I'm over the limit by 282 characters. I think this draft expresses my passion about Harry Potter rather well. lol Does it make sense? I feel that I'm repeating "an act of folly" too much in the first paragraph.
What do you consider to be an act of folly? Explain why. 1500 character limit with punctuations and spaces.
In my opinion, folly is a synonym for foolishness, unnecessary, and a lack of common sense. Passing acts of folly onto other people is also folly in itself. An act of folly is usually something others make an example out of; actions that are exemplars of dangerous, foolish or unnecessary acts. The morals of those types of stories typically end with the protagonists learning their lesson, and never doing them again.
Not so for Harry Potter and his little band of friends, it seems.
As eleven year olds, the group ran head first into unknown situations with no plans nor back up. Ron almost died, and Harry faced Voldemort completely unprepared. If it was not for the Deus Ex Machina that is his mother's protection, he would have died. Second year, same thing. They ran head first into facing what they knew was a dangerous creature, without any preparations beforehand. Third year, Harry had to face hundreds of soul-sucking creatures in defence of a man he knew for ten minutes. The list can go on, but one moral of the story is usually "acts of folly that results in good consequences will be rewarded".
Now, I have no problem with Harry Potter. As a matter of fact, I love it. But as an internationally acclaimed, universally adored franchise, it falls short of delivering a good moral. Through Harry's reckless actions, J.K. Rowling is teaching young, impressionable minds that those dangerous acts of folly are encouraged. Breaking rules, sneaking past a three-headed dog and destroying a centuries old artefact result in winning the House Cup. I understand that the author is also teaching morals about bravery and loyalty, but does it have to come at the price of teaching reckless acts of folly as well? No. To me, her promotion of those acts is the ultimate act of folly.
1782 characters
What do you consider to be an act of folly? Explain why. 1500 character limit with punctuations and spaces.
In my opinion, folly is a synonym for foolishness, unnecessary, and a lack of common sense. Passing acts of folly onto other people is also folly in itself. An act of folly is usually something others make an example out of; actions that are exemplars of dangerous, foolish or unnecessary acts. The morals of those types of stories typically end with the protagonists learning their lesson, and never doing them again.
Not so for Harry Potter and his little band of friends, it seems.
As eleven year olds, the group ran head first into unknown situations with no plans nor back up. Ron almost died, and Harry faced Voldemort completely unprepared. If it was not for the Deus Ex Machina that is his mother's protection, he would have died. Second year, same thing. They ran head first into facing what they knew was a dangerous creature, without any preparations beforehand. Third year, Harry had to face hundreds of soul-sucking creatures in defence of a man he knew for ten minutes. The list can go on, but one moral of the story is usually "acts of folly that results in good consequences will be rewarded".
Now, I have no problem with Harry Potter. As a matter of fact, I love it. But as an internationally acclaimed, universally adored franchise, it falls short of delivering a good moral. Through Harry's reckless actions, J.K. Rowling is teaching young, impressionable minds that those dangerous acts of folly are encouraged. Breaking rules, sneaking past a three-headed dog and destroying a centuries old artefact result in winning the House Cup. I understand that the author is also teaching morals about bravery and loyalty, but does it have to come at the price of teaching reckless acts of folly as well? No. To me, her promotion of those acts is the ultimate act of folly.
1782 characters