Harry Potter Vs Azkaban

Growing up, Harry Potter was a story that was ever present in the lives of my family. My older brother and sister are eight and ten years older, and they quickly became fascinated by this world. My dad would take them to the midnight book openings and they would bring home three copies of the new book. My siblings become enthralled with this world, and I so badly wanted to know and share in their passion. The Prisoner of Azkaban was the first Harry Potter book that I read by myself, and it was the first to not feel like a children’s book. The Wizarding World became so different than it had in the first two books, as I was able to vividly picture this world for the first time. The Prisoner of Azkaban introduces a plethora of information …show more content…
This is the first book where Voldemort does not have the ability to seek Harry out, and that alone creates a complex story line. Instead, the antagonist, for most of the book, is Sirius Black. Sirius, to Harry, represents the worst person in the world, a bad friend. Harry has to deal with the emotional and psychological turmoil of knowing that friends could betray him at any moment. Sirius’s presence evokes more fear in Harry than in the previous books, and it causes a general fear from the greater population. However, it is a complete plot twist to find out that Harry is Sirius’s godson and an even bigger one to find out that Sirius is innocent. After that moment, Harry has the opportunity to have a father figure that loves him. They start to make plans for the future; a future that they will never have. As I re-read the books, I started to see that the real antagonist in this book is the Ministry and their one sided view of events. Whether that is with Buckbeak’s hearing, Remus losing his job because he is a werewolf, or with Sirius being a wanted man. The Ministry is unwilling to change its perspective, even when it is blatantly wrong. It parallels our society’s unwillingness to change, even when it is completely obvious to do so. It is the first time that Harry realizes that the right thing does not always occur, which is a hard lesson for anyone. The Prisoner of Azkaban allows for the Wizarding World to grow substantially. Not only is the physical world expanding, but also the characters begin to show complexities that allow for readers to connect to them. The reader sees how the Wizarding World conducts itself, and is given a glimpse at a world much like ours. This world has the same insecurities, regulations, and confusion that ours has at times, and that is why I connected with it so