http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/11/neville-longbottom-is-the-most-important-person-in-harry-potter
This is a post I found online and I really, really liked it. It’s very well written too. It has been written by Emily Asher-Perrin and I think she has done a brilliant job of understanding Neville’s character in the Harry Potter books.
Neville was always in the background, a clumsy but innocent boy. In the first book he was just someone who is one of Harry’s classmates. But by the simple fact that Dumbledore awards Gryffindor 10 points and acknowledges Neville’s bravery is proof enough that Rowling has great things in store for him. By the end of the seventh book we are completely convinced. Neville is a character which proves that we make ourselves, our decisions determine our lives. Remember Dumbledore said to Harry once,”It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” Neville symbolizes the statement, doesn’t he?
Neville’s development from the stumbling boy in Book 1 to a true ( since he can take Gryffindor’s sword from the Sorting Hat) and brave Gryffindor in Book 7 is very inspiring. In the grand scheme of things Neville sometimes becomes secondary to the trio. But his character is still one of the most loved in the books (and it helps too that Matthew Lewis plays Neville!).
I’ve always thought Neville as the chosen one, not Harry. After all, he could have been.
Yes if Neville was the Chosen One he would have done an equally good, if not better, job of it, i’m sure. He is one of my most favorite characters in the books.
Thanks for the referral. 🙂 I can’t wait to read more about Neville…he is a great character.
~Aspen
Yea he is. Every one of Rowling’s characters have such a depth to them. It’s always interesting to look at them from different perspectives.
That’s for sure! The depth of the characters is why I love the books so much. The stories never get boring because there is always more to learn about each character.
~Aspen