Nick Adama asked:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, recently released on July 21, 2007, is undoubtedly the most widely-anticipated book of the year, completing Harry’s seven-year journey through the wizarding world to confront his nemesis Lord Voldemort, along with a host of other issues. With any finale of such a monumental and popular series, there are bound to be victories, disappointments, criticisms, and praise for nearly every plot decision made by the author. The final product, though, is a remarkable end to the Harry Potter series, and a fitting conclusion to the problems raised in the previous books.
After reading the previous book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, numerous plot lines had been developed that left me worried about J. K. Rowling’s ability to wrap them all up neatly and provide a satisfying conclusion in one more book. The issue of Harry Potter finding the remaining Horcruxes in the space of one book, while it had taken the previous six to locate and destroy only two Horcruxes seemed the most pressing issue. Additionally, the fact that no one, including Harry and Dumbledore, were quite sure what the Horcruxes were and where they would be located presented an even more apparent problem. Furthermore, Rowling used the theme of the Deathly Hallows to further the plot, and spent much time examining Harry’s attempts to understand such universal themes as how to deal with death and the search for truth.
Remarkably enough, although not unexpected, Harry, Ron, and Hermione manage to locate the missing locket and determine where the other Horcruxes were hidden by Voldemort, including the cup of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw’s lost diadem. Even Neville plays an important role in the fall of Voldemort by taking care of the snake Nagini, and Harry eventually learns that, because of Voldemort’s attack on him as a baby, he is the final Horcrux. Learning that he must sacrifice himself to Voldemort in order to end the war is one of the more dark yet touching sequences in the book, as Harry discovers that Voldemort can not be defeated unless the part of his soul trapped in Harry is destroyed. Harry bravely sacrifices himself and manages to survive Voldemort’s curse, causing Voldemort to destroy the Horcrux on his own.
The theme of the Deathly Hallows themselves also play a large role in the story, as Harry learns what they are and that he already possesses two of the three Hallows. He also learns that Professor Dumbledore made it his quest to discover all three of them, although his motives were not quite as pure as Harry’s. Through gradual revelations of the life of Dumbledore, Harry learns that the exalted professor had just as many flaws as any other human being, along with an irritating tendency to leave Harry in the dark about nearly everything. But Harry eventually learns some valuable truths about Dumbledore, even though they may have been unpleasant truths for him. Instead of following in Dumbledore’s footsteps and pursuing the Hallows to gain enormous power to defeat Voldemort, Harry makes the more wise decision to do his best to reduce Voldemort’s power.
One of the most intriguing questions of the series has been the issue of Severus Snape and whether he was “good” or “bad.” It turns out that the answer to the question is a not-so-simple “a little bit of both.” Harry discovers, through Snape’s memories, that Snape always loved Lily Potter and had turned away from Voldemort the minute that he threatened Harry’s mother. Although Snape acted out of his selfish attachment to Lily, and emphasized Harry’s resemblance to James Potter who had tortured him as a youth, Snape had worked with Dumbledore to protect Harry until the very end. His last act before dying from the snake Nagini’s bite, is to give Harry the last pieces of the puzzle to understanding that Snape and Dumbledore’s efforts to protect him resulted in Harry ending up as master of the Deathly Hallows, as well as the destroyer of Voldemort’s Horcruxes. Without Snape, selfish and mean as he was, Voldemort may have proved even more dangerous, or Harry may not have learned some important truths about Snape, Harry’s mother Lily, and even Aunt Petunia.
The two major themes of death and truth run through nearly every page of the book. While feeling lost and inadequate to the task of locating and destroying Horcruxes, Harry slowly learns about Dumbledore’s past actions that reflect none too well on the professor. Dumbledore comes out looking as though he made some grave mistakes in his past, even touching upon the Dark Arts and the subjugation of Muggles, as well as having manipulated Harry for much of his life in order to protect him and lead him to his eventual defeat of Voldemort. Harry realizes that Dumbledore had led him to the correct path, but that it would be up to Harry and his friends to walk the path and overcome the problems faced along the way.
Death also plays a large role in the book, with several of the supporting characters entering the clearing at the end of the path by the end of the story. Hedwig, Mad-Eye Moody, Lupin, Tonks, Dobby the house elf, and Fred Weasley are some of the casualties along the way, along with a number of Death Eaters and their supporters. The book does not skirt around the issue of mentioning the war in the wizarding world, and in war it is expected there will be casualties, many of them bitter and seemingly arbitrary. Harry learns how to deal with the death of close friends and the importance of continuing his quest even though he knows more death may come before the end, but that Voldemort must be defeated for the war to stop.
The book used the challenges facing Harry and his friends, and the introduction of new challenges as ways to keep the story moving forward and to illuminate various aspects of previous books. Much more of the history of Dumbledore, Snape, and the wizarding world at large was revealed in this book than in any other in the series. Rowling showed that Voldemort’s quest for power took him from the forests of Albania to distant caves to medieval towers and even to the desecration of a grave, all in an attempt to gain one more tool to escape death and kill Harry Potter. Harry, on the other hand, followed a quest to learn the truth about his family, his strained relationship with Snape, and the vague life and teachings of Albus Dumbledore.
Not surprisingly, Harry defeated Voldemort in the end by attempting to reduce Voldemort’s power and understand the events that had so affected his life. Voldemort, as an aspiring immortal villain, trapped in an infinite present of gaining more power, was defeated by the simple disarming spell of a boy who understood the road he had traveled, leading from his childhood, though happiness, tragedy, and hope, on into a brighter future for the wizarding world and the Muggle world.
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