Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Book Report

Theme

While the battle of good and evil is an underlying theme throughout the Harry Potter

books, the main theme of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is fear. In the

third book of the Harry Potter series, the reader is introduced for the first time to Dementors.

Dementors are creatures that suck the soul out of your body, and they can physically personify fear

itself. Harry's extreme fear of them is evident, because whenever he encounters a boggart, a

shape-shifting spirit, it takes the form of a Dementor. Remus Lupin acknowledges Harry's fear

when he says, “That suggests that what you fear most of all is -- fear. Very wise, Harry” (Chapter

8, Page 155). This is his way of telling Harry that if he can conquer his fear, he can defeat evil.

One way for Harry to defeat the Dementors is with a Patronus charm. A Patronus charm

represents good, battles fear and darkness, and gives Harry a power he had not previously

possessed. Happy memories are the only thing which can give a Patronus its power. Because of

this, Harry has to stop dwelling on the past and the death of his parents and think of the happy

times. Harry realizes he can conquer his fear if he focuses on the happy things in his life and

continues to fight evil.

Plot

• Harry is once again staying with the Dursleys for the summer when he sees that a prisoner

named Sirius Black has escaped from prison.

• Harry inflates Marge, Vernon's sister, after hearing her make rude comments about his

parents. This leads to him running away and getting picked up by the Knight Bus.

• He travels to Diagon Alley and the wizardry world, where he meets Cornelius Fudge,

the Minister of Magic. He tells Harry that he has to stay in Diagon Alley for the
 remaining three weeks before school starts again.

• The night before the Hogwarts Express departs, Harry learns that Sirius Black is a

convicted murderer who wants to murder Harry.

• Harry reunites with his two best friends, Ron and Hermione, and the three head back to

Hogwarts with something new – Hermione's adopted cat, Crookshanks. Crookshanks

has it in for Ron's pathetic rat, Scabbers, which leads to a long series of arguments

between Ron and Hermione.

• On the way back to school, some Dementors, the scary guards of Azkaban, enter the

train looking for Sirius Black. Being around the Dementors makes Harry relive his

parents' death at the hand of Voldemort and often makes him faint.

• Remus Lupin, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, helps them by teaching

Harry to repel Dementors by using the Patronus Charm. The trio learn that the

Dementors will be patrolling around the school in order to protect Harry from Sirius.

• Harry visits a village in Hogsmeade where he learns that Sirius Black was a family

friend and his godfather, who betrayed his family and gave Voldemort access to their

home. He also discovers that Sirius has been convicted for killing thirteen Muggles,

which was witnessed by Peter Pettigrew.

• Ron and Hermione’s friendship suffers because Ron believes that Hermione’s cat,

Crookshanks, ate his rat, Scabbers.

• At Christmas, Harry receives a late-model Firebolt broom. Fearing that it might be

cursed, Hermione reports it to McGonagall.

• Harry, Ron, and Hermione tried to save Hagrid’s hippogriff, Buckbeak from execution,

after it attacked Draco Malfoy. Their efforts are unsuccessful, but Scabbers reappears

shortly after hearing Buckbeak being executed.

• Ron chases Scabbers, only to be attacked by a big black dog, who drags Ron through a
 tunnel under the Whomping Willow into the Shrieking Shack. Harry and Hermione

follow him to find Ron and Sirius, who has transformed into a dog. Lupin enters and

explains that he is a werewolf. Lupin also tells them that Scabbers is Peter Pettigrew in

his animal form. Peter is Voldemort's servant and the real criminal that murdered

Harry’s parents and thirteen Muggles.

• Severus Snape arrives to apprehend Sirius, but Harry knocks him out. Lupin and Sirius

transform Peter into his human form and prepare to kill him. Harry stops them, telling

him that his father would not have wanted it. Sirius is a good guy and Harry's

godfather.

• At night, Lupin turns into a werewolf and becomes violent. Peter escapes again, and

Sirius prevents Lupin from attacking the others. Dementors approach them, and they

lose consciousness. When they wake up in the hospital, Harry, Ron and Hermione learn

that Sirius has been sentenced to receive the Dementor’s Kiss, which removes the soul

of the recipient.

• Dumbledore advises Hermione to use her time-turner to go back in time and fix

everything. So Harry and Hermione travel back in time to that afternoon and manage to

save both Buckbeak and Sirius. Harry saves Sirius by casting a super powerful

Patronus against the Dementors.

• The school year ends and everyone heads home for the summer. Because he is a

werewolf, Lupin is forced to resign. Sirius goes into hiding, and the trio of best friends

go back to their homes.

Characters

Harry Potter – He is a brave, young boy who overcomes his fear in order to find out the

truth about the death of his parents. He is constantly battling evil in his search for the truth. He

remains a loyal friend and protects his best friends, Ron and Hermione, from the forces of evil.
 Ron Weasley – He isn't as brave as Harry, but he begins to gain some courage in this story.

He is a happy person and encourages others to be happy. He is Harry and Hermoine's best friend

and a funny character.

Hermoine Granger – She is a smart, clever, and helpful person. She is best friends with

Harry and Ron. Hermoine is a kind-hearted girl who turns back time to save Sirius and Buckbeak.

Remus Lupin – He is a responsible and brave man who saves Harry from the Dementors.

He is a teacher of the Defense Against the Dark Arts. He teaches Harry a special spell against evil

spirits. He was friends with James Potter (Harry’s father), Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew.

Sirius Black – He is a prisoner of Azkaban, who is dishonestly accused of Peter Pettigrew's

death. Actually, he is a positive person who was friends with Harry’s parents. He is a strong-

willed man who doesn’t fear death.

Remus Lupin – He is a good teacher and a mentor for Harry. He teaches Defense Against

the Dark Arts. He is old, wise, and brave, but he has one problem – he is a werewolf.

Sirius Black – He represents the title of the book as the Prisoner of Azkaban. He is

believed to be an evil murderer, but later it is discovered he has been framed. He is actually a good

guy who was the best friend of Harry's father, James, and is also Harry's godfather. Sirius is

strong, not afraid of death, and can shape-shift into a black dog.

Peter Pettigrew – He is weak, selfish, and untrustworthy. He can change into a rat named

Scabbers. Peter is also a murderer. He changed into a rat in order to hide the fact that he killed

Harry's parents and framed Sirius for their murders.

Setting

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban takes place during Harry's third year of school

and in modern times between two worlds that co-exist: the Muggle world where humans live, and

the wizardry world that includes the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where witches

and wizards practice magic.

Review

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling is a much darker book than the

first two Harry Potter books I have read. This book focuses not only on the battle between

good and evil, but also on fear. Harry's fear is intensified through the Dementors which appear

whenever he feels afraid. The Dementors can suck out someone's soul if he/she does not focus on

happy thoughts. Rowling uses Harry's situation to demonstrate that a person's fears are just in

his/her head. It doesn't take magic to conquer fear. By thinking positive thoughts and focusing on

happy things, a person can overcome his/her fears.

Rowling continues to demonstrate the consequences of good behavior versus evil behavior

in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Peter Pettigrew's evil actions of murdering Harry's

parents and others led him to turn himself into a rat so he could hide from justice. The symbolism

of the rat indicates just how despicable Peter is. Even though his evil actions are eventually

revealed, the good in Harry allows him to forgive Peter and to save him from being put to death.

By forgiving Peter, Harry is able to focus on good things and being happy and not on evil things

and being sad.

I have enjoyed all of the books in the Harry Potter series, but so far this has been my

favorite. While I like the fantasy and magic of Rowling's books, I am also glad to see Harry

overcome his fears and finally get some resolution for the murder of his parents. It is good to read

about someone like Harry who has had tragedy in his life, is able to overcome it, and is learning

some important life lessons along the way. I would recommend reading Harry Potter and the

Prisoner of Azkaban because the lessons of overcoming fear, making good choices, and

forgiving others are all lessons we can apply to our own lives.

Favorite Quotations

1. “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” (Weasley, Chapter 10, Page 192). I like this
 quote because usually when someone takes an oath, it is to do good. It is funny that

someone would take an oath to do no good.

2. “I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing it because — I don’t reckon my dad would’ve

wanted them to become killers — just for you.” (Potter, Chapter 19, Page 376). I like this

quote because Harry knows his dad would choose to forgive the person who murdered him

and his wife, and he honors his father by doing what he believes his dad would want.

3. “The consequences of our actions are always so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the

future is a very difficult business indeed . . .” (Dumbledore, Chapter 22, Page 426). I like

this quote because it is a reminder that all of our actions have consequences. We may not

know what the consequences will be, but we can be assured they will affect our future.

4. “You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don't recall them more

clearly than ever in times of great trouble? Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows

himself most plainly when you have need of him.” (Dumbledore, Chapter 22, Page 427).

This quote reminds me that even if someone you love has died, they still live on through

you. We can have them with us whenever we want just by thinking of them.