Essay: The Triwizard Tournament - A Grail Quest?

Compare the Triwizard tournament to the Grail Quest of the Arthurian legends. What similarities and differences do you see? Why do you think the author chose to include allusions to the Grail legends in the books? 

Answer:

Introduction

The topic of the following assignment is to discuss the importance of the Triwizard tournament in the Harry potter and the Goblet of Fire. This has some serious connections with the Christian theology and it reflects the quest for the Holy Grail as stated in the Holy Bible. It is related with many alchemical subjects and one of the most important subjects is that of the Golden Egg or the philosopher’s egg. The three different characters represent the three different aspects of Christianity that will be d
isclosed later.

Different perspectives of the discussion

There are several connections of this book with the Biblical matters. The color gold has been presented in the book from different perspectives. There are some four elements in the book that relates to the ethics of Christianity. The Triwizard cup itself can be seen as a representative of the Holy Grail. There are some other alchemical symbols as well. The representation of the color gold has been done in various forms (Rowling, 2015). stadium had been like an egg that could be compared to the philosopher’s egg (Šerešová, 2016).  The theme of the golden egg can also be attributed to this as well (Cohen, 2016).

One important aspect that is related to the quest to the Holy Grail is its relationship with the Arthurian legends. The Holy Grail is considered to be one of the central themes in the Arthurian literature. This is considered to be the cup from which Christ drank for the last time in the last supper. This Holy Grail is also the cup which was used by Joseph of Arimathea to catch the blood of Jesus as he was hung from the cross. There are certain things that are very significant in the quest for Holy Grail. In the book Goblet of Fire, Voldermort was out to find the philosopher’s stone that was golden in color and its shape was like an egg. This quest for the philosopher’s stone was to find the immortality that was also the quest of the Arthur’s knights. All the books of Harry Potter involve some quests. This is why the quest for the Holy Grail is very much associated with the quest for the philosopher’s stone by Voldermort and Harry himself. In the Arthurian legends it has been mentioned that Galahad came to the castle at Camelot and then found the Grail that made him complete and he was transformed to heaven. The Triwizard tournament is considered to be the mocrocosm of the quest for the Holy Grail. Harry has to fight a dragon so that he can be able to retrieve the golden egg. It is similar to the fact that the dragons are involved in the Arthurian legends as well. Another similarity is the fact that harry has to fight the grindylows and merpeople so that he could rescue Ron. Likewise, King Arthur had rescued Fleur’s sister. It has also been observed that the other rivals in the Triwizard tournament are also on the quest to achieve the Holy Grail just like the knights of the Round Table.

The dragons are the well-known symbols of the alchemists. This symbol is considered to be the prima material that should be overcome so that gold can be created. There is a cynical symbol that is the dragon biting its own tail. Jesus Christ made His way through resurrection and in this portion an unnatural resurrection has been signified (Skolnick, 2012).  This book has been very effective in depicting the evil things.

In the middle chapter of the middle book, Harry got the golden egg. The stone of the sorcerer has been presented in the form of the golden egg. The Quidditch stadium has been presented in the shape of a golden egg i.e. very pertinent keeping in mind the golden egg of the book. The Triwizard tournament winners would receive the Triwizard cup. This very cup can be symbolized as the Holy Grail in Christianity indeed.

This winning of the Triwizard cup is the way to meet Lord Voldermort face to face at Little Hangleton. This is why it can be attributed to the immortality in Christianity (Lincoln, Baigent & Leigh, 2013)

Conclusion

It can be concluded that this essay all the necessary links between the Biblical points of views that can be compared to the goblet of fire. The various points where the deep underlying things of Christianity have been discussed ware connected with the various parts of the book. The aspect of the color gold, the egg shaped stadium and other things that are linked with Christianity have been discussed to find out that this book has deep connections with the Bible.

References

Berndt, K., & Steveker, L. (Eds.). (2016). Heroism in the Harry Potter Series. Routledge.

Bryden, I. (2016). Reinventing King Arthur: The Arthurian Legends in Victorian Culture. Routledge.

Cohen, S. (2016). A Postmodern Wizard: The Religious Bricolage of the Harry Potter Series. The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, 28(1), 54-66.

Lacy, N. J. (2013). The New Arthurian Encyclopedia: New Edition. Routledge.

Lincoln, H., Baigent, M., & Leigh, R. (2013). The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail. Random House.

Sutcliff, R. (2013). The Light Beyond the Forest: The Quest for the Holy Grail: Part II of the Legends of King Arthur. Random House.