry was able to let loose his anger and annoyance at the fact that he continued to be left out of the loop and seemingly punished for his bravery by being sent to stay with his terrible aunt and uncle, and then attacked by dementors and doubted by the entire magic community!
Sorry, I was a tad wound up for him as well. I will say that I appreciated Rowling’s use of the Daily Prophet in the novel to explain how and why the entire magical world had seemingly turned against Harry and believed that he was a “nutter.” As a huge history nerd, I really enjoyed this because it reminded me of the unit on Yellow Journalism that we studied during the Spanish-American war. Definition of Yellow Journalism: “Journalism that is based upon sensationalism and crude exaggeration.” Kudos, JK on using this.
Now, as much as I am supposed to hate Professor Dolores Umbridge because of her anti-half blood agenda and how much she prefers to live in denial of the return of Voldemort, I can’t help but love her as a character. She has everything a psuedo-villian needs when being introduced into a narrative towards the middle. She has a clear agenda, she targets the main character, she reduces the most important subject to these students in order to gain control, and she has the looks of a non-threatening person. How could you not love her as complete a character as she is? Plus, if it weren’t for Umbridge, Dumbledore’s Army would never have been formed.
See? Do you see how I’m slowly being converted? Despite my disdain for the first two books based on the slow pace, I have become invested in Harry’s story.
I really didn’t like the lack of Dumbledore in this novel, especially since I’ve seen the next movie and I am aware of his fate. However, I know I still have the sixth book to look forward to in regards to the headmaster.
I also think that the battle inside the Department of Mysteries was much more intriguing and fast paced in the novel than in the movie. However, when it came to Sirius’ death scene, I was just surprised at how quickly it happened in the novel. Yes, it was still really sad, but there wasn’t a whole lot of description of it…just that it happened. I still think that Harry’s response was appropriately written, but I think that the acting in this scene in the movie really moved me more than in the novel. But again, this is probably because I had seen the movie first.
Overall, I am still really enjoying reading Harry Potter and I’m giving Order of the Phoenix 4.5 Bards.
Now, as much as I am supposed to hate Professor Dolores Umbridge because of her anti-half blood agenda and how much she prefers to live in denial of the return of Voldemort, I can’t help but love her as a character. She has everything a psuedo-villian needs when being introduced into a narrative towards the middle. She has a clear agenda, she targets the main character, she reduces the most important subject to these students in order to gain control, and she has the looks of a non-threatening person. How could you not love her as complete a character as she is? Plus, if it weren’t for Umbridge, Dumbledore’s Army would never have been formed.
See? Do you see how I’m slowly being converted? Despite my disdain for the first two books based on the slow pace, I have become invested in Harry’s story.
I really didn’t like the lack of Dumbledore in this novel, especially since I’ve seen the next movie and I am aware of his fate. However, I know I still have the sixth book to look forward to in regards to the headmaster.
I also think that the battle inside the Department of Mysteries was much more intriguing and fast paced in the novel than in the movie. However, when it came to Sirius’ death scene, I was just surprised at how quickly it happened in the novel. Yes, it was still really sad, but there wasn’t a whole lot of description of it…just that it happened. I still think that Harry’s response was appropriately written, but I think that the acting in this scene in the movie really moved me more than in the novel. But again, this is probably because I had seen the movie first.
Overall, I am still really enjoying reading Harry Potter and I’m giving Order of the Phoenix 4.5 Bards.
Moving! 