COVER CREATURE SYMBOLS TO FORESHADOW HARRY’S … · Azkaban sebagai elemen pembayangan yang...

COVER

CREATURE SYMBOLS TO FORESHADOW HARRY’S

CONFRONTATION WITH HIS PAST IN J.K. ROWLING’S

HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

FABIAN FIRMAN ELMAR

Student Number: 134214018

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA

YOGYAKARTA

2017

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

ii

CREATURE SYMBOLS TO FORESHADOW HARRY’S

CONFRONTATION WITH HIS PAST IN J.K. ROWLING’S

HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

FABIAN FIRMAN ELMAR

Student Number: 134214018

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA

YOGYAKARTA

2017


vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost is my thanks to Almighty God who guided me through

hardship, joy, boredom, and laziness during the writing of this undergraduate

thesis. Without his grace, this study may never be done on time.

My thanks and love for my parents and my brother for their support when I

was working on this thesis as without them I would not have finished my thesis in

time.

To my thesis advisor Maria Ananta Tri Suryandari S.S., M.Ed. and co-

advisor Drs. Hirmawan Wijarnaka, M. Hum., I address my deepest gratitude for

helping me writing this study, correcting mistakes I made in this writing, and

supporting me during my study in Sanata Dharma.

Lastly, for my fellow students of English Letters in year 2013 who have

finished before me, thank you all for pushing me into finishing this study as I

would have lazed off all months had you not finished before me.

Fabian Firman Elmar


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER ........................................................................................................................ i TITLE PAGE ............................................................................................................. ii APPROVAL PAGE .................................................................................................. iii ACCEPTANCE PAGE ............................................................................................. iv STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ......................................................................... v

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ................................. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................... vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................ viii

ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... ix ABSTRAK .................................................................................................................. x CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1

A. Background of the Study ............................................................................... 1

B. Problem Formulation ..................................................................................... 3 C. Objective of the Study ................................................................................... 3

D. Definition of Terms........................................................................................ 3

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ........................................................ 4 A. Review of Related Studies ............................................................................. 4

B. Review of Related Theories ........................................................................... 6 1. Theory of Symbol ..................................................................................... 6

2. Theory of Plot ........................................................................................... 9

3. Theory of Foreshadowing ....................................................................... 11

C. Theoretical Framework ................................................................................ 12

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ....................................................................... 13 A. Object of the Study ...................................................................................... 13 B. Approach of the Study ................................................................................. 14 C. Method of the Study..................................................................................... 15

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS .................................................................................... 17 A. Creature Symbols in the Novel .................................................................... 17

1. The Black Dog ........................................................................................ 18

2. Scabbers the Rat ...................................................................................... 25

3. Dementors of Azkaban ........................................................................... 30

B. Creature Symbols as Foreshadowing Element ............................................ 33

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ............................................................................... 51 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................... 55


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ABSTRACT

ELMAR, FABIAN FIRMAN. Creature Symbols to Foreshadow Harry’s

Confrontation with his Past in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner

of Azkaban. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters,

Sanata Dharma University, 2017.

Symbol is a major element in literary works. It always has a meaning

which is different than the literal meaning of the symbol itself, and thus, it is

prevalent in literary works which often contain hidden meanings. Foreshadowing

on the other hand, is the act of vaguely hinting the readers to the future event in

the story or even the outcome of said story. This study discusses the creature

symbols presented in J.K. Rowling‘s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban as

foreshadowing element that hints towards the confrontation between Harry and

his past in the conflict of the novel.

This study has two formulated problems. The first is about the presentation

of the creature symbols in the novel and the second is on how the creature

symbols foreshadow Harry‘s confrontation of his past in the conflict.

This study uses library research method as the primary sources in

conducting this study is a printed novel. The novel is analysed by applying new

criticism approach, using close reading method and focusing on the literary

devices of the novel in order to answer the problem formulations.

The result of analysis is divided into two parts in accordance to the

formulated problems. There are three creature symbols found in the novel: The

black dog, the rat Scabbers, and the dementors of Azkaban. The black dog reflects

Sirius‘ loyalty to his friends and its black fur symbolizes the sorrow and mourning

he felt for their death, but its resemblance with the Grim stands for his vengeful

obsession to Peter Pettigrew whom had betrayed him and the Potters. The rat

Scabbers on the other hand, symbolizes betrayal, cowardice, and cunning trickery,

traits that can be found in Peter Pettigrew. The dementors meanwhile, symbolizes

hopeless misery and despair known as depression. These guardians of Azkaban

foreshadowed that the conflict would be a confrontation between Harry and his

past while the black dog and rat revealed the truth behind said past regarding who

betrayed the Potters twelve years ago and the innocent man whom said crime was

blamed upon.


x

ABSTRAK

ELMAR, FABIAN FIRMAN. Creature Symbols to Foreshadow Harry’s

Confrontation with his Past in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner

of Azkaban. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra,

Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Simbol merupakan elemen penting dalam karya sastra. Simbol selalu

memiliki arti berbeda dari arti harfiah symbol itu sendiri dan karena itu, simbol

sering ditemukan dalam karya sastra yang memang banyak mengandung arti

tersembunyi. Di sisi lain, pembayangan adalah tindakan untuk memberi petunjuk

pada pembaca akan kejadian-kejadian mendatang dalam suatu cerita atau bahkan

hasil akhir cerita tersebut. Studi ini mendiskusikan simbol-simbol makhluk yang

terdapat dalam novel J.K. Rowling yang berjudul Harry Potter and the Prisoner of

Azkaban sebagai elemen pembayangan yang menunjuk pada konfrontasi antara

Harry dan masa lalunya dalam konflik di novel tersebut.

Ada dua permasalahan yang dirumuskan dalam studi ini. Yang pertama

mengenai pemunculan simbol-simbol makhluk dalam novel dan yang kedua

adalah bagaimana simbol-simbol makhluk tersebut membayangi konfrontasi

antara Harry dan masa lalunya dalam konflik.

Studi ini menggunakan metode studi kepustakaan karena sumber utama

dalam melaksanakan studi ini adalah novel tercetak. Novel dianalisa

menggunakan pendekatan New Criticism dengan membaca teliti dan berfokus

pada bagian-bagian karya sastra demi menjawab masalah yang telah dirumuskan.

Hasil analisis terbagi dalam dua bagian sesuai dengan rumusan masalah.

Ada tiga simbol makhluk yang ditemukan dalam novel: anjing hitam, si tikus

Scabbers, dan dementor dari Azkaban. Simbol anjing hitam merefleksikan

karakter loyal Sirius pada teman-temannya dan bulu hitam si anjing merupakan

tanda kesedihan dan berkabung yang ia rasakan pada kematian mereka, tetapi

kemiripan si anjing dengan Grim melambangkan obsesi Sirius yang penuh

dendam pada pengkhianat Peter Pettigrew. Di sisi lain, si tikus Scabbers

melambangkan pengkhianatan, kepengecutan, dan kelicikan, karakteristik yang

bisa ditemukan pada Peter Pettigrew. Para dementor sementara itu, adalah

lambang ketiadaan akan harapan yang dikenal sebagai depresi. Para penjaga

Azkaban ini membayangi konflik yang akan terjadi antara Harry dan masa lalunya

sementara simbol anjing hitam dan tikus mengungkapkan kebenaran di balik masa

lalu tersebut akan siapa pengkhianat Potter sesungguhnya dan akan pria tidak

bersalah yang kepadanya kesalahan akan pengkhianatan tersebut ditanggungkan.


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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Symbols is a major element in literary works. The word symbol itself

derived from a Greek word meaning "to throw together" (syn, together, and

ballein, to throw). Edgar and Jacobs (1987: 279) described symbols as follow:

a symbol pulls or draws together (1) a specific thing with (2) ideas, values,

persons, or a ways of life, in a direct relationship that otherwise would not

be apparent. A symbol might also be regarded as substitute for the

elements being signified, much as the flag stands for the ideals of the

nation. In other stories and other types of literature, a symbol is usually a

person, thing, place, action, situation, or even thought.

Hence, going by the description above, a symbol is an object that

represents a certain idea/concept. Symbols thus is prevalent within literary works

which typically contain hidden meanings. For example, a main character can be a

symbol of resistance towards oppression, a dragon could either be a symbol of

destruction in western culture or the symbol of wisdom in eastern culture, or a

flower perhaps is a symbol of the antagonist‘ hostile intention towards the

protagonist. In regards to this study, the writer is going to discuss symbols,

specifically creature symbols as foreshadowing of event.

Foreshadowing in literature is described as follows:

The organization and presentation of events and scenes in a work of fiction

or drama so that the reader or observer is prepared to some degree for what

occurs later in the work. This can be part of the general atmosphere of the

work, or it can be a specific scene or object that gives a clue or hint as to a

later development of the plot (Britannica.com, 22 November 2016).


2

Thus, foreshadowing is akin of technique which allows an author of

literary work to clue in the readers of the plot development through the subtle

hints presented within the story. Through the hints, readers may then anticipate

what might happen later in the story, whether the protagonist will live through the

day or not, or perhaps will he be reunited with his lover or parting ways instead.

Both symbols and foreshadowing are often used by literary authors to hint

the readers towards hidden meanings within their works. Thus, they encourage the

readers to be more involved into the story.

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling uses symbols

in form of creatures presented in the story. For example, a large black dog which

was the animagus form of Sirius Black. A dog is a symbol of loyalty, but the

black dog was presented in the story as an omen of death. Peter Pettigrew on the

other hand have the animagus form of a rat, a symbol of disease and cowardice.

These creature symbols are then used by Rowling to clue in the readers

towards the main conflict of the story in which Harry Potter is confronted by the

unknown part of his past, one that is related to the night when his parents, James

and Lily Potter, were murdered, and him becoming the Boy-Who-Lived, the hero

of British magical world. The creatures in the novel, both magical or non-magical,

are an important aspects in Harry Potter universe, especially regarding the third

book Prisoner of Azkaban where creatures are prevalent throughout the story, and

thus, the writer is going to discuss in this undergraduate thesis how the creature

symbols in the novel foreshadow Harry Potter‘s confrontation with his past as

revealed by the plot of the novel.


3

B. Problem Formulation

Based on explanation above, the problems the writer discussed in this

paper are formulated as follows:

1. How are the creature symbols presented in the novel?

2. How do the creature symbols foreshadow Harry‘s confrontation with

his past in the plot?

C. Objectives of the Study

In accordance to the problem formulation above, this study has two

objectives to achieve.

The first is to find out how the creature symbols are presented in the novel

and second is to discover how the creature symbols foreshadow Harry‘s

confrontation of his past in the novel.

D. Definition of Terms

The following part of this study will present a couple of terms that the

writer will clarify in order to avoid misunderstanding from the readers.

Creature is defined as ―an animal, distinct from a person‖ and as ―a

fictional or imaginary being‖ (en.oxforddictionaries.com, 22 November 2016).

Foreshadowing is defined as ―the use of indicative word or phrases and

hints that set the stage for a story to unfold and give the reader a hint of future

events without revealing the story or spoiling the suspense‖ (www.literary-

devices.com, 26 May 2017).


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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

A. Review of Related Studies

In relation to this study, the writer has reviewed several academic writings

that are relevant with the topic and novel discussed in this study.

The first is an article taken from the journal Litera-Kultura written by

Listiyaning Tias, ―Creature and Color Symbolism in J.K. Rowling‘s Harry Potter

and the Prisoner of Azkaban‖. In her study, Tias found that there are two kinds of

creature symbols, the good and the bad. The good creature symbols are

represented in the novel through Buckbeak the Hippogriff, a creature of air and a

symbol of kindness, the black dog which is the animagus form of Sirius Black as

the symbol of bravery, and Hermione‘s pet cat Crookshanks which symbolizes

intelligence. The bad creature symbols, on the other hand, are the rat Scabbers

which symbolizes betrayal, and the magical creatures Red Cap, Grindilow, and

Kappa that symbolizes crime, slyness, and vengeance respectively. Secondly, Tias

also found two colour symbols in the story: a white stag which symbolizes purity,

and the black dementors of Azkaban Prison and the black dog Grim that

symbolize evil and death (ejournal.unesa.ac.id/index.php/litera-kultura, 22

November 2016).

The second is an undergraduate thesis written by Melia H. Sabarno, ―The

Significance of Hermione Granger to Represent Rowling‘s School Life in Harry

Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban‖. Sabarno‘s analysis, through the use of five


5

different approaches including biographical and psychological approach, found

that the significance of the character Hermione Granger is to ―give picture of the

situation happens in society, including the behaviour among the society

themselves‖ (Sabarno, 2006: 56). This was shown through ―surface

representation‖ of Hermione who represents not only Rowling‘s qualities, but also

is a balancing character to the Harry Potter and Ron Weasley (Sabarno, 2006: 56),

and ―depth representation‖ through Rowling‘s use of Hermione‘s character to give

the readers her view towards life and her idea of school life (Sabarno, 2006: 57).

The third is another undergraduate thesis entitled ―Animal Symbolism to

Foreshadow Future Events in George R. R. Martin‘s A Game of Thrones” which

was written in 2015 by Kristiana Artiningtyas Budi Haryani. In her study, Haryani

found that the animal symbols found in A Game of Thrones give hint towards the

future events in the story. The first symbol in the novel, ―a dead direwolf with an

antler under its jaw‖ hinted towards the death of Eddard of the House Stark which

has the sigil of Direwolf, and King Robert of the House Baratheon that has the

sigil of a stag (Haryani, 2015: 49). The other symbol are a Norman sculpture

which shows a stag killed by a wild boar, foreshadowing King Robert‘s death

whom was killed by a boar, and another Norman Sculpture that depicted a boar

attacking a tree while a lion was watching, suggesting that the Lannister who has a

golden lion as their sigil is the one behind his death (Haryani, 2015: 50)

In accordance to the reviewed studies above, the writer concludes that this

undergraduate thesis is different from the first two studies in terms of topic despite

having the same object of study which is the novel Harry Potter and the Prisoner


6

of Azkaban. Regarding the last study written by Haryani, despite this thesis has the

same topic of studying symbols as foreshadowing of future events in a novel, the

object of study used is different as Haryani used A Game of Thrones from the

series A Song of Ice and Fire written by George R. R. Martin whilst the writer

analysed Rowling‘s work Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban of the Harry

Potter series and the future event foreshadowed by the symbols is specified in the

title as Harry Potter‘s confrontation with his past which was revealed in the

conflict of the novel.

B. Review of Related Theories

In this part, the writer has reviewed several theories that are going to be

used to solve the problem formulation of this study.

1. Theory of Symbol

Symbol is a major element in literary works. It is an element that signifies

something which then brought the hidden meaning behind a literary work. M. H.

Abrams simply defined a symbol broadly as ―anything that signifies something‖

(1999: 311), but he further elaborated the terms in relation to discussing literature

as follows:

In discussing literature, however, the term "symbol" is applied only to a

word or phrase that signifies an object or event which in its turn signifies

something, or has a range of reference, beyond itself (1999: 311).

A symbol then, in accordance to the definition above, refers to a specific

object which signifies a certain meaning, or meanings, which are different than

the literal concept of the object. As an example, the event of war as a symbol is


7

not to be taken literally as merely a conflict, but a symbol of chaos, failure of

leaders to keep order and peace for their people.

Furthermore, Abrams classified symbols into conventional or public

symbols and personal symbols. Conventional symbols refer to ―symbolic objects

of which the further significance is determinate within a particular culture‖

(Abrams, 1999: 311). These symbols are ―conventional‖ because they were not

invented by one person, but their meanings were established into place within the

culture of a society. Examples of such symbols are sword which in medieval

culture of Europe and in the samurai culture of Japan is a symbol for honour and

justice, and cross which is the symbol of salvation and victory against evil in the

Christian culture. Personal symbols on the other hand, refer to ―symbols that are

made by exploiting widely shared associations between an object or event or

action and a particular concept‖ (Abrams, 1999: 311). Whereas conventional

symbols are the result of culture, personal symbol is an invention of a person, an

author, and thus, their meaning is defined in accordance to the author‘s will and

may differs to the symbolic meaning established in a certain culture. For example,

a sword, as opposed of being a symbol of honour and justice as established in

warrior culture of medieval Europe and Japan, symbolizes war, chaos, and

bloodshed instead.

Arp and Johnson stated that there are several things to consider in defining

a symbol. According to them,

1. ―A story must furnish a clue that a detail is to be taken symbolically. The

symbol always signals their existence through emphasis, repetition, or


8

position‖ (2006: 280).

2. ―The meaning of literary symbol must be established and supported by the

context of the story. A symbol has its meaning in the story, not outside of

it‖ (2006: 280).

3. ―To be called a symbol, an item must suggest a meaning different in kind

from its literal meaning, or in other words, a symbol is something more

than a representative of a class or type (2006: 280).

4. A symbol may have more than one meaning. It may suggest a cluster of

meaning that is controlled by the context of the story (2006: 281).

Thus, in order to identify a symbol within a literary work, it is necessary

for the reader to observe the detail of the work, especially repeated, emphasized,

and strategically positioned detail that may pertain clues that an object may be a

symbol of importance in the story. The context of the story itself must also support

the idea that an object is a symbol, as the use of an object as a symbol must be

established within the story and the symbol cannot be referred to as one without it.

Lastly, a symbolic meaning of an object is not connected to the object in a literal

sense, but it represents something more beyond the object itself, such as an idea or

an emotion that are often linked connotatively to the object, and that an object

may have a cluster of meaning, each of which is supported by the relevant context

of the story.


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2. Theory of Plot

Plot is an essential part of any story. Without a plot, there will be no story

at all. Thus, plot is a base for a story to develop from the beginning until it ends.

Roberts and Jacobs defined plot as follows:

A plot is a plan or groundwork for a story, based in conflicting human

motivations, with the actions resulting from believable and realistic human

response. In a well-plotted story, nothing is irrelevant; everything is

related. In a story, it is response, interaction, opposition, and causation that

make a plot out of simple series of actions (1987: 87).

Therefore, in accordance to definition above, a plot as a groundwork of a

story is realistic and believable as it is based on the characters‘ motivation which

conflicted against each other.

It is also important to note that according to the definition above,

everything is related in a good plot. This means that every single event that

happens in a story contributes something to the story, whether it is developing the

protagonist into a wiser figure, giving hints of future conflict, or showing a

friendly character who turns out to be the antagonist. Abrams called this relation

of events as ―unity of action,‖ which all the events in a story is viewed as a

complete and orderly structure and is directed intentionally to cause a certain

effect (Abrams, 1999: 225-226).

A particularly important part of a plot in most stories is conflict. Abrams

defined conflict as ―the relation between the chief character of the plot, the

protagonist, and the important opponent he is pitted against, the antagonist‖

(1999: 224-225). Hence, a conflict is, by Abram‘s definition, is how the

protagonist is related to the antagonist. The interest of an antagonist in the story is


10

always directly against the protagonist‘s. Thus, since they have conflicting interest

in the plot, the protagonist clashed against the antagonist until the conflict is

resolved, whether through violence or peaceful resolution, or perhaps by having

the antagonist fled the town, never to be seen again.

The place of conflict in the plot of a story can be seen in Freytag‘s

Pyramid structure.

The pyramid structure is a model of plot analysis for five-act play

introduced by Gustav Freytag (Guerin et al, 2011: 8), albeit it can be used to

analyse novel‘s plot as well.

Freytag Pyramid is divided into five different parts: the exposition, rising

action, climax of the plot, the falling action, and the denouement. The exposition

provides background information of the story, such as the characters, setting, and

basic conflict before the rest of the story is set in motion with an inciting incident


11

that marks the beginning of rising action. From then on, the basic conflict

becomes increasingly more complex with the addition of other conflicts, setbacks,

and/or obstacles that serve to frustrate the protagonist even more up until the

climax which is the turning point of the story where the protagonist undergo a

major change. Then, the plot enters the falling action where the protagonist either

win or lose against the antagonist and a final moment of suspense might be

included within the falling action, during which the final outcome of the story is

doubted. Finally, the story is wrapped up in a conclusion. Different terms are used

in referring to this part as comedy ends with denouement where the protagonist is

better off than in the beginning of the story while tragedy ends with a catastrophe

in which the protagonist is destroyed in some way (Guerin et al, 2011: 8).

3. Theory of Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing as a literary terms is a ―hint or suggestion of what is to

come‖ (Barnet, 2008: 103), allowing readers to glimpse at the future events of the

story. This means that foreshadowing is a vague clue that can be found in the

story that indicates the readers of upcoming event, character development, or plot

progression that will happen later in a story. For example, what may be happen in

the conflict or if the supposed villain is revealed to be innocent later.

On the other hand, Cuddon stated that foreshadowing is ―an arrangement

of events and information in such way that later events are prepared for or

shadowed forth beforehand and thus, gives structural and thematic unity.‖ (2013:

285). Thus, there is a unity in the structure and theme of the novel in a way that

the later events happened in the story, such as how the conflict is going to be


12

resolved or how will the character faced his enemy, is already clued in to the

readers through connection to earlier scenes and previously given information in

the early part of the novel.

C. Theoretical Framework

In this part, the writer is going to discuss how the reviewed theories are to

be used in order to answer the problem formulation.

Firstly, the theory of symbols by Abrams, Arp, and Johnson is used to

determine whether creatures found in the novel are truly symbols in accordance to

the repetition and emphasize upon their appearance in the plot and whether they

are conventional or personal symbols. Arp and Johnson‘s theory is also used to

determine their meaning as constructed by the context of the novel and thus,

answering the first problem formulation. Secondly, the creature symbols found in

the novel are then placed on the Freytag‘s pyramid structure in accordance to their

order of appearance. The theory of foreshadowing is then applied in conjunction

with the theory of plot in order to determine which part of the confrontation

happened in the climax each creature symbols foreshadow based on the

significance of their appearance and the novel‘s plot progression.


13

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

The object of this undergraduate thesis is the novel Harry Potter and the

Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling. It was written by J.K. Rowling as the third

instalment in her famous Harry Potter series and was first published by

Bloomsbury in July 8 1999 to worldwide acclaim.

The novel have won various awards after its publishing, including Nestlé

Smarties Book Prize 1999 Gold Medal for 9-11years category, Scottish Arts

Council Children‘s Book Award 1999, overall winner in longer novel category of

FCBG Children‘s Book Award 1999, North East Book Award 1999, and

Whitaker‘s Platinum Book Award 2001. According to The Guardian, the novel

was sold over 3 million copies by 2012 (www.theguardian.com, 24 November

2016), and have been translated into over 60 languages. It was even adapted as a

film of the same title in 2004, directed by Alfonso Cuarón and distributed by

Warner Bros.

The Prisoner of Azkaban told the story of Harry Potter in his third year as

a student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It first took place

during a summer holiday in Privet Drive number 4 where Harry lived with his

dreadful relatives, the Dursleys. After he accidentally caused his uncle‘s sister to

puff like a balloon, Harry promptly left the house to return once more into the

magical world.


http://www.theguardian.com/

14

Harry was hoping that the year would be a peaceful one. Alas, it was not

meant to be since Sirius Black, a notorious mass murderer and said to be the most

loyal servant of Voldemort, was after him, supposedly to avenge Voldemort‘s

defeat. The situation got even more complicated when the dementors sent by the

Ministry of Magic into Hogwarts‘ grounds to hunt Black attacked him instead.

As Harry struggled to survive his third year against a mass murderer

hunting him down and the dementors that would love to suck his soul at the first

opportunity available while going through his complicated school life, he

learned one important thing about Sirius Black: the murderer that was once his

father‘s best friend betrayed the Potters to Voldemort. Shocked and furious, he

hoped that Sirius Black would find him so he could kill him instead. Silently

though, he wondered if he would meet his death when the Grim kept on

appearing before him throughout the year just before accidents that nearly take

his life, not to mention the prophecy spoken professor Trelawney of the

impending reunion between Voldemort and his loyal servant only made things

even more complicated.

B. Approach of the Study

This study was conducted by applying New Criticism approach in

conducting analysis in order to answer the problem formulations of the study.

The New Criticism, according to Lois Tyson, focused on ―the text itself‖,

that ―a certain interpretation requires a careful examination, or ‗close reading‘ of

the formal elements in the text that form, or shape, the literary work‖ (2006: 137).

Thus, New Criticism approach is an approach that focused on formal elements,


15

that is the intrinsic elements, of a literary work in interpreting its meaning. Hence,

it is essential for New Critics to carefully examine the intrinsic elements of

literary work, such as characterization, point of view, symbols, and so on, as the

meaning interpreted from a literary work must be supported by the context of the

text.

The New Critics upheld that a literary work is ―timeless, autonomous

verbal object‖ (2006: 137) which will always be the same, even though the

readers and readings change in time. The meaning of literary work is objective as

it is constructed by the work‘s organic unity – the working together of all formal

elements as an inseparable whole – that creates one-of-a-kind relation by which

New Critics judged the quality of literary work (2006: 137-138).

In this study, the writer applied the New Criticism approach in analysing

the intrinsic elements of the Prisoner of Azkaban novel: the creature symbols

presented in the novel, the conflict of the novel which is Harry Potter‘s

confrontation with his past, and how the presented creature symbols foreshadow

the aforementioned conflict.

C. Method of the Study

This study was conducted through library research. The primary source for

the study is the novel Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

while the secondary sources used in the analysis were Guerin‘s A Handbook of

Critical Approaches to Literature and Chevalier‘s The Penguin Dictionary of

Symbols, as well as other documents and article taken from the internet.


16

There were several steps taken in conducting the analysis. Firstly, the

writer close read of the novel and applied the theory of symbol in finding out the

creature symbols in the novel. Secondly, the writer consulted the secondary

sources in determining which creature symbols could appropriately foreshadow

Harry‘s confrontation with his past. Thirdly, during the analysis on how the

creature symbols foreshadow Harry‘s confrontation with his past, the writer

applied the theory of foreshadowing and the theory of plot in order to answer this

third problem formulation. Lastly, the writer concluded this study by summarizing

the answers to the problem formulations of the study.


17

CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

This chapter presents the analysis conducted by the writer in answering the

previously formulated problems. Thus, this chapter is divided into two different

sections based on the two problems formulated.

The first section discusses about the creature symbols presented in the

story, using the theory of symbols in order to prove that the findings could be

legitimately called as symbols, and the second section presents the in-depth

analysis of the writer on how the aforementioned creature symbols foreshadowed

the confrontation between Harry and his past revealed by the novel‘s conflict

using the theory of plot and the theory of foreshadowing mentioned in chapter II.

A. Creature Symbols in the Novel

Creatures are intricately tied into the novels of Harry Potter series.

Whether it is a common animal, mythical beasts of legend, or the magical

creatures of Rowling‘s own creation, Rowling made the creatures she presented in

Harry Potter series as an inseparable part of its universe and often served a role to

further the story‘s plot.

In the Prisoner of Azkaban, there are a number of creatures Rowling

presented either directly or indirectly as part of the story. Some served only minor

roles and mentioned only once, such as a Manticore which is mentioned when

Harry and Hermione were looking for historical cases of magical creatures‘

attacks in the library to help Hagrid win the lawsuit Lucius Malfoy filed against


18

Buckbeak for attacking Draco, ―This might help, look – a Manticore savaged

someone in 1296, and they let the Manticore off – oh – no, that was only because

everyone was too scared to come near it‖ (Rowling, 1999: 235).

There are, however, creatures Rowling presented which served in

particular importance as symbols: The black dog, Scabbers the rat, Buckbeak the

hippogriff, the white stag that appeared as Harry‘s patronus, Hermione‘s pet cat

Crookshanks, and the dementors of Azkaban prison. In this thesis, the writer picks

the black dog, Ron‘s pet rat Scabbers, and the dementors of Azkaban prison

among them as they not only serve as symbolic elements in the story, but also

contributed as foreshadowing element to the future events occurring in the novel

as well, as proven by the third section analysis later.

1. The Black Dog

The black dog is one of the symbols that are of importance in the Prisoner

of Azkaban. It made a recurring appearance throughout the novel‘s storyline,

shadowing Harry twice just before accidents that nearly killed him and later was

revealed to be the animagus form of Sirius Black, a fugitive on the run. As Arp

and Johnson stated that ―The symbol always signals their existence through

emphasis, repetition, or position‖ (2006: 280), the fact that the black dog appeared

repeatedly throughout the plot as it shadowed Harry, twice just before the

accidents that nearly killed him and once more just before his confrontation with

Sirius Black, as well as the revelation of it as Sirius‘ animagus form confirmed

that the black dog is a symbol of importance.


19

Originally, the black dog was thought to be a Grim, a dog-like creature

which Professor Trelawney described in the novel as followed, ―the giant, spectral

dog that haunts churchyards, an omen – the worst omen – of death‖ (1999: 118).

In accordance to the quoted statement above, it is clear that if the black

dog truly is a Grim, then it is meant to be a symbol of death. However, as Arp and

Johnson stated, ―the meaning symbol must be established and supported by the

context of the story‖ (2006: 180). Thus, there must be evidence within the novel

that support whether the black dog is a Grim that symbolizes death or not.

As per Ron Weasley‘s words found in the novel regarding the subject,

―Grim scare the living out of most wizard‖ (1999: 122) and many students in the

Divination class during their first lesson gasped in horror when professor

Trelawney announced that Harry had Grim in his tea cup as they understand the

significance of Grim.

―My dear,‖ Professor Trelawney‘s huge eyes opened dramatically, ―you

have the Grim.‖

―The what?‖ said Harry. He could tell that he wasn‘t the only one who

didn‘t understand; Dean Thomas shrugged at him and Lavender Brown

looked puzzled, but nearly everybody else clapped their hands to their

mouths in horror. (1999: 118)

Based on the passage above, it can be concluded that Grim as a symbol of

death is a common superstition in the magical world. Thus, it fits Abrams‘ theory

of conventional symbol that it is a ―symbolic object which significance is

determined within a particular culture‖ (Abrams, 1999: 311). In this case, the

significance of Grim is established within the culture of witches and wizards in

the magical world.


20

The two accidents that occurred immediately following the black dog‘s

appearance, both nearly takes Harry‘s life, seems to support the possibility that the

black dog is indeed a Grim. The first occurred during the night when Harry left

Magnolia Crescent and the second is on the first quidditch match of the season

against Hufflepuff.

While there were no clear implication that the black dog appeared to be

spectral in its first appearance as how Trelawney described the Grim, Harry had

estimated its size to be very large when he lighted the surrounding area.

―Lumos,‖ Harry muttered, and a light appeared at the end of his wand,

almost dazzling him. He held it high over his head, and the pebble-dashed

walls of number two suddenly sparkled; the garage door gleamed, and

between them Harry saw, quite distinctly, the hulking outline of something

very big, with wide, gleaming eyes. (1999: 36)

What Harry saw at the time was a silhouette which he later affirmed to be

something similar to a dog, ――There was a big black thing,‖ said Harry, pointing

uncertainly into the gap. ―Like a dog … but massive …‖‖ (1999: 37).

Coincided with its first appearance, Harry was almost crushed by the

Knight Bus that answered his unintended summon when he accidentally waved

his wand arm as he fell.

There was a deafening BANG and Harry threw up his hands to shield his

eyes against a sudden blinding light ... With a yell, he rolled back onto the

pavement, just in time. A second later, a gigantic pair of wheels and

headlights had screeched to a halt exactly where Harry had just been lying.

(1999: 36)

Harry had brushed with death at the time. He thought little of the incident

until he saw the cover of a book about death omens in Flourish and Blotts which


21

had the picture of a black dog similar to the one he saw at the night, but even then

he tried to assure himself that it was just a stray dog (1999: 59-60).

After the first class of Divination however, Harry began to fear that what

he saw at the night when he left the Dursleys was indeed an omen of his death. He

was placated when professor McGonagall said that none of the students whose

death were seen by professor Trelawney turned out to be so (1999: 120). When

Harry admitted that he did see a great black dog that night, Ron answered him that

Grim was a bad omen in magical world as his uncle Bilius died not long after he

saw one (1999: 121). Hermione on the other hand, insisted that it was merely a

superstition.

The black dog made a second appearance during the first game of

quidditch in the season between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Again, the Grim

appeared this time as a silhouette, though Harry could clearly made out its form.

He turned, intending to head back toward the middle of the field, but at

that moment, another flash of lightning illuminated the stands, and Harry

saw something that distracted him completely — the silhouette of an

enormous shaggy black dog, clearly imprinted against the sky, motionless

in the topmost, empty row of seats. (1999: 197)

As with the dog‘s first appearance, the incident occurred following its

presence endangered Harry‘s life.

Numbing, swirling white mist was filling Harry‘s brain. … What was he

doing? Why was he flying? He needed to help her. … She was going to

die. … She was going to be murdered.

… He was falling, falling through the icy mist.

“Not Harry! Please … have mercy … have mercy. …”

A shrill voice was laughing, the woman was screaming, and Harry knew

no more. (1999: 199)


22

Harry fell from his broom because of dementors‘ presence during the

match. Albeit he survived the fall, he seriously began to think that the black dog

may truly be a Grim, an omen for his death.

When the two encounters above are considered, a conclusion may be

reached that the black dog truly is a Grim and thus, a symbol of death. However,

there is a possibility that what the black dog signifies as a symbol may not be as

obvious as implied. As it turns out, despite the two incidents occurred previously

pointed to the conclusion that the black dog is a Grim as Harry had feared,

Rowling gives a clue that the black dog may not be a Grim in its third appearance.

Crookshanks seemed to have come to a halt. Harry was sure he could see

something else moving in the shadow of the trees too.

And just then, it emerged — a gigantic, shaggy black dog, moving

stealthily across the lawn, Crookshanks trotting at its side. Harry stared.

What did this mean? If Crookshanks could see the dog as well, how could

it be an omen of Harry‘s death? (1999: 338)

From the passage above, Crookshanks seemed to be able to perceive the

existence of the black dog quite clearly, indicating a possibility that the dog may

not be a Grim which is supposed to be spectral in appearance in accordance to

Trelawney‘s description. It is also curious that Crookshanks halted as if waiting

for the dog to appear before trotting at its side. Harry later referred to this event

when he mentioned that Crookshanks was ―friends with the dog‖ (1999: 275).

The black dog appeared for the fourth time when it kidnapped Ron into a

hidden passage beneath the Whomping Willow.

Ron was on his feet. As the dog sprang back toward them he pushed Harry

aside; the dog‘s jaws fastened instead around Ron‘s outstretched arm.

Harry lunged forward, he seized a handful of the brute‘s hair, but it was

dragging Ron away as easily as though he were a rag doll. (1999: 373)


23

That the black dog could bite Ron and dragged him away is clearly an

evidence that it is solid in appearance instead of spectral and thus, is not a Grim.

Accordingly, as the evidence disproved the previous hypothesis, there must be

something else signified by the black dog.

Towards the climax of the plot, the black dog is revealed to be the

animagus form of Sirius Black.

―Where‘s the dog?‖

―Not a dog,‖ Ron moaned. His teeth were gritted with pain. ―Harry, it‘s a

trap —‖

―What —‖

―He‘s the dog … he‘s an Animagus. …‖ Ron was staring over Harry‘s

shoulder. Harry wheeled around. With a snap, the man in the shadows

closed the door behind them.

A mass of filthy, matted hair hung to his elbows. If eyes hadn‘t been

shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse. The

waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like

a skull. His yellow teeth were bared in a grin. It was Sirius Black. (1999:

377)

As it turns however, Sirius Black was never a traitor. He is a loyal friends

to Harry‘s parents and sworn that he ―never betrayed James and Lily and would

have died before he betrayed them‖ (1999: 415). He also stated that his reason to

break out from Azkaban was to protect Harry as he was the only one who knew

that the traitor Pettigrew, servant to Lord Voldemort was still alive (1999: 415).

This loyalty is actually reflected in the black dog that is his animagus form. Dog is

often depicted as loyal animal and here, the form of black dog Sirius assumed

signified the loyalty he held towards his friends. Hence, loyalty the signified

meaning by the symbol of dog in Prisoner of Azkaban.

However, as Arp and Johnson suggested that ―a symbol may suggest a

cluster of meaning as per the context of the story‖ (2006: 281), there may be


24

another meaning to the symbol of black dog aside from loyalty. In the quoted

passage below, Sirius is depicted to hold grief and sorrow over the death of

Harry‘s parents.

―Harry … I as good as killed them,‖ he croaked. ―I persuaded Lily and

James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as

Secret Keeper instead of me. … I‘m to blame, I know it. … The night they

died, I‘d arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when

I arrived at his hiding place, he‘d gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle.

It didn‘t feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents‘ house straight

away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies … I

realized what Peter must‘ve done … what I‘d done. …‖ (1999: 408)

The grief and sorrow he felt over their death are the meaning symbolized

by its black fur which is the color often used as a sign of grieving in funeral. Its

relation to death also related to the dog‘s heavy resemblance to the Grim, the

harbinger of death in the novel. In this case, the black fur of the dog reflects Sirius‘

desire for vengeance on whom caused him much sorrow and anguish, his traitorous

friend Peter Pettigrew. This desire was so strong that it turned into obsession that

enabled him to resist the dementors.

―So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter

was still alive. …‖

Harry remembered what Mr. Weasley had told Mrs. Weasley. ―The guards

say he‘s been talking in his sleep … always the same words … ‗He’s at

Hogwarts.‘ ‖

―It was as if someone had lit a fire in my head, and the dementors couldn‘t

destroy it. … It wasn‘t a happy feeling … it was an obsession … but it

gave me strength, it cleared my mind.‖ (1999: 415)

In conclusion, the black dog in Prisoner of Azkaban is a symbol that

signifies two different meaning that are intertwined. As a dog, it is a conventional

symbol that reflects the loyalty Sirius held towards his friends, that he is willing to

risk his life for them. On the other hand, its black fur signifies the grief and


25

sorrow he felt as he mourned for their death and its heavy resemblance to the

Grim in the novel signifies his desire for vengeance, to bring death towards the

one who betrayed him and his friends.

2. Scabbers the Rat

The rat Scabbers is a pet belongs to Ron Weasley, Harry‘s best friend along

with Hermione Granger. It is described by a witch working in the Magical

Menagerie on Diagon Alley as a common garden rat, but one that ―has been

through the mill‖ after she saw its tattered left ear and a front paw that missing a

toe (1999: 64-65).

Scabbers is included amongst the creature symbols in this study because

there are several details regarding the rat in Prisoner of Azkaban that Rowling

emphasized through position and repetition, as per the theory of symbol by Arp

and Johnson (2006: 280). Throughout the novel, Scabbers is portrayed to be sick

and stressed which later turned out to be related to Sirius‘ escape from Azkaban

and the subsequent confrontation that reveals the truth of Harry‘s past.

Scabbers‘ sickly appearance is first noted when Harry encountered Ron

and Hermione in Diagon Alley during the summer holiday.

He pulled his pet rat out of his pocket. ―And I want to get him checked

over,‖ he added, placing Scabbers on the table in front of them. ―I don‘t

think Egypt agreed with him.‖

Scabbers was looking thinner than usual, and there was a definite droop to

his whiskers. (1999: 63)

At first, it seems that the rat did not like Egypt and thus, it showed signs of

stress. When Ron took it to Magical Menagerie for a check-up, it is implied by the

witch that old age may be the cause for its sickness.


26

―Hm,‖ said the witch, picking up Scabbers. ―How old is this rat?‖

―Dunno,‖ said Ron. ―Quite old. He used to belong to my brother.‖

…

―An ordinary common or garden rat like this can‘t be expected to live

longer than three years or so,‖ said the witch. (1999: 64-65)

During Harry‘s third year at Hogwarts, Scabbers condition was not

improved that even Harry thought that the rat was reaching the end of its life.

It had been a while since Harry had seen him out of Ron‘s pocket, and he

was unpleasantly surprised to see that Scabbers, once so fat, was now very

skinny; patches of fur seemed to have fallen out too.

…

But Harry, remembering what the woman at the Magical Menagerie had

said about rats living only three years, couldn‘t help feeling that unless

Scabbers had powers he had never revealed, he was reaching the end of his

life. (1999: 251)

Scabbers then went missing on Christmas when Harry received the gift of

a Firebolt, but later turned up again by Hagrid‘s hut when Harry, Ron, and

Hermione accompanied him before the execution for Buckbeak the hippogriff. Its

condition seemed to be worse than ever.

He grabbed the struggling rat and held him up to the light. Scabbers looked

dreadful. He was thinner than ever, large tufts of hair had fallen out

leaving wide bald patches, and he writhed in Ron‘s hands as though

desperate to free himself. (1999: 367)

Aside from its bad health condition, Scabbers is also seems to be

constantly in fear of something, though often it is because Hermione‘s cat

Crookshanks was after him. However, during Buckbeak‘s execution, the rat tried

to escape frantically from something even when Crookshanks was not around.

―It‘s Scabbers — he won‘t — stay put —‖

Ron was bent over, trying to keep Scabbers in his pocket, but the rat was

going berserk; squeaking madly, twisting and flailing, trying to sink his

teeth into Ron‘s hand. (1999: 369).

This stress and fear are later revealed by Sirius Black to be because of his


27

escape from Azkaban, and the rat, whom truly is Peter Pettigrew in disguise, knew

that Sirius was out for him. The first time his condition is noted to be sick is also

recalled by Harry to coincide with the time of Sirius‘ escape. Accordingly, the

position and repeated details of Scabbers‘ ill condition and fear made it fit to be

mention as a symbol.

Scabbers then as a symbol reflects the character of Peter Pettigrew for the

rat is his animagus form. Peter is revealed by Sirius to be a spy for Voldemort and

a traitor to Harry‘s parents for selling them out.

―Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord … you have no

idea … he has weapons you can‘t imagine. … I was scared, Sirius, I was

never brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen. …

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me —‖

―DON‘T LIE!‖ bellowed Black. ―YOU‘D BEEN PASSING

INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES

DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!‖

―He — he was taking over everywhere!‖ gasped Pettigrew. ―Wh — what

was there to be gained by refusing him?‖ (1999: 418).

Peter as a treacherous man ratted on his friends, James and Lily, giving

their location which he supposed to keep secret to Voldemort. Incidentally, his

animagus form is also a rat, a small rodent animal. By the double meaning of the

word rat, it can be concluded that the rat Scabbers symbolizes betrayal.

Aside from his treachery, the symbol of rat also reflects two other traits of

Peter Pettigrew. First is the cowardice he showed after his deception was revealed.

According to Sirius, Peter is ―always liked big friends who‘d look after him‖

(1999: 412) and that ―his own stinking skin meant more to him than Harry‘s

whole family.‖ (1999: 419). This statement is supported by the fact that Peter tried

to beg Sirius and Remus Lupin for mercy.


28

―Sirius — it‘s me … it‘s Peter … your friend … you wouldn‘t …‖

Black kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled. ―There‘s enough filth on my

robes without you touching them,‖ said Black.

―Remus!‖ Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Lupin instead, writhing

imploringly in front of him. ―You don‘t believe this … wouldn‘t Sirius

have told you they‘d changed the plan?‖ (1999: 416).

When the two made clear their intention not to spare him, Peter turned

towards Ron and Hermione in desperation, but neither were willing to help him.

―Ron … haven‘t I been a good friend … a good pet? You won‘t let them

kill me, Ron, will you … you‘re on my side, aren‘t you?‖

... Pettigrew turned on his knees, staggered forward, and seized the hem of

Hermione‘s robes.

―Sweet girl … clever girl … you — you won‘t let them. … Help me. …‖

Hermione pulled her robes out of Pettigrew‘s clutching hands and backed

away against the wall, looking horrified. (1999: 417).

Peter even knelt towards Harry, clearly in fear for his life. He tried to

convince Harry that his father James, someone he had betrayed, would have

understood and show him mercy.

―Harry … Harry … you look just like your father … just like him. …‖

…

―Harry,‖ whispered Pettigrew, shuffling toward him, hands outstretched.

―Harry, James wouldn‘t have wanted me killed. … James would have

understood, Harry … he would have shown me mercy. …‖ (1999: 417-

418).

His action in the two passages above proved his cowardice and that he

cares only for his own life. To save his own life, he is willing to kneel and beg to

those he had readily betrayed.

Peter‘s other trait worthy of note is that he is a cunning trickster. In

Prisoner of Azkaban, he cleverly deceived everyone into thinking that he was

dead.

―My God,‖ said Lupin softly, staring from Scabbers to the picture in the

paper and back again. ―His front paw …‖

―What about it?‖ said Ron defiantly.


29

―He‘s got a toe missing,‖ said Black.

―Of course,‖ Lupin breathed. ―So simple … so brilliant … he cut it off

himself?‖

―Just before he transformed,‖ said Black. ―When I cornered him, he yelled

for the whole street to hear that I‘d betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I

could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back,

killed everyone within twenty feet of himself — and sped down into the

sewer with the other rats. …‖ (1999: 405-406)

The passage showed that Peter is a quite cunning with his trick. He

successfully faked his own death and framed Sirius as Voldemort‘s spy, thereby

deceiving everyone into thinking that he was a tragic hero when he really was not.

Peter also faked his death as Scabbers when he realizes that Hermione‘s cat

Crookshanks were helping Sirius to get to him.

―But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it. …‖ croaked

Black. ―This cat — Crookshanks, did you call him? — told me Peter had

left blood on the sheets. … I supposed he bit himself. … Well, faking his

own death had worked once. …‖ (1999: 407)

The context of both passages clearly support that Peter has a certain

cunning in him befitting a trickster, but it is clear as well that he only did so to

save his own life. Therefore, the symbol of rat here also stands for both cowardice

and cunning.

Conclusively, the symbol of rat in Prisoner of Azkaban signifies several

different meanings. It stands for betrayal as Peter Pettigrew sold his best friends

whom he had been get along since the school days to Voldemort. The rat is also a

symbol for both cowardice and cunning for although Peter is capable of clever

trickery, he is a coward who is first and foremost care about his own life and is

willing to do anything to save himself.


30

3. Dementors of Azkaban

The dementors are the guardians of Azkaban, a dreadful prison where the

Ministry of Magic put the convicted witch and wizard for imprisonment. They are

a kind of dark creatures with terrible physical appearance described as follows in

Prisoner of Azkaban,

Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in Lupin‘s

hand, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was

completely hidden beneath its hood. Harry‘s eyes darted downward, and

what he saw made his stomach contract. There was a hand protruding from

the cloak and it was glistening, grayish, slimy-looking, and scabbed, like

something dead that had decayed in water. … (1999: 92)

Even more terrible than its appearance is its power to suck happiness and

bring despair and hopelessness to its immediate surroundings. As Lupin put it,

Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest

the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain

peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them. Even Muggles feel

their presence, though they can‘t see them. Get too near a dementor and

every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it

can, the dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to

something like itself … soulless and evil. You‘ll be left with nothing but

the worst experiences of your life. (1999: 208-209).

This terrifying power is even more pronounced by its ability called the

Dementor‘s Kiss which enables it to suck the soul of the living. It is, according to

Lupin, is ―its last and worst weapon, used upon those they wished to destroy

utterly‖ (1999: 274-275). To be subjected to the Dementor‘s Kiss is something

Lupin described to be worse than death as he stated that,

You can exist without your soul, you know, as long as your brain and heart are still working. But you‘ll have no sense of self anymore, no memory, no … anything. There‘s no chance at all of recovery. You‘ll just — exist. As an empty shell. And your soul is gone forever … lost.‖ (1999: 275).

As with both the black dog and the rat Scabbers, the dementors of Azkaban


31

is mentioned as a symbol of importance in this study since their recurring

appearance throughout the story and positioned as an opposition towards Harry,

despite being tasked to guard Hogwarts and its students, fits the theory of symbol

stated by Arp and Johnson in Perrine’s Literature that ―the symbol always signals

their existence through emphasis, repetition, or position‖ (2006: 280).

When a dementor first appeared in the story during the ride on Hogwarts

Express in an inspection for Sirius Black presence on the train, Harry was

immediately subjected to its frightening power.

And then the thing beneath the hood, whatever it was, drew a long, slow,

rattling breath, as though it were trying to suck something more than air

from its surroundings.

An intense cold swept over them all. Harry felt his own breath catch in his

chest. The cold went deeper than his skin. It was inside his chest, it was

inside his very heart …

Harry‘s eyes rolled up into his head. He couldn‘t see. He was drowning in

cold. There was a rushing in his ears as though of water. He was being

dragged downward, the roaring growing louder…

And then, from far away, he heard screaming, terrible, terrified, pleading

screams. (1999: 92-93)

Albeit the dementor was tasked to search for Sirius Black, it opted instead

to attack the occupants of the compartment until Lupin banished it. Harry is the

only one to pass out during the encounter, though it seemed that everyone

alongside him were equally affected. In his second encounter during the quidditch

match however, it is clear that the group of dementors were after Harry

specifically.

And then a horribly familiar wave of cold swept over him, inside him, just

as he became aware of something moving on the field below. …

Before he‘d had time to think, Harry had taken his eyes off the Snitch and

looked down.

At least a hundred dementors, their hidden faces pointing up at him, were

standing beneath him. It was as though freezing water were rising in his


32

chest, cutting at his insides. And then he heard it again. … Someone was

screaming, screaming inside his head … a woman … (1999: 198)

The quoted passages above positioned the dementors to oppose Harry, and

with both encounters forced Harry to relive the memory of his mother‘s death,

foreshadowing the conflict of the novel later, they affirmed that the dementor is

indeed a symbol of importance in the novel.

Unlike the black dog and the rat which are conventional symbols, the

dementor, being a creature invented entirely by J.K. Rowling, is a personal

symbol. This because the meaning it signified as a symbol is defined in

accordance to her will as the author as per Abrams theory of symbol (1999: 311).

The power of dementors reflected the meaning it signified as a symbol. They

drain the positive feeling from their surroundings and leave despair and

hopelessness in their wake. A case in point, the reaction of Harry‘s friends after

the encounter with a dementor on the train.

―It was horrible,‖ said Neville, in a higher voice than usual. ―Did you feel

how cold it got when it came in?‖

―I felt weird,‖ said Ron, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably. ―Like I‘d

never be cheerful again. …‖

Ginny, who was huddled in her corner looking nearly as bad as Harry felt,

gave a small sob; Hermione went over and put a comforting arm around

her. (1999: 95).

This feeling of unhappiness along with Harry‘s own experience of having

to relive the memory of his mother‘s death which left him in misery in his

encounters with the dementors on two separate incidents signify that the dementor

is a symbol of negativity in form of unhappiness, despair, and misery, as their

power instilled such feelings upon their victims, leaving them unable to recall any

sort of memory except ones that brings them suffering and hopelessness.


33

B. Creature Symbols as Foreshadowing Element

The creature symbols of the Prisoner of Azkaban discussed in the previous

part of this chapter have a certain role in the plot of the novel as foreshadowing

element. They hint towards the future event occurring in the plot of the novel.

What is foreshadowed by the symbols of black dog, rat, and dementor are the

main conflict of the story. Conflict is defined by M. H. Abrams as ―the relation

between the chief character of the plot, the protagonist, and the important

opponent he is pitted against, the antagonist‖ (1999: 224-225). In Prisoner of

Azkaban, the protagonist of the novel is clearly Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived.

The antagonist of the novel however, is not so clear. For the most part of the

novel, it assumed that the antagonist is Sirius Black, a fugitive who escaped the

Azkaban prison and supposedly a traitor whom sold Harry‘s parents to Voldemort.

It is only at the climax of the plot however that the true antagonist is revealed to

be Peter Pettigrew, the traitor whom everyone thought to die a hero. Nevertheless,

both the false antagonist Sirius Black and true antagonist Peter Pettigrew have the

relation with the protagonist Harry Potter. This relation is Harry‘s past,

specifically the truth about who betrayed his parents, one who sold them to

Voldemort and allowed him to find their family. To sum it up, the conflict in

Prisoner of Azkaban is about the truth behind Harry‘s past regarding the betrayal

to his parents which resulted in their subsequent murders.

In order to determine how the creature symbols act as foreshadowing to

the conflict, it is necessary to observe how they are placed in the entirety of plot

structure since foreshadowing as Barnet puts it being ―a hint or suggestion of what


34

is to come‖ (Barnet, 2008: 103) and Cuddon suggest that it is ―the structural and

thematic unity in a novel as events and information are arranged in such way that

later events are shadowed forth beforehand‖ (2013: 285), it therefore dictates that

the foreshadowing must be put before what they are hinting at is actually

happened in the plot. In this case, the creature symbols foreshadowed the conflict

of the novel. In examining the placement of foreshadowing elements and the

foreshadowed event in the plot, the Freytag pyramid structure of plot is used in

the analysis.

In Freytag pyramid structure, the very first part of a plot is exposition

where the background information of the story, such as characters and the basic

conflict, is provided. As the creature symbols are the foreshadowing elements that

foreshadowed the main conflict in the novel, therefore their placement in the

Freytag pyramid structure must lie before the climax in the novel in which all

foreshadowed events occurred, which means the symbols are placed throughout

the exposition and rising action part of the plot.

In the exposition part of Prisoner of Azkaban, the character Sirius Black,

the assumed antagonist of the story, was introduced very early in the third chapter

as an escaped convict in the muggle news (1999: 18) before his identity was made

clear by the newspaper Stan Shunpike was reading during the Knight Bus ride.

Harry held the paper up to the candlelight and read:

BLACK STILL AT LARGE

Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held in

Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of Magic confirmed

today.

…

While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of

metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other), the magical community


35

lives in fear of a massacre like that of twelve years ago, when Black

murdered thirteen people with a single curse. (Page 41)

While here, Sirius Black is mentioned to be a convicted wizard, it was

Stan who revealed that Sirius was a ―big supporter of Voldemort‖ (1999: 42).

However, it is to be noted that the revelation of Sirius identity as a supporter of

Voldemort was preceded by Harry‘s first encounter with the large black dog

suspected to be a Grim (1999: 36-37).

After a brief encounter with the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, Harry

then proceeded to spend the rest of summer in Leaky Cauldron while taking

occasional trips to Diagon Alley to buy school supplies. When he visited the

Flourish and Blotts for new book, he was reminded of coming across the black

dog in Magnolia Crescent when he saw the same dog was on the cover of a book

about death omens, though later he tried to convince himself that it meant nothing.

But Harry continued to stare at the front cover of the book; it showed a

black dog large as a bear, with gleaming eyes. It looked oddly familiar. …

―It can‘t have been a death omen,‖ he told his reflection defiantly. ―I was

panicking when I saw that thing in Magnolia Crescent. … It was probably

just a stray dog.‖ (1999: 59-60).

Eventually, Harry was reunited with Ron and Hermione again in Diagon

Alley. It was in this meeting that Harry first took notice of Scabbers unusual

condition, which at the time coincided with the news of Sirius Black escaped from

Azkaban (1999: 63) and later, this detail was recalled during the climax of the

conflict.

The presumed main conflict of the novel was introduced by the end of

summer holiday when Harry accidentally overheard the conversation between Mr.

and Mrs. Weasley regarding Sirius Black:


36

―Molly, how many times do I have to tell you? They didn‘t report it in the

press because Fudge wanted it kept quiet, but Fudge went out to Azkaban

the night Black escaped. The guards told Fudge that Black‘s been talking

in his sleep for a while now. Always the same words: ‗He‘s at Hogwarts …

he‘s at Hogwarts.‘ Black is deranged, Molly, and he wants Harry dead. If

you ask me, he thinks murdering Harry will bring You-Know-Who back to

power. Black lost everything the night Harry stopped You-Know-Who, and

he‘s had twelve years alone in Azkaban to brood on that. …‖ (1999: 72-73)

From the quoted passage above, the ministry seemed to interpret that ‗he‘

whom Sirius mentioned in his sleep to be at Hogwarts was Harry, the one whom

vanquished Voldemort, his master, and thus, they believed that Sirius was after

Harry to avenge his fallen master. However, this only gives the barest detail of the

conflict. The betrayal Sirius had supposedly committed to Harry‘s parents and his

subsequent murder of his other friend Peter Pettigrew were not mentioned yet in

this conversation. However, a vague hint of Sirius‘ betrayal was given by Mr.

Weasley plead to Harry that he was not to look for Black despite whatever he

might hear (1999: 81) which implied that Harry would likely to do so if Sirius‘

supposed betrayal was revealed to him.

In the midst of the ride towards Hogwarts, the train was stopped for an

inspection conducted by the dementors of Azkaban in search for Sirius Black. It

was during the inspection Harry encountered a dementor for the first time and it

forced Harry to relive the moment of his mother‘s death, albeit the memory was,

at the time, limited to the scream of unknown woman.

And then the thing beneath the hood, whatever it was, drew a long, slow,

rattling breath, as though it were trying to suck something more than air

from its surroundings.

…

And then, from far away, he heard screaming, terrible, terrified, pleading

screams. He wanted to help whoever it was, he tried to move his arms, but

couldn‘t … (1999: 92-93)


37

This encounter is the inciting incident of the plot. It marks the beginning of

rising action, the increasing complication of the conflict in the plot, as not only

that Harry was in danger from Sirius Black, but the dementors that were stationed

around Hogwarts to capture him would not mind preying on him as well.

Furthermore, that Harry was forced to relive his mother‘s death during the

encounter foreshadowed that the main conflict would be related to Harry‘s past.

Specifically, the night when his parents were murdered by Voldemort and his

subsequent vanquishing the dark lord twelve years ago in Godric‘s Hollow.

Throughout the rising action part of the plot, the threat of Sirius Black

seemed to be looming over Harry. In the first divination lesson where Professor

Trelawney predicted his death when she saw that his tea leaves formed the shape

of a Grim, a giant, spectral black dog believed by witches and wizards to be an

omen of death (1999: 118) and Harry was immediately reminded of the large,

dog-like silhouette he saw the night at Magnolia Crescent before he boarded the

Knight Bus which happened to bear a great resemblance to a Grim. This made

him slightly worried, although later McGonagall dismissed her prediction and

assured Harry that he would be just fine since none the students whose death were

predicted by Trelawney has died yet (1999: 120).

Further into the year, another clue of Sirius‘ supposed betrayal was given

by Malfoy.

―Of course, if it was me,‖ he said quietly, ―I‘d have done something before

now. I wouldn‘t be staying in school like a good boy, I‘d be out there

looking for him.‖

―What are you talking about, Malfoy?‖ said Ron roughly.

―Don‘t you know, Potter?‖ breathed Malfoy, his pale eyes narrowed.

―Know what?‖


38

Malfoy let out a low, sneering laugh. ―Maybe you‘d rather not risk your

neck,‖ he said. ―Want to leave it to the dementors, do you? But if it was

me, I‘d want revenge. I‘d hunt him down myself.‖ (1999: 140-141).

Malfoy‘s words, same as Mr. Weasley‘s, implied that Harry would have

wanted revenge on Sirius for a reason unknown to him. At this point however,

Harry has yet to know that the reason Sirius was imprisoned years ago was not

only for the mass murder he was notorious of, but also for the treason he

supposedly had committed by selling his parents to Voldemort twelve years ago.

Despite the looming threat however, the year seemingly progressed

smoothly for the students of Hogwarts until Sirius Black managed to sneak into

the castle during the student‘s visiting hour to Hogsmeade and attacked the Fat

Lady after he failed in his attempt to enter the Gryffindor common room.

The Fat Lady had vanished from her portrait, which had been slashed so

viciously that strips of canvas littered the floor; great chunks of it had been

torn away completely.

…

―He got very angry when she wouldn‘t let him in, you see.‖ Peeves flipped

over and grinned at Dumbledore from between his own legs. ―Nasty

temper he‘s got, that Sirius Black.‖ (1999: 178-179).

This alerted the whole resident of Hogwarts and instigated the staff to

conduct a thorough search around the castle to find Black, albeit to no avail. Since

Sirius clearly attempted to enter the Gryffindor common room, this seemed to

reinforce the idea that he was after Harry. With the Fat Lady being too frightened

to guard the entrance to Gryffindor common room, her portrait was momentarily

replaced by Sir Cardogan‘s while security around the castle was heightened in the

light of the incident, especially in the case of Harry who were routinely followed

by teachers to ensure his safety.


39

The quidditch season then began not long after the incident and in

unexpected turn of event, the Gryffindor were to face Hufflepuff per the request of

Slytherin team to switch their match as Malfoy‘s arm was supposedly not yet

healed. It was during the match Harry encountered the Grim for the second time

(1999: 197-198), and just as when Harry came across the Grim in the Magnolia

Crescent where he almost got crushed by the suddenly appeared Knight Bus, this

second encounter was also followed by an incident that nearly killed him. This

time by a group of dementors that suddenly appeared on the field. Harry was once

again forced to relive the memory of the screaming woman, but this time it was

clearer.

And then he heard it again. … Someone was screaming, screaming inside

his head … a woman …

―Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!‖

―Stand aside, you silly girl … stand aside, now. …‖

―Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead —‖

...

“Not Harry! Please … have mercy … have mercy. …”

A shrill voice was laughing, the woman was screaming, and Harry knew

no more. (1999: 198-199)

Harry realized then that the woman whose scream he had heard was his

mother and what the dementors forced him to relive was his memory of Lily

begging Voldemort to spare him before the dark lord killed her in the Halloween

night twelve years ago. That this memory was shown twice in his two encounters

with the dementors signals that the conflict of the novel was not only related to

Sirius Black, but also Harry‘s past regarding the night when his parents were

murdered.

The second appearance of the Grim in the quidditch match also worried


40

Harry, especially since near-death accidents seemed to occur every time it showed

himself to Harry, making him wonder if the Grim would haunt him to death

(1999: 205). The two accidents Harry had experienced seemed to affirm professor

Trelawney‘s prediction regarding Harry‘s death.

Another thing that made Harry even more nervous was how strongly the

dementors affected him. He consulted to Lupin about it and he agreed to teach

him a defensive spell against dementors (1999: 210).

In the very last weekend of the first terms, another trip to Hogsmeade was

held. Since Harry did not have a signed permission form for the visit, he was not

allowed to go, but he was given a way to sneak out from the castle by Fred and

George Weasley in form of Marauder‘s Map.

He took out his wand, touched the parchment lightly, and said, ―I solemnly

swear that I am up to no good.‖

Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs Purveyors of Aids to

Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present THE MARAUDER‘S

MAP.

It was a map showing every detail of the Hogwarts castle and grounds. But

the truly remarkable thing were the tiny ink dots moving around it, each

labelled with a name in minuscule writing. Astounded, Harry bent over it.

A labelled dot in the top left corner showed that Professor Dumbledore

was pacing his study; the caretaker‘s cat, Mrs. Norris, was prowling the

second floor; and Peeves the Poltergeist was currently bouncing around the

trophy room. And as Harry‘s eyes travelled up and down the familiar

corridors, he noticed something else. This map showed a set of passages he

had never entered. And many of them seemed to lead —

―Right into Hogsmeade,‖ said Fred. (1999: 214-215)

The map not only showed the people in Hogwarts, but it also showed the

secret passages within the castle. This allowed Harry to sneak out into Hogsmeade

without anyone‘s notice. He rendezvoused with Ron and Hermione at the

Honeydukes candy shop and spent his time with them. After they finished with


41

their visit to Honeydukes, the three opted for a cup of butterbeer at the Three

Broomsticks, but unexpectedly, he found out from eavesdropping the minister

Cornelius Fudge‘s conversation with the professors of Hogwarts and the

innkeeper Madam Rosmerta that Sirius Black was his parents‘ best friend, that his

parent named him his godfather, and that had supposedly betrayed them to

Voldemort.

―Potter trusted Black beyond all his other friends. Nothing changed when

they left school. Black was best man when James married Lily. Then they

named him godfather to Harry. Harry has no idea, of course. You can

imagine how the idea would torment him.‖

…

―Indeed, he had suspected for some time that someone on our side had

turned traitor and was passing a lot of information to You-Know-Who.‖

―But James Potter insisted on using Black?‖

―He did,‖ said Fudge heavily. ―And then, barely a week after the Fidelius

Charm had been performed —‖

―Black betrayed them?‖ breathed Madam Rosmerta.

―He did indeed. Black was tired of his double-agent role, he was ready to

declare his support openly for You-Know-Who, and he seems to have

planned this for the moment of the Potters‘ death. (1999: 227-229).

This conversation revealed a more detail to the main conflict of the novel

which is that the conflict was related to Harry‘s past. In this case, Sirius used to be

the best friend of James Potter, but he apparently had turned out to be a spy and

betrayed James and Lily to Voldemort by giving the secret of Fidelius charm to

him which led to the night when they died and Harry vanquished Voldemort. This

revelation had been foreshadowed previously through the dementors. The

dementor is the symbol of despair in the novel, as discussed in the previous part of

the analysis, and their power not only drains any semblance of positivity and

happiness, but also brings about the worst memory of the persons within their

immediate presence, leaving them in the wake of misery. In case of Harry, this


42

memory was the moment of Lily begging Voldemort to spare him before she was

murdered. This memory is intricately related with the supposed betrayal of Sirius

Black, being the result of said treason, and it was shown twice throughout the

novel, each by the means of the dementors. The first was during the dementor‘s

inspection on Hogwarts Express before the beginning of the terms, and the second

was when Harry was attacked by a group of dementors during the first quidditch

match of the season against Hufflepuff.

Another important detail that was revealed in the conversation was the

introduction of Peter Pettigrew, the wizard who was allegedly murdered by Sirius

Black twelve years ago for confronting the man in the light of his supposed

betrayal.

―It was not we who found him. It was little Peter Pettigrew — another of

the Potters‘ friends. Maddened by grief, no doubt, and knowing that Black

had been the Potters‘ Secret-Keeper, he went after Black himself.‖

―Pettigrew … that fat little boy who was always tagging around after them

at Hogwarts?‖ said Madam Rosmerta.

―Hero-worshipped Black and Potter,‖ said Professor McGonagall. ―Never

quite in their league, talent-wise. I was often rather sharp with him. You

can imagine how I — how I regret that now. …‖ She sounded as though

she had a sudden head cold.

―There, now, Minerva,‖ said Fudge kindly, ―Pettigrew died a hero‘s death.

Eyewitnesses — Muggles, of course, we wiped their memories later —

told us how Pettigrew cornered Black. They say he was sobbing, ‗Lily and

James, Sirius! How could you?‘ And then he went for his wand. Well, of

course, Black was quicker. Blew Pettigrew to smithereens. …‖ (1999:

231).

Peter was another friend of James Potter. According to the quoted passage

above, he often tagging along with James and Sirius during their Hogwarts days

and even hero-worshipped them. The passage also mentioned that Pettigrew was

the one whom confronted Black for his treason and was murdered for it, according


43

to the muggle witnesses Fudge mentioned.

After the end of Christmas holiday, Harry was getting a lesson from Lupin

on an anti-dementor charm called the Patronus which supposed to act as a shield

that chase away the dementors. Lupin used a Boggart, a creature that is able to

shapeshift into any person‘s greatest fear, in place of a real dementor since Harry‘s

Boggart form was one. However, the dementor‘s effect on Harry was so great that

even the Boggart-dementor was able to affect Harry. This time, he also relived the

memory of James telling Lily to run when he realized Voldemort was at their

doorstep (1999: 267). Nonetheless, Harry managed to produce a decent patronus

despite this setback and later, he managed to produce a good one to expel the fake

dementors which turned out to be Malfoy and his cronies during the match against

Ravenclaw.

Just afterward the Gryffindor‘s victory party however, another incident

occurred. This time, Sirius Black managed to gain entry to the common room and

apparently was about to attack Ron.

Harry woke as suddenly as though he‘d been hit in the face. Disoriented in

the total darkness, he fumbled with his hangings — he could hear

movements around him, and Seamus Finnigan‘s voice from the other side

of the room: ―What‘s going on?‖

Harry thought he heard the dormitory door slam. At last finding the divide

in his curtains, he ripped them back, and at the same moment, Dean

Thomas lit his lamp.

Ron was sitting up in bed, the hangings torn from one side, a look of

utmost terror on his face.

―Black! Sirius Black! With a knife!‖

―What?‖

―Here! Just now! Slashed the curtains! Woke me up!‖ (1999: 296).

Sirius escaped before any of the teachers can apprehend him, but this

incident vaguely hinted that perhaps Harry was not his target. Harry pondered


44

upon himself on why Black had chosen to escape since he could have easily

silenced Ron before he could make a noise and then proceed to attack Harry

without anyone‘s notice instead, though he rationalized that he did so because he

would not be able to escape afterwards had he done so (1999: 302).

Just the day before the quidditch final between Gryffindor and Slytherin,

Harry saw the Grim once again. Only this time, he saw Hermione‘s pet cat,

Crookshanks, trotting along with it.

And just then, it emerged — a gigantic, shaggy black dog, moving

stealthily across the lawn, Crookshanks trotting at its side. Harry stared.

What did this mean? If Crookshanks could see the dog as well, how could

it be an omen of Harry‘s death? (1999: 338).

As is discussed in the first part of the analysis, this was the clue that point

towards the possibility that the black dog was not Grim as Harry had first thought

since Crookshanks seemed to be able to perceive it normally. That Harry spotted

them both later was recalled during the climax of the novel by Harry whom

realized that Crookshanks was helping Black all along to get to Peter.

After Gryffindor‘s triumph in the quidditch final, the second terms was

about to end with the exams were underway. At the end of Harry‘s Divination

exam, professor Trelawney unexpectedly prophesied the impending return of

Voldemort with the help of a servant whom had been chained for the last twelve

years.

―The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His

servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight …

the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord

will rise again with his servant‘s aid, greater and more terrible than ever he

was. Tonight … before midnight … the servant … will set out … to rejoin

… his master. …‖ (1999: 361)


45

Sirius Black seemed to fit the criteria of the servant mentioned in this

prophecy. He was thought to be a major supporter of Voldemort, a loyal servant

who spied on the Potters by his order, and he had been imprisoned in the dreaded

Azkaban for twelve years since his betrayal was revealed to public by Peter

Pettigrew. Trelawney predicted that the servant was going to break free before

midnight that day and so Harry then immediately set out to find Ron and

Hermione to tell them of the prophecy, but before he had the chance to, Ron and

Hermione gave him news that Hagrid‘s hippogriff, Buckbeak, was set to be

executed that evening, distracting him from the importance of his own news. This

marked the beginning of the climax in the novel where Harry would be confronted

by the truth behind his past when Voldemort murdered his parents and was

subsequently vanquished, leaving him as the lone survivor of the night.

The three then set out to Hagrid‘s hut under the cover of Harry‘s

Invisibility Cloak. They accompanied Hagrid before Buckbeak‘s execution and in

the midst of their conversation, Ron‘s pet rat Scabbers whom had gone missing

since the beginning of the second terms, presumably eaten by Crookshanks,

suddenly turned up in Hagrid‘s milk jug (1999: 366-367). The rat looked worse

than ever and it behaved frantically as if it was desperate to free himself and

escape from something coming after him. When Crookshanks appeared near them

when they sneaked out of Hagrid‘s hut, Scabbers managed to slip away and the cat

chased it down until Ron managed to catch it close to the Whomping Willow. But

then, the enormous black dog Harry had seen throughout the year suddenly

appeared and attacked Ron, dragging him and Scabbers along into the large gap in


46

the Whomping Willow‘s roots which turned out to be a secret passage.

Ron was on his feet. As the dog sprang back toward them he pushed Harry

aside; the dog‘s jaws fastened instead around Ron‘s outstretched arm.

Harry lunged forward, he seized a handful of the brute‘s hair, but it was

dragging Ron away as easily as though he were a rag doll —

…

And there, at the base of the trunk, was the dog, dragging Ron backward

into a large gap in the roots — Ron was fighting furiously, but his head

and torso were slipping out of sight — (Rowling: 372-373).

The quoted passage above showed that the dog was not a Grim all along as

it is capable of physically attack Ron while Grim as a spectral being like

Hogwarts ghosts was incapable of such feat. This was foreshadowed by the scene

when Harry noticed the dog was sneaking around Hogwarts with Crookshanks,

which seemed to be able to see it without a problem, as a company. This scene

where the Grim that had shadowed Harry all year long suddenly appeared to

attack Ron is also a reminiscence to Sirius‘s attack towards Ron when he was

supposed to after Harry instead.

Harry and Hermione then went after the dog into the passage and turned

up at the Shrieking Shack where they were confronted by Sirius Black whom

turned out to be an animagus who could transform into the black dog that attacked

Ron.

―He’s the dog … he’s an Animagus. …‖

Ron was staring over Harry‘s shoulder. Harry wheeled around. With a

snap, the man in the shadows closed the door behind them.

A mass of filthy, matted hair hung to his elbows. If eyes hadn‘t been

shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse. The

waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like

a skull. His yellow teeth were bared in a grin. It was Sirius Black. (1999:

377)

This revelation of Sirius Black being an animagus had been foreshadowed


47

early in the novel, specifically during the scene where Harry saw an enormous

dog-like silhouette at the Magnolia Crescent. This occurred just before Sirius

himself was introduced indirectly when Harry saw the newspaper Stan Shunpike

was reading in the Knight Bus and thus, vaguely hinted at the possibility above.

That the Grim which Black‘s animagus form resembled was seen as an omen of

death also supported this as Black was seen as the greatest threat towards Harry‘s

well-being throughout the year with the minister of magic and the staff of

Hogwarts had to ensure his safety personally.

Lupin then entered the scene and both he and Sirius revealed that Ron‘s

pet rat Scabbers was in fact Peter Pettigrew who had been hiding in his animagus

form for twelve years. As Lupin explain the background story on how Peter could

be disguised as Scabbers when he was supposed to be dead, Sirius never took his

eyes off Scabbers, showing obsessive behaviour towards it as if it was a prey.

After Pettigrew‘s cover as Scabbers was blown, Sirius sworn to Harry that he was

never a traitor (1999: 415), albeit he felt responsible for James‘ and Lily‘s death

since he was the one whom arranged the switching of Secret Keeper into

Pettigrew (1999: 408), and that the reason he escaped Azkaban was not to going

after Harry, but instead he was going after Peter who had betrayed him and his

friends to protect Harry from him since he was the only one to know of the truth,

thus revealed his true character as a protagonist instead of the assumed antagonist

all along.

―So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter

was still alive. …‖


48

Harry remembered what Mr. Weasley had told Mrs. Weasley. ―The guards

say he‘s been talking in his sleep … always the same words … ‗He’s at

Hogwarts.‘ ‖

―It was as if someone had lit a fire in my head, and the dementors couldn‘t

destroy it. … It wasn‘t a happy feeling … it was an obsession … but it

gave me strength, it cleared my mind.‖ (1999: 415)

The revelation that Sirius Black was never a traitor and instead remained a

loyal friend of James and Lily all along was vaguely foreshadowed by his

animagus form. Though its appearance resembled a Grim heavily, a dog is a

common symbol of loyalty which, as it turns out, is an important characteristic of

Sirius Black. The black colour of its fur also supported this indirectly as black

being the colour that symbolizes sorrow and mourning reflected Sirius‘ own

anguish for the death of his friends since if he was a traitor, he would not have felt

such a heavy sorrow for the people he betrayed.

On the other hand, Sirius also showed an obsessive behaviour to capture

Pettigrew. He had attacked the portrait of Fat Lady for denying him entry into the

common room to capture Peter. He also attacked Ron twice, the first being when

he successfully entered the common room by using stolen passwords and the

second being when he forcefully dragged Ron who was unknowingly carrying

Peter at the time to the Shrieking Shack. Sirius also would have kill Peter had

Harry not stopped him by appealing to his friendship with James. These

behaviours shows that Sirius has an obsession for vengeance against Peter and this

was foreshadowed by the heavy resemblance his animagus form bears to a Grim,

a creature believed to be an omen of death. Despite not being a Grim, the black

dog‘s appearance that resembled one do symbolizes Sirius‘ desire for vengeance

and to bring death, only his target was Peter Pettigrew rather than Harry as


49

previously assumed.

The climax in the novel also revealed the truth regarding Peter Pettigrew.

He was long thought to die a hero as the conversation between Cornelius Fudge

and Hogwarts‘ staff at the Three Broomsticks revealed, bravely confronted Sirius

Black for his betrayal on the Potters and was subsequently killed along with

twelve muggles. However, Sirius and Lupin exposed him as an animagus and that

he had been under disguise for the last twelve years as a rat.

―I think so,‖ said Lupin, holding Scabbers tightly in one hand and his

wand in the other. ―On the count of three. One — two — THREE!‖

A flash of blue-white light erupted from both wands; for a moment,

Scabbers was frozen in mid-air, his small grey form twisting madly — Ron

yelled — the rat fell and hit the floor. There was another blinding flash of

light and then —

It was like watching a speeded-up film of a growing tree. A head was

shooting upward from the ground; limbs were sprouting; a moment later, a

man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his

hands. (1999: 409).

The revelation of Scabbers as Peter was very vaguely hinted as Peter was

only mentioned past the inciting incident of the novel which was the train

inspection by the dementors at the beginning of the terms. In terms of appearance,

both Peter and Scabbers shared a single distinguishing feature: a missing finger.

This was what allowed Sirius to see through Peter‘s trick of faking his death when

he saw the Weasleys‘ photo on the newspaper Fudge had given to him (1999:

405).

Scabbers‘ sickly appearance and frantic behaviour throughout the year

were what truly foreshadowed the revelation. According to Ron, Scabbers had

been sick around the time they were on a vacation to Egypt (1999: 63), coinciding

with the news of Sirius‘ escape from Azkaban, and throughout the year, with the


50

threat of Sirius Black was looming over Hogwarts, its condition worsened. It also

behaved wildly as if something was after it. Often this was because of

Crookshanks that seemed to be obsessed over chasing Scabbers ever since the

check-up on the Magical Menagerie, but later it was revealed that Scabbers was

trying to catch the rat for Sirius and the reason for the rat‘s sickly appearance and

wild, fearful behaviour was that he knew Sirius would come after him for his

betrayal.

Peter‘s treachery and his clever trick to deceive the magical world of his

death were also foreshadowed by his animagus form. The rat in Prisoner of

Azkaban as discussed in the previous part of the analysis reflected the

aforementioned nature of Peter Pettigrew. Sirius ousted him as the true traitor,

revealing that he had been the true Secret Keeper (1999: 415) and the symbol of

rat in the novel stands for betrayal. It also stands for cowardice which Peter gave

away when begged Sirius and Lupin to spare him the moment his ruse was up and

to Ron, Hermione, and Harry when he failed (1999: 417). Lastly, the rat as a

symbol of cunning was reflected in Peter‘s trick of falsifying his death as

Scabbers in the second semester of the terms, which in turn foreshadowed the

clever ruse he had put up twelve years ago to frame Sirius for his betrayal to the

Potters so he could hide away safely.


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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

The novel Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling has

three important symbols that also doubles as the foreshadowing elements in its

plot: the first was the Grim-like black dog that was the animagus form of Sirius

Black stands as the symbol of loyalty, sorrow, and vengeance. The second was

Ron Weasley‘s pet rat Scabbers that turns out to be a wizard in disguise named

Peter Pettigrew which stands as the symbol of betrayal, cowardice, and cunning

trickery. The third was the dementors of Azkaban that stand as the symbol of

misery and despair.

As foreshadowing element, the aforementioned symbols were placed

throughout the exposition and rising action part of the novel as they cued the

readers in for the climax in the conflict of the novel, which was the confrontation

of Harry and his past.

The symbol of black dog was first appeared at the Magnolia Crescent

before the indirect introduction of Sirius Black during Harry‘s ride on the Knight

Bus and then appeared again during Harry‘s disastrous quidditch match against

Hufflepuff. In both cases, the appearance of this black dog was immediately

followed by a near-death accident, which led to assumption that the dog was a

Grim, an omen of death. However, a vague clue was given that the black dog may

not be a Grim when Harry inadvertently noticed that Crookshanks was able to see

the dog too, and this was proven when the dog attacked Ron and dragged him to


52

the Shrieking Shack later.

Sirius then was revealed to be an animagus who could transform into the

black dog that had been haunting Harry throughout the year and this had been

foreshadowed by the first appearance of the black dog at Magnolia Crescent

where Harry saw the dog just before the character Sirius Black was indirectly

introduced to him as a convicted wizard and a supporter of Voldemort, Harry‘s

nemesis. However, it was revealed in the climax of the novel that Sirius Black was

not the traitor to Harry‘s parents and that he had escaped from Azkaban not to

hunt for Harry, but in pursuit of the true traitor, Peter Pettigrew. This was

foreshadowed by the black dog‘s attack on Ron, the owner of Scabbers, the

animagus form of Peter Pettigrew, which was reminiscent to the earlier scene of

the novel when Black attacked Ron in the Gryffindor common room. That the

black dog shares a resemblance to the Grim that was an omen of death also

foreshadowed Sirius‘ vengeful obsession to catch and kill Pettigrew and his

blaming himself for the death of his friend as the black colour of its fur

symbolizes sorrow and mourning.

The symbol of rat in the novel that was depicted with sickly appearance

and wild, fearful behaviour throughout the novel. It was first noted to have a

sickly appearance during Harry‘s summer at Hogsmeade with Ron stating that

Scabbers didn‘t like Egypt, which coincidentally was around the same time the

news of Sirius‘ escape from Azkaban was spread. The rat was depicted to behave

wildly and fearful as the year progressed. Often this was because Hermione‘s pet

cat Crookshanks seemed obsessed to catch it and later, it went missing in the


53

beginning of the second semester, presumably eaten by said cat. However, it

turned up on Hagrid‘s hut later and its condition seemed to be worse than ever and

even more fearful, frantically tried to escape its owner Ron as if it did not

recognize its owner and something was after it.

Scabbers then was revealed to be Peter Pettigrew whom was long thought

to be dead, but turned out had been hiding all along as the rat, and his former

friends, Sirius and Lupin, exposed him as Voldemort‘s spy and traitor to the

Potters. This was foreshadowed by Scabbers sickly appearance and frantic

behaviour throughout the year as the reason for it was, as revealed by Sirius in the

climax, that Peter realized the reason Sirius escaped from Azkaban was to hunt

him down. Although it was first assumed because of Crookshanks, Harry recalled

that Scabbers had been sick before he met Crookshanks in the Magical Menagerie.

The black dog‘s attack on Ron, its owner, which was reminiscent to the scene

where Sirius was looming after Ron in his bed, seemingly was about to attack

him, also suggested this as well. Furthermore, Peter‘s treachery to the Potters and

his subsequent faking his death and framing Sirius for his action were

foreshadowed by the trick Scabbers pulled off to fake its death and framed

Crookshanks for it at the start of the terms‘ second semester.

Lastly, the dementors of Azkaban as the symbol of despair forced Harry to

relive the memory of his parents‘ death thrice. The first was during the train

inspection at the start of the terms, the second was during the first quidditch match

of the season between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, and the third was during Harry‘s

anti-dementor lesson with Lupin against a pretending Boggart. These suggested


54

that the conflict would have a relation to the night in Harry‘s past when his parents

were murdered by Voldemort as later revealed when Harry eavesdropped the

conversation between the minister and the staff of Hogwarts at Hogsmeade.

To summarize, the dementors as the symbol of fear foreshadowed that the

conflict of the novel would be a confrontation between Harry and his past through

the act of forcing him to relive the memory of his parents‘ death thrice, while the

symbol of black dog and rat foreshadowed the truth behind said past, that the

assumed antagonist of Sirius Black was innocent of the crime he was blamed for

and that Peter Pettigrew whom was long thought to die a hero was the one who

betrayed the Potters as a servant of Voldemort.


55

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms: Seventh Edition. Boston:

Thompson Learning, Inc., 1999.

Arp, Thomas R. and Greg Johnson. Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and

Sense. Boston: Thompson Wadsworth, 2006.

Barnet, Sylvan, William Burto and William E. Cain. An Introduction to

Literature: Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. New York: Pearson Longman,

2008.

Cuddon, J.A., A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory: Fifth Edition.

Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013.

Guerin, Wilfred L., Earle Labor, Lee Morgan, Jeanne C. Reesman, and John R.

Willingham. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature: Sixth

Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.

Haryani, Kristiana Artiningtiyas Budi. ―Animal Symbolism to Foreshadow Future

Events in George R. R. Martin‘s A Game of Thrones‖. Undergraduate

Thesis. Yogyakarta: Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2015.

Roberts, Edgar V. and Henry E. Jacobs. Fiction: An Introduction to Reading and

Writing. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1987.

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. London: Bloomsbury,

1999.

Sabarno, Melia H. ―The Significance of Hermione Granger to Represent

Rowling‘s School Life in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban‖.

Undergraduate Thesis. Yogyakarta: Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2006.

Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A-User Friendly Guide. New York:

Routledge, 2006.

Online References

"Creature". n.d. Oxford Living Dictionaries. 22 November 2016.

<https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/creature>.


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"Foreshadowing". n.d. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 22 November 2016.

<https://www.britannica.com/art/foreshadowing>.

―Creature and Color Symbolism in J.K. Rowling‘s Harry Potter and the Prisoner

of Azkaban‖. Listiyaning Tias. E-Journal. 22 November 2016. <https://

ejournal.unesa.ac.id/index.php/litera-kultura/article/view/3853/6225>.

―The Top 100 Bestselling Books of All Time: How Does Fifty Shades of Grey

Compare?‖. n.d. The Guardian. 24 November 2016.

<https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/aug/09/best-selling-

books-all-time-fifty-shades-grey-compare>.


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