Muggle Quidditch

Mellissa G. Brown
8 December 2009
Muggle Quidditch: The Magical Sport in the Non-Magical World
One of the exciting aspects of the Harry Potter series is the interesting game of Quidditch which J.K. Rowling invented for her magical world. However, this pretend sport from a fictional, magical world has been transformed and given a muggle makeover. While it was difficult to translate this magical sport in a non-magical way, if anyone could figure out how to do it was Harry Potter fans.
Since Harry Potter has such a dedicated and obsessive fan base, it is not surprising that fans have taken their obsession one step farther. Many colleges are starting to form Quidditch teams to represent their schools. Some colleges that already have Quidditch teams include Miami University, Middlebury, Syracuse University, Indiana University, Ohio University, Louisiana State University, Boston University, Harvard, and Texas A&M. There are also high schools that are forming their own Quidditch league for the high school level. Muggle Quidditch is very similar to the magical Quidditch with a few adjustments and the muggle sport is growing in popularity
The first major adjustment is that obviously Muggle Quidditch is not played up in the air since, unfortunately, our brooms cannot fly. However, Muggle Quidditch is still played on broomsticks. It is required that all players have a broomstick, that one hand remains on the broomstick and the broomstick remains between the players legs at all times. At tournaments, the brooms that are used resemble real Harry Potter brand brooms such as the Nimbus Two Thousand and the Firebolt. In practice, anything can be used as a broom. Examples of items used as broomsticks include mops, lacrosse sticks, plungers, and PVC pipes.
The next adjustment that was required was the balls. The biggest change is the Snitch. The Harry Potter Snitch is a little golden ball with wings that arbitrarily flies around and must be caught by the Seeker. Since we do not have anything like this, a person is used as a replacement. This person is a neutral player and wears all yellow to represent the Golden Snitch. Then the player has a ball with a flag attached to it tucked into his or her pocket. The job of the seeker is to capture the ball and flag or “Snitch” to end the game.
Bludgers in Muggle Quidditch are dodge balls instead of the ball and bat combination from the books. There are two Beaters on each team and there are three Bludgers in the game. The goal of the Beaters is to hit other players with the dodge balls. After a player is hit, they have to immediately drop any ball that they are holding and run and tag up at their end of the field by running around the hoops. This action is called the Knockout Effect. Beaters can make a huge impact in a game of Muggle Quidditch because they can protect their own players and defeat players from the other team.
Chasers are exactly the same as in magical Quidditch except that since the players are on the ground and not flying, the hoops are only about seven feet off the ground instead of forty. The Keeper also has the same job of defending the hoops and keeping the other team from scoring. The Keeper has their own Goal Zone and Keeper Safety Zone. When inside this zone they are immune to Bludges and The Knockout Effect. When outside the Keeper Zone, the Keeper is subject to all the same rules as Chasers. Players are also allowed to kick the ball up to one time, except the Keeper who while in The Keeper Zone is allowed to kick the ball as many times as he or she would like.
Just as in magical Quidditch, Muggle Quidditch is a contact sport and is a violent sport with injuries. Players of Quidditch are allowed to remove the ball from other players’ hands, push, shove, grab with one hand, shoulder or body checking, slide tackling, and tripping. In the rules it specifically states that creativity is encouraged. Miami University’s Quidditch team, which was founded this year, has already had several serious injuries. One of the players tore his meniscus, one player got a concussion after hitting her head, and a girl was sent to the hospital to get stitches in her forehead after colliding with another player and his broom.
There are penalties as a result of illegal physical contact. The types of contact include cape grabbing, punching, slapping, headlocks or any physical contact directed toward the head or neck, assaulting the Snitch, and body tackling another player. The penalties for any of these types of physical contact are sixty seconds in the penalty zone, or a yellow wand which means a warning, or a red wand which is expulsion from the game.
Anyone who does not think that Quidditch is a real sport should attempt to play. With all the physical contact and injuries, it should not only be considered a sport, but a ‘dangerous contact sport’. It also takes a lot of athletic ability to play the various positions. The positions in Quidditch are basically a combination of other sports such as basketball, soccer, dodge ball, tag, track, and football. There also is no time limit to a game of Quidditch. Games of Quidditch could potentially take hours to play which will wear down players more than sports that only last a specific amount of time.
This transformation from fiction to sport shows the dedication of the Harry Potter fan base. Now fans of the Harry Potter series can experience the world of Harry Potter in a way they have never been able to do through the books or movies. Harry Potter fans, or perhaps a better term would be fanatics, truly love the Harry Potter series and the game of Muggle Quidditch is a way for them to come together with other fans and play a sport from the books. The book series has been brought to life in more ways than just the transfer of this one sport. They sell the robes, the wands, the candies, and even the books they read in stores. Universal Studios is even building the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in their Orland Theme Park and it will open in the spring of 2010. Quidditch is just another way the book series has been brought to life and fans can experience the wizarding world in a non-magical version.

Journalism in Harry Potter

Mellissa G. Brown
17 November 2009
Journalism in Harry Potter
Journalism is considered the fourth estate in the United States. Journalism checks the government’s actions. The media affects the public’s view of the government and can be a very powerful source of persuasion. In the Harry Potter series, the news media does not operate in a responsible or credible manner. The Harry Potter series portrays journalism in a negative light and has affected children’s views on journalism.
It is important to start by taking a look at how media and journalism effects the government and the public in the United States when it operates correctly. Credible journalism monitors the government and questions its actions. It reports what it finds whether it is favorable or unfavorable. There have been many investigative journalists who have revealed scandals or lies in the government. A great example is the Watergate scandal which was investigated and reported by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. Great journalism performs this role as a watch dog and monitors the government.
In the Harry Potter series, journalism and the media does not fill this important role. The Daily Prophet becomes a puppet of the Ministry of Magic and does not monitor its activity. The Daily Prophet allows the Ministry to feed lies to it and then the Daily Prophet reports the stories without checking to see if it is a reliable and fact based story. “The central purpose of journalism is to provide citizens with accurate and reliable information they need to function in a free society” (Brooks 486). The Quibbler, which has the image of being an unreliable journalistic source, does not allow the influence of the Ministry to affect what they print. The only exception to this is in the Deathly Hallows when the Death Eaters kidnap Luna Lovegood. Also, when the Prophet is publishing lies about Harry Potter, the Quibbler agrees to publish Harry’s side of the story which is actually one of the only good journalistic pieces referenced in the series.
A Study at Baylor University came to the following conclusion based on a study of how the books effected perceptions of news media:
“Journalism as portrayed in the Potter world is heavily slanted and misleading. Information is often obtained through unethical and illegal means and is intended to damage the credibility of the subjects concerned. In addition, only one journalist of any consequence is mentioned by name in the series, and she is revealed to be the epitome of the corrupt, yellow journalist stereotype” (Libhart 20).
This is a very problematic portrayal of journalism in the Harry Potter series which allows students to create negative views on the news media and journalism because of the examples in a popular book series.
Rita Skeeter is a poor example of a journalist and makes many basic mistakes that make her an incredible journalist. First of all, with her Quick Quotes Quill she misquotes her sources. One of the most important aspects of journalism is to correctly quote your sources. Journalists spend a lot of time checking and double checking that they are correctly quoting their sources. If a media source incorrectly quotes a source they could be sued for liable. “The article had appeared 10 days ago, and Harry still got sick, burning feeling of shame in his stomach every time he thought about it. Rita Skeeter had reported him saying an awful lot of things he couldn’t remember ever saying in his life, let alone in that broom cupboard” (Rowling 314). What Rita Skeeter does to Harry can be considered liable because she defames his character and misquotes him to her advantage.
The article that Rita Skeeter publishes about Hermione breaking Harry’s heart could also be considered liable and Hermione could sue Rita for the damages that the article causes her. Hermione receives hate mail from readers and suffers as a result of the article. Some people argue that everyone knows that Rita Skeeter does not tell the truth. However, even the sensible Mrs. Weasley believes Rita’s article and is cold toward Hermione until Harry and Hermione directly tell her that the article is full of lies. Rita’s reporting techniques are very unethical and could potentially lead to legal consequences.
Rita also uses a very questionable method to obtain information. The way that Rita eavesdrops on conversations through being an unregistered Animagus could be considered problematic. This method could be considered trespassing, considering that Dumbledore did kick Rita Skeeter off Hogwarts property, or even invasion of privacy when she listens in on private conversations. Hermione questions how Rita Skeeter is eavesdropping on private conversations. When Rita ‘bugs’ private conversations this is an unethical journalistic practice.
The poor examples of journalism in Harry Potter give the field a bad image. Children read the Harry Potter books and get the wrong impression of journalism through the books. ‘“The books present an unnecessarily pessimistic view of journalism today,’ says Dr. Amanda Sturgill, senior lecturer in journalism at Baylor and one of the study co-authors. ‘Since literature can play an important role in helping children learn and possibly empathize with situations experienced by the characters, the potential for influence on journalism is strong’”(Fogelman 4). The Daily Prophet and Rita Skeeter are the impression that readers get of journalism and it has effected some readers views of journalism in the non-magical world. The impressions left by the Harry Potter series could lead children to believe that the journalistic field is a poor career choice and that newspapers or news media cannot be trusted.


Works Cited
Brooks, Brian S., et al. News Reporting and Writing. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2008. Print.
Fogleman, Lori. "Newspapers Already Struggling- and 'Harry Potter' Doesn't Help." Baylor University N.p., 29 July 2009. Web. 17 Nov. 2009. .
Libhart, Tina, Amanda Sturgill, and Jessica Winney. "Harry Potter and Children's Perceptions of the News Media." American Communication Journal 10.1 (2008).
Rowling, J.K. 2000. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. New York: Scholastic.

Severus Snape Saga: Do Motives Define the Action?

Mellissa G. Brown
13 October 2009
Severus Snape Saga: Do Motives Define the Action?
In my first paper, I compared Severus Snape to other classic heroes throughout mythology, history, and literature. Severus Snape definitely possesses some characteristics of a hero, but many Harry Potter fans have issues calling Snape, a character we have learned to hate, a hero. He is painted as such a monstrous person throughout the first six novels, that fans cannot let go of the grudges they hold against him. There is no reason that there cannot be more than one hero in the series, because many would say that Hermione, Ron, and Dumbledore are all heroes in the series. So why would Snape not be a hero in the series? In this paper, I will be exploring whether or not the motives behind Snape’s actions make what he does in the end any less heroic and whether or not fans can let go of how evil Snape is to Harry throughout the series.
There are many questions we have to ask ourselves when we try to determine whether or not Snape is a hero. “Would James and Lily be alive now if not for him? Would Harry be dead now if not for him? Did he ever care about Harry, or only Lily?” (Caffrey). It seems like the answers to these questions contradict one another. I would argue that James and Lily would be alive if Severus had not told Voldemort the prophecy that he overheard. However, I would also say that the only reason Harry survived throughout the seventh novel was because of all the help he had from Snape. So can we as fans forgive Snape for essentially killing James and Lily, because he saved Harry? This is one of those questions that make Snape such a controversial character because there is no right answer.
Throughout the series, we do not learn very much about Snape until the end. However, right from the first book we learn to hate Snape. He mistreats Harry, singles him out, and blatantly goes out of his way to punish Harry. How could we as readers like such a character? “J.K.R. said it plainly herself shortly after DH [Deathly Hallows] was released---‘Snape is vindictive. He’s cruel. He’s not a big man’ [JKR-MTV].” (Schoen 106). In the sixth book, we get a little peek into Snape’s past that helps the readers sympathize with Snape. When Harry is getting Occlumency lessons, he sneaks into the pensive and sees a memory of Snape when he was attending Hogwarts. James and his friends are hanging Snape upside down in the schoolyard and yelling names at him. This is the first time in the series where we actually start to feel sympathetic toward Snape as a character. The next time we learn anything about Snape is the very end of the seventh book, where we learn Snape’s entire story.
We learn that everything he did throughout the series he did to protect and help Harry, because he had loved Lily Evans his entire life. The reason behind the actions to save Harry was because he loved Lily, not necessarily because he liked or felt the need to protect Harry. Another reason that is revealed is that Snape feels responsible for the deaths of the Potter’s and this is another reason he protects Harry. Snape does not necessarily want to help Harry and he struggles with what he has to do throughout the series, but he does so because of the guilt he feels over his actions. However, Snape did have the option of walking away from the responsibility of watching over Harry entirely. “It would have been easy for Snape to walk away from that responsibility. Harry isn’t his son and only reminds Snape of everything he has missed out on in life since James married Lily, but Snape is tough and heroically takes a much harder path and stays at Hogwarts” (Schoen 106). Therefore, we know as readers that Snape took the difficult route in life in order to help Lily Evan’s son defeat the Dark Lord.
Do the motivations behind Snape’s actions make what he does any less heroic? Snape agreed to kill Dumbledore in the sixth book, so that Malfoy would not have to do it. He gave the ultimate sacrifice so that Harry could succeed in defeating the Dark Lord. Does the fact that he truly did not want to do these things change the fact that these acts were heroic? However, you could also argue that his main motive was his love for Lily Evans or his guilt over his role in her death. This brings about the question to be a true hero; do a person’s actions have to be altruistic? “According to Freud, the unconscious is the source of our motivations… However, we are often driven to deny or resist becoming conscious of these motives, and they are often available to us only in disguised form” (Postill 4). According to Freud, Snape’s motivations are unconscious.
I would like to come to the conclusion that Snape is a hero in the series even if his motives or mindset is not in the right place. I think that Snape and Harry’s motives are very similar, because they both in a way are motivated by love. Snape’s motives are questionable, but in the end he did what was necessary to defeat Voldemort and help Harry do it. An interesting article I read made a distinction between Severus and Snape. Whenever J.K Rowling calls him Severus, she is referring to him as an ally and whenever she uses the name Snape, she is referring to him as a foe. I think this is a very interesting conclusion with which I completely agree. After all this speculation, throughout two papers, I am going to take a side and say that Snape is a hero, that deserves to be celebrated in the end.



http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=121381&page=55

http://www.mugglespace.com/
Works Cited
Caffrey, Kristian. "Severus Vs. Snape." MuggleNet.com. N.p., 2009. Web. 13 Oct. 2009. .

Postill, David. "Sigmund Freud." Sigmund Freud. N.p., 2009. Web. 13 Oct. 2009. .

Spartz, Emerson, and Ben Schoen. Harry Potter Should Have Died. Berkeley: Ulysses Press, 2009. Print.

Severus Snape Saga: What is a Hero?

Mellissa G. Brown

15 September 2009

Severus Snape Saga: What is a Hero?

Harry Potter names one of his sons Albus Severus Potter. This name is a derivation of Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape. Harry explains the importance of his name in the epilogue of book seven. “You were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew” (Rowling 758). Even though Harry thinks so highly of Snape at the end of the series and describes him as the bravest man he ever knew, is Snape truly a hero in the series?

Clearly, Harry thinks that Snape is a hero by honoring his name and giving the name Severus to his son. Also, Dumbledore trusts Snape with his life and always trusts his judgment. It is safe to infer that Dumbledore would be convinced that Snape was in fact a hero of the series. Before I can determine whether or not Snape is or is not a hero, it is necessary to compare qualities that Snape possesses with other heroes such as Achilles, Atticus Finch, and Hercules.

One hero from Greek Mythology is Achilles. “He was the mightiest of the Greeks who fought in the Trojan War, and was the hero of Homer’s Iliad” (Hunter 1). Achilles was a hero who fought to the death, even though he knew he was going to die. We very frequently refer to Achilles as a hero because of his sacrifice in fighting in the Trojan Wars. Snape could be considered in this same manner a hero. Snape fights throughout the series, even though we do not know it, for Harry to be able to succeed. Snape also ends up giving the ultimate sacrifice of his life for the greater good just in the same manner as Achilles falls fighting.

Along these same lines, Achilles did have an obsession that may devalue his heroic acts. “Achilles reflects a paradigm of the hero that has fallen in deep love with honor and glory. Behind every action or decision of Achilles lies his thirst for everlasting honor and reputation” (Metsovitis 1). In this sense, Snape is very similar to Achilles because of how he acts out of his love and loss of Lily Evans. For arguments sake, I would like to say if Achilles is still considered a hero with this obsession, than we cannot rule out the idea of Snape being a hero also.

Another hero similar to Achilles is Hercules. In Greek mythology it is important to remember that although Greek heroes often did amazing things with their talents, they were not always selfless. Hercules is required to do the twelve tasks as punishment for killing his wife and children. Even though this is a great feat that shows amazing strength, he does not do it for selfless reasons. In this sense, Snape is very much like the Greek hero Hercules. Snape is very selfish in his reasons for wanting to protect Harry. Another important detail to note is that Greek heroes always die. “The precise moment when everything comes together for the hero is the moment of death” (Harvard 4). This is both true for Hercules and for Snape. When Snape’s final task is done and he delivers the memories to Harry is his moment of death. As everything comes together, it is his time to die.

A famous literary hero that must be addressed is Atticus Finch. Atticus is the hero in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird that demonstrates all the ideal values of a hero. Atticus Finch is moral, virtuous, and acts on behalf of the innocent. Atticus does the right thing no matter what the cost was to him and in doing so shows his courage to take on fight even though it was clear he was going to lose his case. In acting, he did something risky and disagreeable, but he did it because it was the right thing to do. I think Snape, even if the readers sometimes disagree, is a lot like Atticus Finch. Snape puts himself at risk to protect Harry and spy on the Death Eaters. He takes the initiative to spy on the Death Eaters and he plays a very dangerous role in protect Harry and providing information to Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix. Snape is different from Atticus in a sense that Atticus is very clear to his intentions and his actions, whereas Snape is very secretive about what he is doing and whose side he is truly protecting.

Throughout all these comparisons my main point is that Snape shares many similarities and differences from classic historical and literary heroes. He is very qualified to be considered a hero yet there are many other factors that must be considered before determining the answer to that question. All these characteristics and similarities with other heroes does not mean that Snape is a hero because there are other factors that must be considered. Since Harry Potter is the hero of the series, can there be more than one hero in these stories? Do Snape’s motives need to be considered before demining him worthy or unworthy of being a hero? These are questions that I would like to examine in other papers as I continue to determine if Snape is or is not a hero. “Is Snape just a coward who serves two masters? Or is Snape a true hero who protects Harry for the noblest reasons?” (Schoen 107). The Severus Snape Saga will continue to decode and determine the answers to these questions.

Works Cited

Harvard. "The Concept of Hero." Harvard University. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2009. .

Hunter, James. "Achilles." Encyclopedia Mythica. N.p., 3 Mar. 1997. Web. 15 Sept. 2009. .

Metsovitis, Stathis. "Is Really Achilles a Hero?" MIT. N.p., 10 Oct. 2005. Web. 15 Sept. 2009. .

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2007. Print.

Spartz, Emerson, and Ben Schoen. Harry Potter Should Have Died. Berkeley: Ulysses Press, 2009. Print.

O.WL.S.

Today was our last day of class (so sad!). We had a feast in class and ate turkey, green beans, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, and one girl even made chocolate frogs for us! We watched the last video in the series The Children of Dune and I turned in my final paper. I will be posting all four of my papers after this post for everyone to check out! The first two papers were both about Severus Snape, my third paper was about Journalism in the Harry Potter series, and my final paper was about Muggle Quidditch. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog and following along in my Harry Potter class!

Dune vs. Harry Potter

Today, we compared the Dune Saga vs. Harry Potter. I've never read or seen the Dune Saga, along with everyone else in our class. However, our professor explained the series to us and it is very complicated alternate universe about various planets. Here is the similarities between the two series. Since this is a blog about Harry Potter, I've included the Harry Potter elements under each plot theme:

Control of world/universe: Riddle/Voldemort/Deatheaters
Power of Love: Lily Evans Potter's loving sacrifice protects Harry
Unrequited Love: Snape's love for Lily Potter
The Romances: Harry/Ginny, Hermione/Ron
Father figures: Dumbledore, Hagrid, Snape
Mother figures:McGonagall, Lily, Molly
Grief, Loss: Dumbledore, Cedric Diggory
Sociopathy, Insanity: Tom Riddle, Beatrix LeStrange, Fenrir Greyback for instance
Prophecy: believed to be true
Dreams & Visions: Harry connects with Voldemort while sleeping
Secret Societies: Deatheaters, Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's Army
Societies with Secrets: Hogwarts Houses
Enhanced Memory:Pensive, Department of Mysteries
Poisons: potions
Immortality: Resurrection Stone, Sorcerer's Stone
Near Death Experience: Harry Potter in a battle with Tom Riddle (DH)
Who has to die for the world takeover: Dumbledore, Harry Potter
The Quest: repair old social order by defeating the Deatheaters and Riddle (rebellion).
Monsters: Magical creatures of many sorts

This comes from Dr. Nicholson's chart of comparisons that she sent to us.

Personally, I Think You Look a Little More Devil-May-Care This Way, but It's Up to You.

Today, we started off by discussing father figures in Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling mentions in one of her ABC interviews that she never had a father and by the end of the series, JKR has killed off a lot of father figures. It seems that JKR's own father figure experience is reflected in her writing when she kills off so many fathers and father figures. Were these father figures killed off because it was neccesary or because Rowling has a vendetta against father figures?

We also talked about mother figures such as McGonagall, Tonks, and Mrs. Weasley. It is interesting that McGonagall ends up being the first head mistriss (except for Umbridge) at the end of the Harry Potter series. Women aren't as promenate of characters or as powerful of characters. Yes, Hermione is smart, but doesn't necessarily have power. Not to mention we dont' know what happens to her after the book series ends.

Then we moved onto the topic of revolution. Our professor posed the question on whether or not there was a revolution in Harry Potter. If Voldemort had claimed power, there would have been a definite revolution and rapid change of how the current system fuctions. The old order would have been dramatically changed if Voldemort had successfully taken power. One girl argued that the revolution began when Voldemort first tried to take power some fourteen years ago and all Harry is trying to do is restore the former order before Voldemort ever existed.

It is interesting for us to take a look inside the Harry Potter government structure, or the ideas of rebellion, revolution, and social order to see how another culture deals with problems.

Of course, we finished watching Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince! No class next week due to Thanksgiving so I will not be posting. I might just post my three papers instead of class discussion for anyone who would like to read them.