Reading Response On HP #4

           I have enjoyed reading the Harry Potter series many times, and I've found myself again reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling. In this volume Harry's name has been entered, by someone unknown, to compete in the very dangerous "Tri-wizard Tournament". I think that a major issue in this book is trust.

          In one part of the book Harry has trust issues, with his best friend Ron. Ron had earlier requested that the two of them try to sneak their names in when it wasn't aloud, but Harry denies. When Harry's name is pulled from the goblet, Ron is very angry and hurt thinking that Harry put his name in with out him. Ron says "It's okay, you know, you can tell me the truth,' he said...'but I don't know why you're bothering to lie"pg. 287. I think that this quote is really showing how obviously upset Ron is with Harry, he is talking very sarcastically. You can really see that they are having issues with trust, because even though Harry keeps telling Ron he didn't put his name in, Ron refuses to believe it. I think that they need to work on trusting each other to avoid conflicts  like the one in this chapter.

         In another section of the book the issue of trust is shown between Mad-eye Moody and Harry. In the end of the book it turns out that Moody isn't really who he says he can be. One quote supporting that is "No,' said Moody slowly. 'No, he didn't. It was I who did that.' Harry heard but didn't believe"pg. 675. When you read this you can really see how much faith Harry had in Moody, he openly denies the truth, when it is put in front of him. I think that some times it can be hard to tell truth from lies when something that seems so true, is suddenly untrue. I can see where Harry is coming from, all this time Moody has stood up for him, been someone he can lean on, and now he is saying he's the bad guy. It would be disorienting.

         I think that trust is really important when it comes to friendship. With Harry and Ron you can see how the lack of it can cause arguments. Then, with Moody and Harry, you can see that too much trust can shield a person from the truth. I think that overall this is telling us that it's important to trust the ones you love, but not put too much trust in a person you have just met. I think that this theme is very true to real life also. Think about who you truly trust, not just with a secret, but something more important. I think that Harry was a little too quick to trust, and sometimes it can be to late to turn back.