Blog Post One Response – Books and Cleverness

When I first read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, I was drawn to the character Hermione.  I found her easy to relate to, not because she is one of the strong female leads through the series, but because of her personality.  While I may not possess the exact same qualities as Hermione, I share enough similarities with her that I have come to create a bond with the character.  I love that she has an opinion she is not afraid to voice, that she is intelligent, and that she has a huge heart.  Her friendship with Ron and Harry is one of the most important things to her, and I respond heavily to that.  She can be a bit bossy, which can get irritating, yet I feel we can all be a bit bossy at times, especially eleven-year-old girls.

While reading an article that J.K. Rowling did with TIME Magazine in October 2000, I found it shocking in some ways that only once had anyone told Rowling to not kill Hermione.  Hermione gives off this sense of self-confidence and bravery that is linked to her smarts and cleverness.  Yet I feel, as Rowling also stated, that she has this sort of vulnerability that not many people come to realize. Hermione is able to put on a hard shell to hide her emotions, mind you with both sass and brilliance.  It is not that she does not possess bravery and courage, but that she does become scared when dealing with the dark times that they are faced with.  Hermione is both strong and brilliant, merely trying to work hard in order to have everything go as smoothly as possible.  Hermione has taught me the importance of standing up for what you believe in and to always be yourself.

Link to TIME Magazine article (if interested).