Journal #1

Throughout history, the archetype of a dragon slayer is very common. This character is generally a hero who faces death in order to save an endangered community from an evil being, doing so in a selfless way. In general, dragons in literature represent guards of something important. However, the object which the dragons are guarding is usually something that can be used against the protagonist. In

Beowulf, the character of Beowulf is the epic hero, as he saves his Anglo-Saxon community from the demonic actions performed by the monster, Grendel. Even in modern literature, this archetype is portrayed. In J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter can be seen as the epic hero. In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Potter must obtain the Sorcerer’s Stone, an elixir for eternal life, before the antagonist, Voldemort, discovers it. On his journey to find the stone, Harry comes across a three-headed dog, which represents the dragon in Beowulf. This three-headed dog is protecting the Sorcerer’s Stone, which, in the wrong hands, could be used with evil intent. Later in the Harry Potter series, in the book of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry is selected to take place in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, in which certain students from different schools compete for a high title. In the first task, the students must retrieve a golden egg, which contains the hint for the next task,

while also fleeing from a fire-breathing dragon. In both of these situations, the dragon figure is protecting an important object from Harry Potter, the epic hero. Just as in Beowulf, Potter must act as a dragon slayer and face death in order to protect his fellow witches and wizards in a selfless fashion.

Photograph. Dragon Art. Web. 15 Sept. 2011.
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“Movie Photos: A Hungarian Horntail Dragon Chases DANIEL RADCLIFFE as Harry Potter in Warner Bros. Pictures’ Fantasy “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures." AllMoviePhoto.com: Photos of Current Movies. Web. 15 Sept. 2011. .