{"id":1097,"date":"2018-10-08T04:45:06","date_gmt":"2018-10-08T04:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.superversivesf.com\/fantasticschools\/?p=1097"},"modified":"2018-10-08T21:52:08","modified_gmt":"2018-10-08T21:52:08","slug":"harry-potter-and-the-goblet-of-fire-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.superversivesf.com\/fantasticschools\/2018\/10\/08\/harry-potter-and-the-goblet-of-fire-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Review by Christopher G. Nuttall
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>In one sense, Goblet of Fire <\/em>represents the high point of the Harry Potter <\/em>series. It not only continued the shift from single-books to an episodic series and fleshed out elements of the Wizarding World, it also resurrected Lord Voldemort and kicked off the Second Wizarding War. The three years between Goblet of Fire <\/em>and Order of the Phoenix <\/em>also saw the first great flourish of Harry Potter <\/em>fan-fiction, with literally millions of writers producing billions <\/em>of versions of the next few books. \u00a0 (Rowling deserves full credit for encouraging writers to write<\/em>.) \u00a0 But, at the same time, Goblet of Fire<\/em> has its problems – some deliberate, some accidental – that make it harder to re-read. It isn\u2019t as tightly-plotted as the last three books and it shows.<\/p>\n

\"\"After spending a few weeks at his aunt and uncle\u2019s house, Harry (and Ron and Hermione) attend the international quiddich cup. The sporting event is disrupted by a bunch of thugs – the Death Eaters, the remnants of Voldemort\u2019s old army – who scatter when they see the Dark Mark over the field. Going back to Hogwarts, Harry and his friends are told that the school will be hosting an international contest of its own – the Triwizard Tournament. Three schools will take part, with one contestant from each school. He also meets Mad-Eye Moody, the new DADA teacher. \u00a0 For once, it looks like Dumbledore actually made a good choice.<\/p>\n

Harry is too young to compete in the contest, but – after the first three contestants are chosen – Harry\u2019s name comes out too. Apparently, he has to take part anyway – magically-binding contact, etc. This provokes a brief split with Ron, who is (understandably) jealous of Harry – once again – getting everything. Harry is forced to take part in three challenges, the third ending with him being transported to a graveyard … where he comes face-to-face, once again, with Peter Pettigrew. Pettigrew uses Harry\u2019s blood to resurrect Lord Voldemort, who intends to kill Harry on the spot, but Harry is quick enough to escape. Back home, he discovers that Moody was replaced by a Death Eater spy and that the Ministry of Magic refuses to believe that Voldemort has returned. Dumbledore vows to fight anyway …<\/p>\n

… And, once again, Harry is returned to his aunt and uncle.<\/p>\n

\"\"It\u2019s easy to see why Goblet of Fire <\/em>is popular, despite its flaws. Harry faces three challenges that should have daunted an older wizard, but he is clever enough (with a little help from his friends) to find ways to overcome them. \u00a0 It also expands the Wizarding World, although – once again – it\u2019s hard to see how such a relatively small population can support a full-sized sports contest. (Rowling\u2019s numbers are quite poor.) And it brings back the <\/em>threat, the dark wizard who will dominate the remainder of the series.<\/p>\n

It also expands the characterisation of many other characters, particularly Ron. \u00a0 It\u2019s easy to see why Ron would be jealous of Harry, even though – as he comes to realise – being entered in a life-threatening tournament isn\u2019t exactly a good thing. Poverty wears <\/em>on Ron, as it does on his brothers – the pitiful robes his mother gave him for the Yule Ball can\u2019t have helped – and being forced to watch Harry get yet another <\/em>honour couldn\u2019t have been easy. \u00a0 But it\u2019s good to see that he overcomes it, even though he was going through the worst of puberty at the time.<\/p>\n

\"\"This does raise the question of why Harry could be forced to take part in the contest in the first place, something that thousands of writers have sought to explain away by blaming everything on Dumbledore deliberately allowing it to happen. \u00a0 There\u2019s no logical reason why, if Harry can be thrust into a life-or-death situation, Voldemort can\u2019t be magically bound not to do evil. This is a plot hole that Rowling never chose to acknowledge.<\/p>\n

My personal head-canon is that Dumbledore and the other headmasters were bound by the contract, not the students. They were sworn to allow whoever was selected to compete (even if the person selected was a poor representative.) Dumbledore was trapped the moment Harry\u2019s name came out of the goblet … and, given what we learn about him later in the series, it wouldn\u2019t be out of character for him not to admit to it. Therefore, from Ron\u2019s POV, Harry was not only lying … he was telling an insultingly obvious <\/em>lie. And, given how little Harry knows about the Wizarding World, he had no way to know it.<\/p>\n

Ron is not the only character who has an expanded role. Fred, George and Percy all show their determination to make money and build a career. The cracks in the Weasley Family are fast becoming obvious, although Rowling didn’t take this as far as I thought she would. I have noted before that I don\u2019t like the twins, but here they\u2019re worse. \u00a0 Dudley is a bullying ass – there\u2019s no denying it – but Fred and George give him a magical candy that could have easily choked him to death. What are his parents going to be able to do to stop it? The casual disdain and arrogance shown by most wizards towards muggles is on full display. The line between Fred and George and the Death Eaters is thinner than most people want to believe.<\/p>\n

\"\"Hermione – too – has a great deal of character development, although not all of it is to her credit. Discovering that Hogwarts relies on House Elf labour – slave labour, in her words – Hermione sets out to stridently campaign for their freedom. This results in her becoming a laughing stock, although no one points out that Hermione, as a beneficiary of House Elf labour, is – at best – an accessory after the fact. Quite apart from the fact that the only people who join the unfortunately-named SPEW are people she bullied into joining, she makes no attempt to understand the elves or realise that they might be happy in their role. \u00a0 She\u2019s no better than the average SJW, who sees presumed injustice without bothering to analyse the root cause. \u00a0 Unsurprisingly, Hermione causes the elves more problems than she solves.<\/p>\n

Snape is also given an expanded role, although he plays less of a direct role in events than we might expect. It is revealed, for the first time, that Snape was actually a Death Eater … who switched sides and spied on Voldemort for Dumbledore. This does nothing for Harry\u2019s feelings towards the Potions Master, but worked wonders for fan fiction writers. Snape as Byronic Hero became a trend for a very long time.<\/p>\n

\"\"Goblet of Fire <\/em>also touches on school romance, although not to the extent of millions of fan fictions. \u00a0 Harry tries to ask out two girls, only to fall flat on his face; Ron is crushing badly on Hermione, but is unable to put it into words. And Hermione is asked to go to the Yule Ball with Krum, a world-famous sports star. \u00a0 (Krum may sound stupid, to our ears, but English is probably his third language.) As always, teenage romance in books is cringe-worthy because teenage romance <\/em>is cringe-worthy. I know that shipping was already a thing by the time Goblet of Fire <\/em>was written, but I cannot help wishing that Rowling had left it out. I don\u2019t read books for the romance.<\/p>\n

Rowling also develops the background plot to some extent, although we see less of it than we do in the earlier books. It\u2019s clear that Lucius Malfoy – who would have known that his old master was coming back, just as Snape did – has been working hard to build up his influence and power, hoping to avoid punishment for deserting Voldemort after his first defeat. (Unlike most of the Death Eaters, Lucius has a great deal to lose.) We saw hints of this as far back as Chamber of Secrets<\/em>, but now his plotting comes out into the open. \u00a0 Lucius ensured that the Ministry of Magic would be unwilling to admit that Voldemort had returned, giving the Dark Lord an immense tactical advantage.<\/p>\n

The weaknesses of Goblet of Fire<\/em>, however, are striking. Quite apart from the issue of Harry being forced to compete in the tournament, there are a handful of other plot holes. It is never explained how the fake Moody was able to fool Dumbledore, even through Dumbledore and Moody are supposedly close friends. Did Barty Crouch Jr. know Moody well enough to impersonate him for nearly a year? Or – again – did Dumbledore deliberately allow a Death Eater spy into his school for his own purposes? (Incidentally, the DADA curse was working overtime; it got both Moody and Crouch.) \u00a0 Ironically, Crouch proved a good teacher. I wonder if Dumbledore was really <\/em>that desperate for someone to take on the role. There\u2019s also the complete lack of safety precautions surrounding the tournament, although that wouldn\u2019t be inconsistent with previous books. Surely, there should be a way to get the contestants out <\/em>if necessary.<\/p>\n

\"\"There\u2019s also a way to view a person\u2019s memories, introduced in this book. And yet, no one suggests trying to view Harry\u2019s <\/em>memories after his escape from Voldemort. \u00a0 The proof that the Dark Lord was back, as well as the names and faces of some of the most important Death Eaters, was right in front of them … and yet they do nothing. Dumbledore never even seems to suggest <\/em>that Harry\u2019s memories should be examined. It is an oversight that put the Wizarding World in extreme danger.<\/p>\n

Harry is also strikingly incurious, as I have said again. He still <\/em>doesn\u2019t do any real research, even though he\u2019s been plunged into danger (although he does spend a lot of time learning new spells). I remain exasperated that he never really grew up.<\/p>\n

But those problems can be overlooked, because – on the whole – Goblet of Fire <\/em>is a very strong book. It marks the first true shift from childish storytelling to the more adult tone that would dominate the remainder of the series. \u00a0 It also showcases just how easy it is for people to close their eyes and ears to evil, particularly when they don\u2019t want to believe that it exists.<\/p>\n

It is a shame, in many ways, that the series would start to decline from this point on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Review by Christopher G. Nuttall \u00a0In one sense, Goblet of Fire represents the high point of the Harry Potter series. It not only continued the shift from single-books to an episodic series and fleshed out elements of the Wizarding World, it also resurrected Lord Voldemort and kicked off the Second Wizarding War. The three years between Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix also saw the first great flourish of Harry Potter fan-fiction, with literally millions of writers producing billions of versions of the next few books. \u00a0 (Rowling deserves full credit for encouraging writers to write.) \u00a0 But, at the same time, Goblet of Fire has its problems – some deliberate, some accidental – that make it harder to re-read. It isn\u2019t as tightly-plotted as the last three books and it shows. After spending a few weeks at his aunt and uncle\u2019s house, Harry (and Ron and Hermione) attend the international quiddich cup. The sporting event is disrupted by a bunch of thugs – the Death Eaters, the remnants of Voldemort\u2019s old army – who scatter when they see the Dark Mark over the field. Going back to Hogwarts, Harry and his friends are told that the school […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1101,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[3,184],"class_list":["post-1097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-review","tag-christopher-g-nuttall","tag-harry-potter-and-the-goblet-of-fire"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.superversivesf.com\/fantasticschools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.superversivesf.com\/fantasticschools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.superversivesf.com\/fantasticschools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.superversivesf.com\/fantasticschools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.superversivesf.com\/fantasticschools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1097"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.superversivesf.com\/fantasticschools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1097\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1114,"href":"https:\/\/www.superversivesf.com\/fantasticschools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1097\/revisions\/1114"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.superversivesf.com\/fantasticschools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.superversivesf.com\/fantasticschools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.superversivesf.com\/fantasticschools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.superversivesf.com\/fantasticschools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}