Book Review

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

In Partial fulfilment for the requirements in

By:
IAN GABRIEL G. OLIQUIANO
Grade 11 - Raven

Submitted to:
CRIS JEAN V. DATO-ON
Subject Teacher

March 2019
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE
Author: J.K. Rowling
Genre: Fantasy
Country: United Kingdom
Language: English
Publisher: Bloomsbury (UK) (Canada 2010–present)
Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic (US)
Publication Date: July 8, 2000
Pages: 734 (US Edition)
ISBN: 0-7475-4624-X
Preceded by: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Followed by: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

In this fourth entry to the Harry Potter series by novelist JK Rowling, I just

couldn’t help but fantasize what it is truly like this time around in the wizarding world

now that new magical things, incredible characters and formidable threats are what

Harry Potter’s new journey revolves around.

By the beginning of the book, the narrative manages to build an interesting and

thrilling exposition in connection to establishing the foundation for the upcoming peril

that the wizarding world will face. It keeps you guessing knowing that from the previous

book which is entitled “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” the thought-to-be-

dead character named Peter Pettigrew or “Wormtail” was actually the one who betrayed

his friends including Harry’s father, James, as Pettigrew have turned his loyalty to

Voldemort, the dark wizard and that now, as shown in the first chapter, the dark side are

on the rise with their evil and wicked plans wherein Wormtail aided in bringing

Voldemort to life once again.

the Quidditch World Cup which happens to be the game that the wizards anticipate. I

genuinely liked how the threat was slowly being revealed through the particular event

and it shows us readers that Harry is definitely going to go through a lot of danger, when

the Dark Mark was conjured at the sky, showing that Voldemort may have been on the

rise once again.

However, that didn’t stop the Triwizard Tournament from being held at the

Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, which introduces us to two new magical

schools who will participate in the event, namely the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic

and the Durmstrang Institute for Magical Learning. This creative choice that the writer

decided to make for the story makes way for a much broader and exciting story as it

delves deeper into the lore of magic. I was actually intrigued by this plot point that I

already knew by the sense of it that this would be a monumental and magical journey

for Harry Potter.

Harry’s best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger had really interesting

character arcs especially the latter character who proves to be passionate and

determined rather than just being a clever and intelligent witch. There is also a new

fascinating and mysterious character named Alastor Moody or nicknamed as “Mad Eye

Moody” who eventually becomes the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

The plot begins to actually kick off when Harry Potter, mysteriously, was chosen

by the “Goblet of Fire” to participate in the Triwizard Tournament even though our

protagonist wasn’t even of the right age to compete. He is forced to partake in the event
alongside with the French Beauxbatons student Fleur Delacour, the famous Quidditch

player Viktor Krum and the popular Hogwarts student named Cedric Diggory.

Filled with magically complex tasks, I was captivated by the wonderful imagery

that Rowling used in describing as to initiate our imagination, and the unpredictable fate

of the players in engaging in the challenges. During this part of the book, the writer

utilized a specific style that kept me clueless and yet hooked enough to finish reading a

chapter. This keeps you so engaged to the events in the magical school, that you’ll

surely be surprised about the plot twists and turns which are mostly in accordance to

the whereabouts and the acts of the evil side especially by the end of the book.

Quite interestingly, we were introduced as well to the three unforgivable curses

that a wizard is not allowed to conjure and amusing moments were also prevalent at

what seems to be, the wizard version of “prom” which happens to be the Yule Ball, but it

only takes place during the Triwizard Tournaments on Christmas Day.

For Harry Potter fans who have read the previous books, they will certainly notice

that our beloved characters are slowly transitioning into the young adult world whereas

they are now teenagers. One implication of this plot point is the way Harry, Ron and

Hermione’s relationship are getting much complicated and how Harry, most importantly,

by the end of this book, unexpectedly faced much greater threats which made Harry

physically, emotionally and mentally stronger making readers witness Harry’s dynamic

transformation.

This book could give you so many delightful and daunting moments at the same

time. However, some daunting moments lack the establishing factor that will truly make
the readers realize and fear the terror that the dark lord, Voldemort, does impose but

Rowling still effectively did those parts to such extent that it will leave you satisfied and

curious.

Even if the story is in a setting involving magic and fantasy, it successfully

delivers the main theme about being faced with bigger challenges at such a young age

and is obviously intended for the teenagers nowadays who will immediately find

themselves empathizing with the young characters about being brought to the

inevitable, much complicated world and challenging life. This entry to the franchise is

surely not just a story about a magical adventure that it only continually gives us vivid

use of words and kicks off our imagination, but it also never strays from fixating the

story on the protagonist and how the events have developed and shaped the

personality of the characters.

Nonetheless, overall, the narrative and the execution of the plotline is compelling

and progressive because of the way Rowling interweaves significant plot points and

ideas, which results to a complex, emotional and impressive story that eventually

proves to be the turning point in Harry Potter’s journey. This is definitely something that

readers and fans of the Harry Potter series will surely love.