Courage To Grow

Courage is not necessarily something you are simply born with, it can develop from the experiences life throws at you. This seems to be one of the main themes that J.K. Rowling toyed with in the Harry Potter series. There are certain characters in the series that have obvious natural courage, but then there are others who gain courage and strength as they grow up in the series. The main character that exhibits a constant growth of courage throughout the books is Neville Longbottom. Neville entered the series as a shy boy who lacked self-confidence. He seemed very clumsy and as if he would win a “least likely to succeed” award if one was given at Hogwarts. Neville was awful in potions class, mostly because he was terrified of Professor Snape. Neville was also shown in the beginning of the series as being very forgetful and not being able to remember passwords to his Gryffindor tower. Towards the end of the first book however, Neville gets the courage to confront Harry, Ron, and Hermione about protecting the sorcerer’s stone. Neville continued to show sporadic examples of his growing bravery after this incident; he helped Harry fight at the Department of Mysteries, he helped lead Dumbledore’s Army, and Neville also killed Nagini for Harry. These are just some of the prominent examples of Neville becoming braver during each book in the series. Without Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter series, there would not have been as strong of a theme of courage and of surprise. Everyone felt surprised reading the series and watching Neville turn from a boy to a man. Courage is one of the strongest themes of the series, and Neville enhanced the theme greatly.