Analysis of Prisoner of Azkaban

The third book can be viewed as the beginning of Voldemort’s rise to power. In this book, Pettigrew leaves to return to Voldemort, essentially enabling him to regain his full body. But other than this, Voldemort plays a small part in the conflict of the third book. Most of the conflict centers around Harry learning about Sirius, and all the fear associated with Sirius’ apparent attempts to murder him; and Harry’s struggles against the dementors. In the analysis of this book, I am going to focus on a few things: the dementors, Harry discovering his father figures, the time turner, divination, and finally a few questions that I had as I read the book.

Dementors

JKR has said many times that the dementors symbolize depression. Dementors drain people of all their happiness, and cause them to dwell on the unhappiest things that have ever happened to them. They cause people to feel cold and when they are near people see the world in a fog. All of these things are characteristics of depression. We know that Rowling has suffered from depression and understands the power that it has on a person, it is no surprise that those experiences found their way into the books. What I see as incredible is that she didn’t simply make depression a part of the books, but actually created a creature that truly embodies it.

Father Figures

This book marks the beginning of a few relationships with people who will serve as father figures for Harry. First of all you have Lupin, who Harry deeply respects and trusts. We see this most clearly when Lupin rescued Harry from Snape after he had been spotted in Hogsmeade. Harry says that he felt worse after Lupin said that he was disappointed in him, than he had the entire time he was in Snape’s office. Lupin is a responsible and caring individual. He empowers the downtrodden, like Neville, but he also understands that even the strong need some help, like Harry. These qualities not only make Lupin a good father figure, but also are some good qualities that Harry can learn from him. We are also introduced to Harry’s most prominent father figure, Sirius. Although we don’t see very much of this relationship in this book, it becomes more prominent and important in the later books.

The Time Turner

Hermione says: “We’re breaking one of the most important wizarding laws! Nobody’s supposed to change time, nobody!” Indeed, in this book we see the affects of meddling with time. Hermione struggled during this year. She was visibly very tired and overworked. It is no wonder, if you think about it she was having nearly thirty hour days. Time is very complicated, and when you have the ability to go back in time it is very easy for terrible things to happen. Hermione warns Harry that there have been cases where people have killed their past or future self. In short, time is something that has serious consequences.

Divination

We are also presented with the magic of telling the future in this book. This plays major roles throughout the rest of the series so be on he look out for it to come up again. Divination, however, is also very complicated. I think Dumbledore puts it best: “The consequences of our actions are so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed... Professor Trelawney, bless her, is living proof of that...”

The class of divination serves another purpose throughout the series: comic relief. Professor Trelawney is a comical character. Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s reaction to the lessons and homework also provide some laughs. The best thing is that it just gets funnier from here.

Questions I Have

Why did the sneakoscope go off part way through the train journey, just as they were talking about Black, and not earlier? Wasn’t Pettigrew being deceitful the entire time he was a rat?
How do earthen passages appear out of walls several stories up, like the passage that caved in on the fourth floor or the one that comes out of the second floor of the Hog’s Head in the seventh book?
When the dementors come to the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff match, was it because they were hungry or sensed that Sirius was present?
When animagi transform, do their clothes also transform with them? What about turning back into people? (I know that the books indicate they do, but how does it work? What if someone was wearing an invisibility cloak?)
How did Sirius know that Harry did not have permission to go to Hogsmeade and that he should send permission at the end of the book?