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Reader Comments: (Page 2)

Personally, yes I think the brothers are totally true. And their past. I think that the hallows were created by and given to the brothers only so could track them and them since they deserved to be since they made the bridge.

Posted by yellow beard with red streak on March 7, 2009 5:14 PM

As Dumbledore states in his last comments, people pick exactly what is worst for them. It was only a matter of time before people noticed the first brother winning every duel he did, even if he didn't boast about his wand.

This is a story for kids and the object the first brother picked is bound to attract trouble anyway.

Posted by Craig Edwards from London on March 13, 2009 07:00 AM

Yellow Beard, I think the story is more intended to illustrate that is inevitable and that dire consequences await those arrogant enough to try and defy it. I don't think the brothers deserved to because they made the bridge. That was simply using a bit of commonsense. No sin there. But turns up to test them. Once the first brother wanted to be master of by owning a wand that would always win and used it to , he was setting himself up to be . Same with the second brother wanting to reverse . He was trying to negate 's power. Both these brothers failed 's test by interfering with the natural moral law; one committing , the other dragging the peaceful back to life.
The third brother though, only used his gift to ensure that he lived out his normal span of years. He neither tried to usurp 's power, nor reverse it. He merely tried to make sure he put off 's summons for as long as possible. This is a perfectly normal, human, and sinless attitude. Voldemort on the other hand was not merely trying to live a long life, he was trying to achieve immortality. If you think about it, these are the three sins you can commit with ; , trying to reverse and trying to achieve immortality. All three are direct challenges to the natural order.

The reasons for not committing are fairly self-evident, but the last two are perhaps the hardest lessons for younger readers. I can remember when I was about 12, my ninety year old grandmother saying that she'd lived her life, had her turn and that all her friends and her husband were gone and that she was done, ready to join them at the right time. She was not unhappy in the least. On the contrary she was a very cheerful and giggly old lady. But at 12 I could not understand her acceptance of . Now, somewhat older(!) I can understand what she meant; that everything in the natural order has its beginning, its life-span and an ending. Birth, life, and . You can't have the first two without the last bit. If only to leave some room on this planet for those coming after. I don't say it's an easy lesson - it sure isn't easy trying to explain it to a four year old grieving for a pet dog and then a grandfather - but it's a necessary one.

One of the strangest things about the whole series is that Harry in the end has something that no other mortal has ever had; an absolute knowledge, from his own experience, that there is indeed an afterlife. It's something the rest of us, if we believe it at all, have to take on faith, and he only gets to this point because he accepts his own . Maybe, like his ancestor Ignotus, that is Harry's ultimate reward for accepting his own mortality.

Posted by Elizabeth from Australia on March 14, 2009 05:02 AM

Don't all wizards have absolute knowledge of an afterlife? I mean, Harry going through the King's Cross chapter with Dumbledore could be something entirely made up by his brain, while ghosts, on the other hand, are real absolute proof that people can exist after .

Posted by Anonymous on March 28, 2009 3:57 PM

I liked the story; though I dunno if the Peverell brothers were exist. I think the story was the only way to create the ly Hallows.

Posted by Mahinus Hawk from Saint Martins, Bangladesh on April 15, 2009 12:55 AM

to me the "stick" was just that, a wand (stick) that caused , primarily its owners. The stone(?) made you long for . The cloak does seem neutral, but if used excessively, you'd get lonely, or hear something that might make you long for . Still, WHOEVER made these items, were, as Dumbledore said, extremely dangerous, wizard(s).

Posted by Nat D. Aiken from the Bronx, NYC (near a real castle) on April 15, 2009 07:46 AM

Mahinus: If the Peverell brothers didn't exist, how did Harry see his grave? How did Harry acquire the Invisibility Cloak, as it was said to have belonged to Ignotus Peverell. Harry is a descendant of Ignotus Peverell, and the Invisibility Cloak is the only one in the world that not fade after years of use.

Posted by Anonymous from San Diego, CA on April 16, 2009 6:00 PM

Anonymous
How do we know that Harry was a descendant of Ignotus Peverell?

Posted by Curious on April 17, 2009 2:53 PM

THe Peverell brothers definitely existed. 100%. Harry WAS a descendant of Ignotus. So that would mean that Harry inherited the Cloak from him. Dumbledore took the cloak to examine it, BECAUSE it is one of the Hallows. I did think that Dumbledore was an idiot when he put the ring on in book 6. I mean, way to be stupid! Anyway, i have a question: Would Dumbledore be related to Harry, because they were both born in Godric's Hollow? or is that just a coincidence?

Posted by Ginny Granger on April 19, 2009 4:15 PM

Ginny, Dumbledore wasn't born in Godric's Hollow. He came there with his mother, sister, and brother after his father went to prison.

Posted by Pamela Sue from Ark on April 21, 2009 3:55 PM

We know for a fact that The Peverell Brothers DID exist, and that Harry is a descendant of Ignotus. We also know that the 3 Hallows exist and they have a very real power.
But to say they were given to them by ...I don't think so.
At the beginning they want to cross a river and to do so they conjure a bridge to go to the other shore.
Well that river is figuratively that crosses life, before them everyone was taken away the Bridge symbolises the desire of mankind to do anything in its power to cheat (in our case using magic). But you can't cheat for long. I think the 3 brothrs created the Hallows but the the magic they used wold bring them back soon enoughtin it's fold "one step forward two steps back". Mankind by nature NEEDS to , we are made in such manner that I don't think our minds would simply be able to handle immortality. Look what happened to Voldemort, he changed his nature, he wasn't man anymore and even he, in the end didn't succeed in cheating . There is no use denying it is what makes life possible. We should enjoy and cherish every last second that has been gifted to us regardless of what comes after.
Back to the Peverells strangely enough I don't think Ignotus was any better than Antioch and Cadmus. He was just far less conceited than his brothers. I mean, had he outright accepted he would have had no need for the cloack right? That only came after the many years he had to ponder over that question. As much as the Wand and the Stone can be seen as symbols of arrogance the cloak can lead to a bad tendency to avoid hardships. One cannot keep hidding for his whole life; fortunately for him it seems Ignotus got it. Better late than never.

Posted by Geoffrey from Paris, France on April 21, 2009 4:00 PM

How do we know harry is a descendant of Ignotus?

Posted by Anonymous on May 2, 2009 08:43 AM

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