Post two: Neville Longbottom

JK Rowling has explored character development in some interesting ways. We see characters like Neville whom are affected by their experiences and Harry whom is affected by his. But I always pause to think, “is this how they would have really turned out in real life?” but it is, after all, a children’s story. Both characters took different turns in life, influenced by their circumstances. There is an interesting principle in sociology that describes life is like a race, and we all start on different places of the track and therefore achieving success at different rates, it is easier to those whom start first or closer to the finish line and harder for those at a further starting point. Where do you think Neville started on this track versus Harry? Neville blooms as the fourth friend, he’s sometimes included in the trios escapades in the first book, but as the trio- made of Ron, Harry, and Hermione, is more firmly established. He becomes the background character that never quite disappears and always shows up at important moment which never allows you to write him off. Neville is the interesting lesson that sometimes people do better in practice and in common sense situations than they do in a classroom setting, that as students of the world, we all learn differently and perform our best in different settings. Honestly, the first time I read the series as a child, I didn’t see Neville’s importance until I was approaching the seventh book, and even then, it was something that I had to look back on and revaluate when the entire series was done. But, as I’ve reread the series, I’ve come back, excited to greet Neville as an old friend and wishing I could see more of him. Neville has achieved the great status that he deserved, however, people often forget of his homely beginnings and disregard them as a fluke or, they use his first years at Hogwarts to tinge his reputation as “Harry Potter’s sidekick.” However, Neville is a strong character, he is not infallible, we openly see his flaws and his pain and we see him behave braver than we would have imagined the Neville from book one to be. Neville is the realistic representation of bravery in spite of his flaws, which, should build the strength of the character, not hold him back, and are by no means something to forget.