Ava Evans > Recent Status Updates

I’ve been wanting to reread this series for a while, however I didn’t realize how younger the target audience was. This first book seems to be an introduction into the next and doesn’t really have a lot of action in it until the end. I still enjoyed reading it, but realize I’m probably going to speedy through these!

One of the parts of the book that I have thought about the most is the relationship Tara has with her siblings. When she thinks that all of her siblings will turn on her, Tyler doesn’t, instead “[refusing] to let [Tara] go…[seizing her] hand and wrenched [her] upward” (Westover 317). This has such a powerful meaning, especially for Tara who felt like she was drowning because of the weight she carried.

Throughout the last parts of this section, Tara provides a slight mirror to me. She stumbles into a time in her life where she “began to defer…to the judgement of others” (Westover 294). Tara doubts everything that she thinks and while it’s in a completely different situation, I feel that as well, relying on others to make sure I did things right.

I think one of my favorite uses on the play of ‘names have power’ in this series is when Harry is fighting Voldemort and says “think, and try for some remorse, Riddle” (Rowling 97%). Harry’s use of the name that Voldemort tried to bury away seems to take power away from him because it shows he’s not a fancy wizard with a fancy, threatening name, but just like everyone else.

An unspoken rule in Tara's family is that they don't rely on the government for anything, which was backed by her father's skepticism of it. When the Bishop at her college tries to help her get a grant, she says that she "[doesn't] believe in grants" and explained about her father (Westover 202). Tara refuses to take the grant for the longest time because that is the rules in which she lived under her whole life.

I’ve found the dynamic the family has in this book to be interesting. Tara had never I’ve feelings towards both Shawn and her father, but when they got injured, she was there by their sides, helping them to recover. It’s interesting how a person can feel like they dislike a family member but deep down, they still feel love for them from the good times, maybe few they were, that they shared.

The essential question about the impact on adversity starts to become relevant when Tara begins to venture her way out into society. When Tara goes to take the ACT for the first time, she "felt stupid" seeing the other people take the ACT and she decided that "was their world" and "stepped into overalls and returned to [hers]" (Westover 135). This shows how Tara's challenging lifestyle compared to the others lives.

When he sees the people he cares about putting themselves in danger, Harry doesn’t want them to. He remembers how “Dumbledore, like Mad-Eye, like Sirius, like his parents, like his poor owl, all were gone where Harry could never talk to them again” (Rowling 11%). This shows how much those Harry has lost have shaken him into who he was. It shows how much grief he’s in, knowing that they died for him.

I am noticing a mirror between Tara and Tyler and my siblings and I. When Tara was struggling with Trig, she asked Tyler to come help, and Tyler “just explained the principles patiently, over and over” (Westover 127). This shows the bond good siblings have with each other where even if they can’t see each other all the time, they will still help out, no matter what.

I noticed a shift in Harry’s attitude and narrative throughout the last couple books. When he’s in his first defense against the dark arts lesson with Snape, Harry shows his hatred more openly than ever when he thinks of how Snape “[hasn’t] watched all [the defense against the dark arts teachers] come and go…hoping [he’d] be next” (Rowling 223). Harry’s hatred has reached another level all together.

The article relates to the book because it puts a definition of Tara's family's lifestyle, survivalism. Survivalism stresses "self-reliance, stockpiling supplies, and gaining survival knowledge and skills" (Survivalism). We see Tara's family displaying these as the book goes on, from packing "head for the hills" bags to her mother becoming a midwife and learning herbal medicine as to not have to rely on health care.