Book Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
by J.K. Rowling
Published by Arthur A. Levine
Publication Date July 8, 2000
Source: Bought
Genres: Fantasy
Goodreads

The summer holidays are dragging on and Harry Potter can't wait for the start of the school year. It is his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and there are spells to be learnt and (unluckily) Potions and Divination lessons to be attended. But Harry can't know that the atmosphere is darkening around him, and his worst enemy is preparing a fate that it seems will be inescapable ...With characteristic wit, fast-paced humour and marvellous emotional depth, J.K. Rowling has proved herself yet again to be a master story-teller

J.K. Rowling continues to draw toward two major themes, love and prejudice.  Love, through Harry with those surrounding him with a strong desire to protect him.  His mother giving her life to save him, Dumbledore through the stupidity of blind love consistently finds excuses to avoid telling him the true reason Voldemort attacked thirteen years ago to spare him more pain to endure.  A second being prejudice, the wizarding world has a myriad of races in the community and it appears that in every book Rowling chooses a new race to “pick on”.  In Goblet of Fire the choice is house elves, implying that they are slaves with one free elf, Dobby who was freed several years ago and while loving his new-found freedom is finding it hard to make the transition.  Strangely enough, I was also reminded of Susan B. Anthony or the Woman’s Right movement, maybe it was Hermione’s organization S.P.E.W. {Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare}.    Lastly, and I believe this is more apparent in the movies due to the costumes but the Death Eaters, Voldemort’s supporters have an uncanny resemblance to the KKK from the described garb to the groups torture and discrimination on certain races/species.