Essay Questions

Both Dumbledore and Voldemort are shown as powerful wizards who came up against death multiple times. Contrast their interactions and approaches with death.

Voldemort splits his soul to make seven Horcruxes, permanently damaging his soul but ensuring his immortality (unless someone destroys the Horcruxes). He lives in permanent fear of death, and makes himself so powerful that only a person dedicated to tracking down every Horcrux can kill him. When the other Horcruxes are finally destroyed, he keeps Nagini glued to his side, terrified that someone will kill her and make it easier to kill him. Dumbledore, however, has a much more peaceful relationship with death. While he does track down the Deathly Hollows, implying that he does want to become a master over death, he’s much less frantic about finding the cloak, the resurrection stone and the Elder Wand than Voldemort is about keeping his Horcruxes safe. Furthermore, when Snape tells him that he’s going to die before the end of the year, he accepts his fate, and when he asks Snape to kill him, he goes to his death at peace.

How does Harry’s sacrifice at the end of the book model his mother’s sacrifice when he was a baby?

Harry is wracked with guilt by the end of the Battle of Hogwarts: he’s watched Lupin, Tonks, Fred Weasley and countless former classmates die, and knows that they’ve died defending him from Voldemort. When he meets his parents, Lupin and Sirius before sacrificing himself, he tells them that he never wanted any of them to die for him. He gives himself up to Voldemort to destroy the Horcrux inside of him and make it easier for his friends to survive, even though it means that he won’t be alive to see Voldemort’s defeat. Lily Potter stood between Voldemort and Harry when he was a baby, and told him to kill her instead, in the hope that her son might survive. Both Lily and Harry sacrifice themselves for the sake of their loved ones, even if it means their own deaths.

How do the Death Eaters’ targeting of Muggle-born students act as an allegory for real-world examples of violence against minority groups?

When the Death Eaters come to power, one of the first things that they attempt to do is turn public opinion against Muggle-borns, which is something most tyrannical leaders do when attempting to target a minority group. Furthermore, they produce media claiming that Muggle-borns only have their powers because they’ve stolen them from other witches and wizards, which further turns public anger on them, and means that they won’t only be targeted by the government: they’ll be targeted by neighbors, friends and coworkers. The Death Eaters also launch a campaign to round Muggle-borns up, put them on trial and imprison them, which is a trait of many cases of ethnic violence: those in power target a group that they can blame for society’s problems and either kill them or lock them away, where they will be forgotten by the rest of society.

Following his death, information about Snape comes to light that changes Harry's opinion of him. Are his actions justified?

Snape's actions are not justified, because his actions against Harry and his friends are far more severe than they needed to be. While he had to act cruel and callous to pretend to Voldemort that he was still on his side and hated Dumbledore, that cruelty didn't need to extend as far as it did. For example, he didn't need to terrorize Neville, a student whose parents were tortured into insanity by a notorious Death Eater, to the point where his biggest fear is Snape, a teacher. Furthermore, the only reason he was so cruel to Harry was because Harry reminded him of James, and terrorizing a boy because he resembles his father, who Snape hated, is deeply unprofessional and needlessly cruel. He may have been a triple agent who was ultimately working to help Dumbledore, but his unnecessary cruelty to most students at Hogwarts don't make him a hero, or even redeemable.

How does J. K. Rowling dichotomize good and evil through Harry Potter and Voldemort?

Rowling repeatedly makes it clear that Harry Potter and Voldemort share some fundamental similarities that polarise readers’ views about what is innately good or evil. For example, both Harry and Voldemort can speak to snakes, however this is an ability that only those who belong to Slytherin possess. Slytherins have been characterised as cruel and evil throughout the series by having Malfoy, Harry’s nemesis, placed in the house as he attempts to sabotage Harry. Additionally, the Sorting Hat had initially declared Harry a Slytherin, but after having discussed houses with Ron and Hermione, Harry dreads this decision and requests that he be placed anywhere else.

The third fundamental difference is that Harry and Voldemort are connected to each other through their minds and have almost interchangeable backstories: both neglected by their ‘families’, having unique tendencies even at Hogwarts, destined for something great. However, it is the element of choice that sets the two apart. Harry chooses to speak Parseltongue to protect Malfoy’s conjured snake from attacking Justin in the Chamber of Secrets. He expresses his desire to shift to a house that isn’t ‘evil.’ He uses his connection to Voldemort for good. Although, when Harry destroys Voldemort, his ability to speak Parseltongue and his connection to him are lost. In addition, Harry gains a new found appreciation for Slytherin, as seen in the Deathly Hallows. Voldemort has consistently made evil decisions that define his character.