Harry Potter #5 Book Review

I've finally finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for the first time, and I think it was one of the best so far. I think the only one that beat it was the one before it, Harry Potter and the goblet of Fire. Since this book is part of a series, you can't really just pick it up and read it. You have to read the earlier ones. But this review is I guess just a heads up for people who might decide not to read all of them.

This book is full of teen angst. That might be why it's 870 pages long. A lot of it is Harry's feelings. This might not be good for people who like a lot of action, but if you like to read about what he's thinking for a big portion of the book. This is good for you. I'm not saying that it has no action, but it definitely not as much as the other books.

I think the writing is very good. It might be a little overwhelming since the book just keeps going on and on and on, but I think that J.K Rowling really knows how to keep the reader hooked in. It is a great mixture of humor, sadness, and creativity that hopefully wont leave you bored. You definitely have to be committed to it to finish it, because you'll take forever to finish it if you're the kind of reader who barely reads.

Overall, I think this is a really good book. Expect a lot time go by without much happening, but keep on reading! You'll find out a lot of information that I think makes the whole story pure genius. I completely recommend this book.

Harry Potter #5 Response (Possible Spolier Alert)

An issue I've been thinking about in the beginning and now when I'm nearing the end of the book is ignorance. In my earlier response I talked about how Harry was being kept from all the information about "The Order" and whether it was right or wrong for Dumbledore to do so. Now that I've read on I see that he explains to Harry his plan and apologizes too.

The issue about Dumbledore being right or wrong has already resolved, and he explained it himself. The issue now, is what it the right time to do it? In life sometimes information is thought to be "too harsh" for the young. For example, you wouldn't tell a three year old that animals are losing their habitats due to destruction of forests. It's not appropriate for that time. The decision is based on when the child or young adult is ready. Now obviously their are different times for different things but for Harry's prophecy, it's definitely hard to determine.

In the book Dumbledore finally tells Harry his prophecy about how he has to kill Voldemort and no one else. He also explains how he should have told him this earlier, but really? He was fifteen years old. I think that's a bit young to tell someone they have to kill someone. I mean, he's going through hard times in school, let alone escaping from being killed dozens of times. Dumbledore should have waited a little while. I know I'm not fifteen, but I know wouldn't be able to handle it.

I know this exact situation doesn't happen often, but there are similar like it. Somewhere in the world a fifteen year old is being told he is going to be in the army, or mafia or something like that. I just don't believe that a teenager should have to deal with that. Of course the situation is important. Voldemort is back, and after Harry, maybe he should know just to protect his own life.

Everyone is different I guess, so different people can take things in at different times. So, I'm not sure if I can really determine a specific age. But for Harry's situation, I guess Dumbledore chose the right time. I just don't think it would have been right for me.

Harry Potter #5 Response

I'm about 500 pages into Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.k Rowling, and an issue I've been thinking about is ignorance. Harry is angered because he feels everyone is trying to block him out of all the information about Voldemort. Although Phineas told Harry that maybe his ignorance is what Dumbledore wants, but Harry is still angry. Is ignorance a good thing? Or is knowing everything the way to go?

Some say "Ignorance is bliss." But my question is, is it? When I watch the news and see some of the terrible things happening in the world, like murder and people dying from disease, I want to resist it, and I wish I never watched it. I feel that it's too horrible to think about. So I guess, Ignorance is bliss in a way. I mean, who doesn't want to be happy? Who wants their thoughts on poverty and war? Not me, but sometimes we have to.

In the book Harry is told the most limited amount of information by everyone, in the process of keeping him safe. He felt safe, up until he eavesdropped on one of the Order's meetings and heard something he wasn't supposed to. He found out that Voldemort might be possesing him. When he heard this, he freaked out. So this is once again, another reason why ignorance might be a good thing. Sometimes, ignorance is what keeps you safe. Harry didn't start panicking until he heard the meeting. This reminds me of the quote "The truth hurts." Although they are not lying to him, they are keeping him from knowing "too much."

In some situations ignorance can be the one thing that gets you killed. The people in the Order need to know all the information so they can protect people. In the real world, Detectives need all the evidence to solve the mystery. Even though the truth may hurt, you need to know it, to solve the problem. So the question is, when do we know when ignorance is appropriate?

I can conclude that sometimes ignorance is "good and sometimes it's "bad," but that's too obvious. But when do we know when it's "good" or "bad"? This is a question I will hope to answer later in the book.

Martian Chronicles- Really hard things

A really hard thing in the text is realizing wrong from right. In one of the chronicles a man shot some of his team mates to save abandoned Mars. Later he partially regrets it, but then thinks not. The really hard thing this man went through is deciding between about 7 men, or the life of an abandoned planet.

My first thought is that he definitely shouldn't have shot the men. He doesn't know that the planet would be messed up by humans. It's not their fault. He took these innocent mens' lives without even thinking. These men have wives and children. Now they're gone. Just like that. I believe there's never a reason for killing someone. Horrible things can be done, but taking someones life is just not right. War, revenge, the death penalty: all are just plain disgusting. I mean, I believe in revenge, but not to extent of murder. He shouldn't have killed the men: even to save a planet.

On the other hand, he may have done the right thing. A few lives to save a whole planet might be acceptable. Terrible, but acceptable. Even though the planet was abandoned, a few lives still rome it. That means a whole civilization can be brought back. A civilization vs. a few lives; one definitely ways over another.

I still think he was wrong for killing them. The planet could have been saved another way with reason, not murder.

The Martian Chronicles- Justice in the world

I'll start this entry out with my definition of justice. Justice- The opinion of the majority or what's thought to be the majority of what fairness is.

In the book, the captain and all his men were killed, because the martians thought that the captain was in misery and all of his men were his illusions. When the men were in search of someone to talk to, every martian thought they were crazy/in misery. So I believe yes justice was served. I'm not saying that I agree with it, but justice was served.

The majority of martians they met including a little girl thought that the captain was crazy. They all lead him to an insane asylum. Mr. Xxx brought justice to the captain by killing him, so he was the justice bringer. The captain was the justice stopper. This makes me think about what people think justice is in different societies/different minds.

For example, a murderer in his mind could think he was doing the right thing, he could be crazy and think justice isn't being served, when the majority of the people in the world disagree with him. So perhaps if martians came to our world, "justice" would be brought upon them. So really, there is no wrong or right justice. It's just what you think is justice.

So even though humans would think the martians were crazy, the martians don't. They were brought up in their world, we were brought up in ours, so you can't really blame the people brought up in the society. Like in the real world, children are brought up into racist families, so they become racist. It's not their fault. It's they way they were brought up to think.

On the other hand, people can have their own thoughts so maybe we should blame them. Perhaps Mr. Xxx should have realized that he was killing another organism for nothing. Just like kids should realize that their is no difference between two races,

The Martian Chronicles- Really hard things

Some really hard things that are happening in this book are jealousy and acceptance. Both sort of mold in to the same problem that goes on in this book; when Ylla dreams about kissing an earth man and her husband gets angry. Why is he fussing over a dream? And could he be hiding something?

In the book Ylla's husband is angry over her dream. He says that what she's dreaming is ridiculous and it's bad that she dreamed it. It's obviously not the reason. He's just jealous of that his wife is dreaming of another man (earthling.) Especially when she describes him as handsome and tall. I think the reason he's jealous and not just getting over it, is because it says in the book that they haven't been happy in a long time. I think he must be afraid of losing her to someone who makes her happy. Even if it's in her dream. Which is why he asked her out to watch a show. He realized what he was missing, and realized that it's possible he could lose her. If you think about it, it's kind of sad. He's only paying attention to her, when another man takes his place. Maybe thats another really hard thing. The reason for being there for someone.  The reason for doing something nice for someone, is more important than what you did.

Another really hard thing in the book, relates to the same problem; and that is acceptance. He probably doesn't want to, but maybe he needs to accept that he is not a good enough man (martian) for Ylla. He knows he doesn't treat her well, which is why he asked her out. He can't accept that his wife will think about another man, even once and a while, even if it's a dream! (Which we find out later in the book, it's more than a dream.) This also goes into a really hard thing that is knowing what's right. He doesn't know what's right for Ylla, which is why he called a doctor and prevented her from going outside. he just doesn't know what's right for her, which makes him look like the bad guy, when really, he's trying to help.

Freak the Mighty Annotation Entry 10/3/10

Annotation: pg.51 "Does he believe it or is he just trying to keep their friendship together?"


What I was reading about when I wrote this is when Freak is telling Max about his robotic surgery. My big question is does Freak actually believe that he will have robotic surgery? I know Max does, cause he will believe anything, but Freak? I find it hard to believe that he actually believes that and is lying to Max to keep them together, but I may be wrong.

Later in the book they say that Freak knew he didn't have much time left in his life. That gives me a vibe that he was lying. I mean, he knows that Max has gone through pain before, like the loss of his mother. So, maybe he didn't want to set that off again by telling him he's going to die. What people usually do in the real world to avoid mental pain is to not get involved, which would mean Max and Freak would not be friends anymore. Maybe, Freak knew that would happen and didn't want that. They have such a nice bond, it would be a complete waste to throw it all away, because of him dying. He needs a friend by his side. Even if that friend doesn't know the truth.

Sometimes people can make themselves believe something that isn't true. Remember something that didn't happen. Even mistake dreams for the real world. I think this might be an explanation for Freak. I think if i was in the 7th grade and knew I was going to die in a year or so, I would have a mental breakdown. And what I think is maybe Freak just couldn't take it. He couldn't take that he was going to die, so he made up this story in his head, that he truly believed happened. But there is still that thought in his head that he's going to die, so he keeps it away from people like Gwen, Grim, Gram and other people that would tell him otherwise. That's why he told Max. He knew he would believe it because he doesn't know about his life. And once Max believes it, it's almost like it's even more real to Freak. So pretty much, it's possibly true what Freak is saying. True in his mind.

I've decided that Freak is lying to Max. It makes way more sense than believing it's true. Maybe all he needs is a friend to get him through his dread of dying. That's why he lied. He didn't want Max to go. If Max left. He might not have anything to live for. He might want to die.

Charlotte's Web Archetype Entry 9/27/10

Charlotte is no doubt the mentor in this book. She assists Wilbur ( saving his life), teaches Wilbur, and gives wise advice to Wilbur in his time of struggle. For example: writing the words in the web, teaching him new words and about the body of a spider, and helping him get over the fact that Zucherman might kill him. All this fits the definition of a mentor. Wilbur ( our hero) couldn't succeed or even live if it wasn't for Charlotte. Charlotte guided him her whole life just to let Wilbur live his life. Her life, was helping his life.

When Charlotte wrote the words in her web, like: "some pig", "radiant", "humble", and "terrific" it symbolized her wisdom and knowledge. When Wilbur was stressed of being killed Charlotte helped him, and set an example for him to know what to do if she wasn't there. For example, she's not always gonna be there to tell him what he can and can't do. Like when he tried to spin a web, she let him try and try and helped him realize that he can't do everything other creatures can do. She basically saved him from a life of hurting himself.

Charlotte was definitely on a task. Her task was to save Wilbur and that task was her life. That task was her meaning. Her task of helping Wilbur is also to be a mentor. She knew she was gonna die soon when she met Wilbur, so she did all she could to help him. I'm not quite sure when she was born, but it must have been pretty recent to when she met Wilbur. The point is that the wisdom, the knowledge, and her over all task of saving Wilbur makes her the mentor of this book.

Charlotte's Web Entry 9/23/10

Annotation: pg. 184 " Usually in a paragraph in this style E.B White would use words like "the spider" and "the pig" but it's not about a pig and a spider. It's about Charlotte and Wilbur."

Throughout the book I noted when E.B White uses the names of the animals to narrate them through the story and why he's using it. I noticed that he has styles to his paragraphs and when I read the last paragraph of the book I noticed he used the style where he would normally write something like "The pig loved that spider", but no. He didn't use that. He used their real names, because I think he's trying to get across that it doesn't matter what they are, but who they are. They matter too. And they love too.

Time and time again the people in the book think that the web is a miracle, and give no credit to Charlotte. They only give credit to Wilbur and Mr. Zucherman. But Charlotte didn't care. She knew that she did it and that was all she needed. In the real world people always want to take credit for the amazing stuff they did. But Charlotte didn't care. She didn't care who she was. She didn't care who they thought made the web. It was her. It wasn't a spider. It was her.

And with Wilbur, sure he liked the attention. Sure, he thought he was radiant, terrific and humble. But he didn't think of himself as a radiant, terrific, humble, "pig". He was just like everyone else in his mind. And that's what E.B White is trying to tell the reader. He's trying to explain to us through his Author's Intrusion's, character's voices, character's minds, and character's actions that these characters matter just as much as everything else in the world. If we were people in the book we wouldn't be able to hear them and know their experience. We would think, "they're a pig and a spider. So what?". He's trying to tell us that animals have feelings too, and we shouldn't think differently of them.

Charlotte's Web Entry 9/19/10

Annotation: pg.80 "So a floating man in the sky is possible but a talking animal isn't."

My annotation is about why people don't find god making miracles ridiculous, but they do with talking animals. When Fern told her mother this whole story about talking animals in the barn, she thought her daughter was going crazy, but when the words in the web showed up, all of a sudden it becomes a miracle. She completely forgot about what Fern said, which makes complete sense. Is it because she's a child, or is it because people are afraid of the truth.

In the real world, I admit I wouldn't believe Fern either at first, but I do believe in looking into it and thinking it's a possibility. The public would probably act the same way as in the book. IT'S A MIRACLE! But if you think about it, they're just a afraid of anything that will change what they believe. They want it to be a miracle. They don't want talking animals. If animals started talking out of the blue, religions will change and the world will change. People don't like change. They just don't know it.

In the book every time the web says something about Wilbur, the crowd suddenly realizes Wilbur is terrific, radiant, or "Some Pig". They want to believe what god believes. They couldn't say that about Wilbur before the web. If Charlotte didn't write it Wilbur would be bacon right now. My point is that many people wouldn't want to change their beliefs of eating pigs if they knew they it was just a spider writing it. Maybe they would, I don't know. But I do know is people don't like change and try to deny change.