Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling | Teen Ink

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling

November 10, 2016
By Amalia.M BRONZE, Minturn, Colorado
Amalia.M BRONZE, Minturn, Colorado
3 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Many great authors of literature write novels for others to enjoy. A writer's greatest joy in life is seeing someone smile about the memory of reading their story.  This  touches both the reader and writer, spreading warmth and happiness on them. This warmth that writers get when they  are acknowledged for their work is what causes uncertainty in the author’s minds whether to continue the stories they started. Having one book hold one story is the simplest way for writers to express their thinking onto paper, but some authors continued their stories into more books with sequel after sequel. Adding on to books, especially great ones, is a daring move for authors, since each book depends on the next,  so the next books in the series could be adding up to an incredible story, or a total fail as the sequels pull the others down. For this reason, many authors are unsure whether or not to add on. For this reason, JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter Series, took great risk when adding second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh books to her incredible, undying Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. As many know, Harry Potter, the main character of JK Rowling's books, lives in a world of wizards and attends a wizarding school called Hogwarts. The unique, lightning shaped scar he holds hidden under his bangs is the whole series in a mere two inches. It was a mark left from the main antagonist, an evil dark wizard by the name of Voldemort. For years, Voldemort terrorized both magic and non-magic


world, killing millions of people, including Harry’s parents. Voldemort, in fact, tried to kill Harry, a poor baby at the time, but miraculously survived and was only left with the strange scar. Voldemort, on the other hand, was destroyed and disappeared. Many believed that the dark lord had died, but the wisest wizards knew he was simply weak and waiting to grow strong again. Harry, famous in the wizarding world because of this, was idolized. Yet, Harry never knew any of this because he was raised by his miserly aunt and uncle who wanted nothing to do with magic, so he had grown up his whole life thinking he was an ordinary boy. Being hidden from the wizarding world for eleven years, Harry faced difficulties fitting in at first, but met new friends quickly such as Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Book four in this action packed series continues the adventures Harry has and describes Harry’s fourth year at Hogwarts. Throughout the book, you are on your toes as the plot of the series finally settles in your mind in this book. The turning point of the whole story, book four is a must-read since this is where the rest of the story is decided. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire captures your interest immediately and keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. This book exposes Harry to the unthinkable danger that used to be so common, and prepares him for the future, no matter how sad it looks.
Although many themes are addressed in Book four of Harry’s adventures, one in particular stands out to me. The theme of helping each other is shown numerous times


throughout the book, shaping the whole story. From the very first page to the last words, the theme of helping someone in their time of need is shown. What this really is in a broader perspective is sympathy and what it does to or for  you. Harry had help from many as he faced the challenges of the school year. Being picked for the Triwizard Tournament, as unusual as it was for him being underage and the fourth competitor in a three competitor tournament, forced Harry to get help from  many of his friends. The dangerous, traditional game called the triwizard tournament, was a competition against three different schools. Each school had one student compete, but this year, the tournament had different ideas and added Harry as the second competitor for Hogwarts. Being in this was very unsafe for Harry, and he was very grateful for all the help he got from his friends to get him through the challenging obstacles. This theme of always helping each other and having each others backs relates to the whole series as problems arise and the characters need one another to overcome them. Being united as one in the book, Harry and his friends were able to overcome the challenges they faced. This helped Harry immensely because the power of two or three is always stronger than one. This is why the theme of working together to protect each other plays a massive role in the main conflict of the whole series of everyone against Voldemort. Harry was so lucky to have people who cared for him to support him

 


through tough times, and in this case protect him against all the evil, immoral people fighting for Voldemort.
Apart from the other books in the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has incredible quality.  I, personally, never wanted to put the book down once I started because it was so intriguing.  Throughout the whole story, new problems were added to keep it interesting and very suspenseful. From the very beginning of the book, Harry was described in such a way that you felt as if he were part of you. Other than the second book in the series, book four would be my personal favorite simply because it made you hurt inside when you read it. The emotions in this book are put so precisely that you always feel like you are right there next to Harry. JK Rowling did a wonderful job adding the perfect amount of “juice” to the story as she kept you interested with the excitement of the story, but did not overwhelm your brain with impossible scenarios.  I enjoyed reading this book because it was a pleasure to read. Some books you must force yourself past the slow parts to the exciting scenes, but for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , you are always left wondering what will happen, and once you find out, you need to find the answer to something else. If you enjoy books that keep you questioning the story, characters, and problems, this book is perfect for you. Harry Potter along with the other characters always find some way to keep you, the reader, involved and interested in what is going on. You must constantly unravel
the mind twisting plots JK Rowling creates, and always have another aweing moment as you find out more and more as the story deepens. Overall, the book’s content was far better than most because it had the perfect amounts of suspense, thrill, romance, mystery, and danger to keep anyone interested. The book was simply just the product of a great recipe with the perfect ingredients.
Yet, there are also some flaws in this well known book that should be accounted for. The characters and their personal characteristics make them who they are. But, by the end of the story, many of the characters behaviors change, making the personalities of the characters blurry. It is hard to know how the character will react to different situations, now, because the way we think of the character varies. This, though, is a very minor problem for the book because this problem is partially caused from the complex plot unveiling. I don’t want to spoil anything so let me just say this, you can’t always trust people who you would assume to be trustworthy. I loved how JK Rowling wrote the book where you never know which characters to trust . I also enjoyed the mystery of trying to solve the massive mind blowing plot. The foreshadowing was perfectly used because it made you suspicious, but still left you very confused. If you are debating whether or not to read this book, I highly recommend you do because it is overall just an incredible book that makes


you think and use your brain to comprehend what is going on. At the end, though, you finally piece everything together, and it is a perfect fit with no errors at all!
All in all, this book was just fascinating and a must-read. I highly recommend reading this book along with the others, because it is a work of art put into words and made into a story. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire  is one of my all time favorites because of the
precise way it was written to include the complex theme, the humane emotions expressed while reading, and the intensity of it all while still manageable and joyful. The characters had conflicting emotions at the end of the story compared to the beginning, which was the major weakness of the book. The personalities of the characters were not as strong as I would have hoped in the end, but were still able to express the difficulty the conflicts they faced were. Overall, the story was very powerful and moving, emotionally because it put the characters on a scale you could relate to, so you would feel with them. Reading this awe inspiring book made you realize the true power of numbers, and having friends to support you in the darkest of times. If you enjoy books including friendship along with discipline, fear, joy, love, hurt, sacrifice, and power, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is for you.


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