HTRLLAP UNIT 2

Chapter 21:
Marked for Greatness

Figure out Harry Potter’s scar. If you aren’t familiar with Harry Potter, select another character with a physical imperfection and analyze and discuss its implications for characterization.

Harry Potter is embellished with a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on his head. The first book in this series set the story about how he got it when his mother sacrificed her life for his, which deems the mark as special. Harry has faced many struggles throughout his life including putting up with his neglectful adoptive parent and battling the most vile creatures in order to save the world. Harry felt even more peculiar as he struggled to fit in with other humans while embracing the gifts, from the scar, that he was given from birth. These gifts not only included things that most associate with evil, like communicating with snakes and seeing strange creatures, that only few can perceive, but good things like being a great flier in Quidditch, a school sport. Without all of these struggles and triumphs that came from the scar adorning Harry’s forehead, he would not have become the man that he was destined to be. His personality that was shaped by the scar allowed him the bravery and perseverance to defeat the invincible. He had to undergo many dangerous tasks, including killing himself and coming back to life, to defeat the evil that was instilled in him by the scar.

Chapter 22: He’s Blind for a Reason, You Know


Recall a character’s blindness in a literary work. What may that blindness symbolize or emphasize? How does his or her blindness provide
for the theme of the piece?

During this year of the Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen serves as an anomaly with her actions of volunteering to replace her sister’s place, as well as choosing to commit suicide rather than killing her partner or being killed by her partner. Throughout all these events, Katniss wore a mockingjay pin as a metaphorical slap the Capitol in their faces. The mockingjay came about as a result of a failed project by the Capitol to spy on the rebellious districts, and since then the bird has served as a reminder of this failure and the districts’ rebellion. Katniss doesn’t realize that, after her rebellious actions for the means of survival and her mocking jay pin serves as the symbolization of rebellion and defiance for the districts. She ended up as a figurehead for upcoming uprising that she accidentally created. She became so blinded by the games and beating the system, that she simply disregarded the fact that her rare action could have initiated the surfacing emotions of previously hidden violence and rebellion among the districts. In the next couple of book, the mockingjay will actually evokes a repetition of the war between the Capitol and Districts.

Chapter 23: It’s Never Just Heart Disease...
Chapter 24: ...And Rarely Just Illness (chapters combined)
Recall a character who dies of disease in a literary work. Consider how this death reflects the “principles governing the use of disease in literature.” Discuss the effectiveness of the death as related to plot, theme, or symbolism.

Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga addresses disease when the main character, Bella, is told of how her beloved vampire, Edward, came into his vampire existence. When Edward became a vampire, it was at the height of the Spanish Influenza outbreak of 1918. Edward and his mother and father were severely infected and suffered as they faced the extreme possibility of death. Today, we have the medicine and vaccinations to prevent another mass outbreak, so we sympathize with those that were not given this aid during their time. This portrays Foster’s first principle and proves the second, as well, when Meyer gives vivid and horrid descriptions of their pale, weak, and ghastly appearance. The origins of the disease are unknown because of the fact that no one really knew how this disease inhibited its destruction in 1908. These three only apply to the deaths of Edward’s mother and father, though the dying wish of Edward’s mother to Dr. Cullen was to save the life of Edward, suggesting that a message or theme that a mother will always try to protect their child from death no matter what consequences proceed them. The disease itself is symbolic for Edward’s transformation into who he is now. To become a vampire, Edward’s body undergoes another physically and mental suffering that is almost relatable to the body effects caused by the influenza. Even after being granted an eternal life, Edward faces other struggles such as loneliness, a thirst to kill anything with a pulse, self deprecation, and even the consequences of living forever. Whether he died from Influenza or suffered through the life of a vampire, he would still undergo the same pain.

Chapter 25: Don’t Read with Your Eyes
After reading Chapter 25, choose a scene from Much Ado About Nothing or another piece of literature. Contrast how it could be viewed by a reader from the twenty-first century with how it might be viewed by a reader contemporary to the work. Focus on specific assumptions that the author makes, assumptions that would not make it in this century.

When you read a story from a different time period or culture than your own, it is often difficult to get the full effect of it. Just like how Atticus told Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, you need to step inside of the shoes of the person you're trying to read like. In Beowulf, the poetry is lost on most modern-day readers. When it was created, it was intended to be told or performed - not read - which is why it has an unusual book-style format. The author presumes that the listener (or reader) is living in the time of when war and battle was a daily occurrence. To the intended readers, the average battle scenes would not interest them, in fact they would bored, so the author put the focus on conversations between people. However, a modern day audience would say that the conversations were boring as the battles were to the intended audience. Traditions were also very different back then, common governing bodies were very unlike today’s, and what is considered polite (or even normal) to us is not much like what was typical to people of the century attributed to the time period of Beowulf’s original audience. All in all, this story must have been a really good read to the intended audience while the group of sixth grader's that are require to read it in Texas found it to be the exact opposite.

Sources

• All pictures are from Haiku Deck or Google Images
• Responses are based of the How to Read Literature Like A Professor