To do list for this journal

1) Parallels between Great Expectations and Harry Potter

2)Hogwarts houses as they relate to astology and tarot... also indirectly becoming a manfesto on my view of the nature of the houses.

3)McGonagall and Snape: What is canon. What fanon concepts are in character. Which are not. Which are in conflict with canon vs. which are harmonious to canon.

4)McGonagall backstory in my eyes and an anticlimactic ending of the series that has been crushed by OotP but I still enjoy.

5) The Weasleys as they pertain to my own family.

6)Reconstructing the maurauders after the decimation of an ideal in OotP

Harry Potter and Great Expectations

Re-reading Great Expectations a few months ago I noticed myself making a lot of parallels to Harry Potter and also realized some connections I had been making all along.

There are some obvious things, like Harry and Pip both being orphans(like so many heroes). Pip spends his childhood living with his sister, whereas Harry lives with his mother's sister. Both women are quite abusive to the little boy, although Pip has it much better off because of Joe. Joe to me seems to have a strong similarity to Hagrid, the big strong man who is strangely childish and affectionate to the hero. Both also serve as the first people to give him reinforcement, as Joe protects Pip as best he can from his sister and Hagrid is the first member of the wizarding world Harry interacts with and he takes him away from the Dursleys. This life is abruptly halted by a miraculous opportunity, or rather necessity, of leaving it behind for something much better (for Pip: to be a gentleman, and for Harry: going off to Hogwarts). Both of these changes are unexpected but make sense of random events in the depressing childhood chapter of the boys' lives (Harry and the snake; Pip and the man with the file who gives him money).

The connection that appeared first and most strongly to me is that between Ron and Herbert, Harry and Pip's best friends. Upon rereading GE I realized that I had been reading Ron in terms of him during my whole study of HP without realizing it. Both boy-men are loyal, proud, not stupid but not particularly brilliant, and will never be as "special" as the hero. Both come from overly large families with not quite sufficient income, and both serve as a sort of model for the hero of what the appropriate etiquette and virtues for this new life are, in which Ron and Herbert have grown up but Harry and Pip are newcomers. This is also related to the parallel between the Weasleys (Ron's family) and the Pockets (Herbert's family). In addition to their similarities in number and finances, both families somewhat adopt the hero and also are seen as having the "right world outlook" as opposed to other families (or branches of families) in the society the hero has entered (eg. the rest of Miss Havisham's family or the Malfoys). There is a slight quirkiness and a definite chaos to Pockets and the Weasleys, but is presented as being an endearing quality.

Then we come to the boy's convict-benefactors. Pip begins by being terrified by the convict and then later disgusted by him but finally learns to love and appreciate the man who has done so much for him, only to have him killed. Similarly, Harry begins by hating and fearing Sirius but then becomes attached to him after hearing his story, just like Pip. Sirius is then also killed almost as soon as Harry has learned to appreciate his godfather, despite his best efforts to save him. Both men actually die as a result of the boys' efforts to save them in fact. Their guardian-love actually leads them to death and danger needlessly. Both men are also fugitives, who end up being somewhat innocent (the convict was indeed a criminal but one out of circumstances and mainly was convicted because he was framed by an associate while Sirius was also framed by someone he trusted and is not evil (although we have learned he was no saint and did nearly get Snape killed, above and beyond humiliating him).

A smaller detail is the boys' obsession with a girl who they enjoy thinking about but actually never have a good time with (Cho for Harry and Estella for Pip).


And we have come to the end of my lunch hour so that will be all for the moment although there is much more to be said... Although I can't help prognosticating connections to come:

*Something tragic ought to befall Petunia to make us like her better and feel sorry for her, just like "Mrs. Joe"

It becomes very hard to know who serves as a Biddy character, she seems somewhat similar to Hermione but has nothing to do with Herbert and there is so romantic tension between her and Harry and then there becomes implied HG/RH and that's just weird.

Okay really going now...