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Genre 

Fantasy, quest, bildungsroman

Narrator 

Third person

Point of View 

Subjective, showing Harry Potter’s thoughts and feelings (Chapter One is third-person objective, following Snape)

Tone 

Brooding, emotional, suspenseful

Tense 

Past

Setting (Time) 

Present day

Setting (Place) 

Various locations in the UK including London, Diagon Alley, number twelve Grimmauld Place, the Forest of Dean, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Protagonist 

Harry Potter

Major Conflict 

Harry must find and destroy Voldemort’s Horcruxes, which are well-hidden and well-defended, but he struggles with the fact that Dumbledore’s instructions are extremely cryptic, and rumors about Dumbledore undermine Harry’s confidence in him.

Rising Action 

Harry hears rumors about Dumbledore in the obituaries, from Aunt Muriel, and from Rita Skeeter’s biography. Harry and friends receive the Snitch, Deluminator, and book, which they don’t know what to do with. Harry and friends make progress on the quest, recovering the Sword of Gryffindor, the locket, the Hufflepuff Cup, and the Lost Diadem.

Climax 

Harry sees Dumbledore talking to Snape in the Pensieve and learns that Dumbledore planned Harry’s death.

Falling Action 

Harry doesn’t die and learns that Dumbledore really loved him. Harry defeats Voldemort.

Foreshadowing 

Bill Weasley warning Harry about cheating goblins, the Snitch’s message “I open at the close”

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Popular pages: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

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