Cohen's
"Seven Theses" happened to be published a year before the first Harry
Potter book came out on bookshelves across America. It turns out that his third
thesis is represented fairly well in J.K. Rowling's novels. The scariest type
of monster is that which is unknown. Even some of the most famous monsters can have
complexities that make them difficult to understand.
Before I continue, I should let everyone know
that I have not read the last few books of the series, but I have seen all of
the movies. If I mess up on any fundamental details, let me just say sorry
ahead of time.
Lord
Voldemort, the antagonist of the Harry Potter series, is in a so-called category
crisis. Is he a human, a wizard, a half-blood, or something else entirely? What
makes him such a monster is that nobody in the stories really cares what he
is... he defied the laws of humanity and needs to pay for his crimes.
The
second thesis by Cohen is about how the monster has a fleeting presence. I
cannot recall all of the details of the books/ movies, but after getting some
info from IMDB, it turns out that the Dark Lord tried to kill Harry in every
book of the series except the third and sixth. However, he usually only has
about one or so appearances per book.
Further
support for the idea of Voldemort as an ephemeral being is in his creation of
the Horcruxes. These basically allowed him to come back to life and be his
jolly old self again. This would be a crusher for anybody who has to deal with
a monster. To have to kill a powerful monster over and over again would be
heartbreaking, not to mention terrifying. In addition to other reasons, if you
know the story, this is why Harry is haunted by Voldemort throughout his school
years. A pondering thought to leave with: a weird, monstrous humanoid that
never dies - no thanks.
I like how you picked "He who must not be named" to write about, I had not even thought about how he could be considered a monster. However, after reading your post and thinking about it, it is quite clear that Voldemort is in fact a monster. Not only in his appearance is he monster like, but what he does and the results of his actions. Everyone in the wizard world was so terrified of him that they would not even dare to say his name, and he had no problem breaking the taboos of wizardry. I also agree with how you connected him to Cohen's second thesis and how monsters never die, Voldemort kept coming back no matter what they did to him. Who is to say that even though all of the Horcruxes were destroyed that he can't come back, there is always the possibility. Finally, you mentioned how he is in the category crisis going back to Cohen's first thesis I would agree with this. No one truly knows what Voldemort is, which alone is pretty terrifying because he does not follow any rules and in going against the social norms is what caused people to be so scared of him.
ReplyDeleteSo I can see how you think that he is a monster. Which according to some of the thesis he is a monster. I don't think he quite fits the category crisis though. They do know what he is. He is a half-blood and also a wizard. They do mention that in both the books and movies. The fact that nobody cares is something different than not knowing what category he fits in. The fact that he keeps coming back though fits nicely. He does manage to break his soul into different pieces by which he is able to keep living immortally.He keeps attempting to come back several times. Through out the books/movies. Also every time he seems to reappear in the movies something bad happens.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I really did see a huge connection of was that it reminded me a lot of Hitler. He was a leader trying to vanish one group of people that he did not consider them to be "Pure Bloods" Like in Harry Potter when Voldemort tries to kill all the muggles. Just like Hitler did not have the characteristics of the people he considered to be "pure" neither did Voldemort. Yet everyone seem to fear and them. Like not even caring that they weren't "Pure" themselves. Which always strikes me as odd.
I like your idea! Before you mention Harry Potter here, I have just thought that Lord Voldemort is coming back every year because Hogwarts has the 7-year-education system and that is the way J.K. Rowling makes a money.. But anyways, the Cohen's idea can be totally applied.
ReplyDeleteIt is also interesting to see the world of Harry Potter. Among the witches and wizards, they call people without the magic power muggle. While people call monstrous creatures "monster," in the world of Harry those muggles are unusual. Lord Voldemort and people in the dark side of the world hate muggles and think they are dirty. What Dr. Hadley said in the last class that people do not welcome things too complicated / cannot define reminds me of the position of muggle in the world of witches and wizards.
I love that you wrote about Lord Voldemort and that you were able to apply the theses to him! I completely agree that he is the harbinger of category crisis. He is so many things. He was once an orphan, a wizard in school, and a leader of a political movement, if you will. Then he turns immortal because of his horcruxes, drinking the unicorn blood and then having possession of elder wand. For most of the series he escapes, as well. He's around in most of the books but no one manages to take him down until the very end of the last book. I think your ideas were very well thought out and I really enjoyed reading your post!
ReplyDelete