74 pages • 2 hours read
J. K. RowlingHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2007A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Symbols & Motifs
The Locket
Of all of the Horcruxes that must be found and destroyed in The Deathly Hallows, the locket is presented as the most sinister and dangerous, and it is the one that Rowling spends the most time exploring in the novel. The search for the locket and its destruction take up the book’s first half. The locket rests close to the heart, and as Harry, Ron, and Hermione learn, the locket represents the dark secrets and basest instincts that may lie dormant in a person’s heart.
Rowling describes the locket as “large as a chicken’s egg” with “an ornate letter S, inlaid with many small green stones” (275). It is gaudy, heavy, and once belonged to Salazar Slytherin himself. The locket symbolizes Voldemort’s connection to the Slytherin bloodline and the deep evil that lurks in the Slytherin family history. Once it is turned into a Horcrux, the locket takes on a personality, and as Ron states, “it made [him] think stuff—stuff [he] was thinking anyway, but it made everything worse” (374). The locket sees into the hearts of those who wear it, and in Ron’s case, the locket sees his insecurities and fears. Rowling says that carrying the locket is torture for Harry, Ron, and Hermione and that it means “twelve hours of increased fear and anxiety” (291). The locket doesn’t turn the wearer evil: It exaggerates the evil aspects that already live in a person’s heart. The locket is an extension of Voldemort’s soul, and it represents the fear, longing, and anger that a young Tom Riddle may have felt in a world with no parents and a deep desire to take control of his own life.
The Sword of Gryffindor
The legendary sword of Godric Gryffindor first appeared during Harry’s dramatic fight with the basilisk in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. According to sources, the sword “may present itself to any worthy Gryffindor” (129), meaning it belongs to no one person, but may be used by any Gryffindor in need. The sword of Gryffindor represents nobility of heart, bravery of spirit, and the ultimate tool to combat the sinister magic of Voldemort’s Horcruxes.
Goblins forged the sword of Gryffindor, and according to Phineas Nigellus, “goblins’ silver repels mundane dirt, imbibing only that which strengthens it” (303). The sword acts like a sponge, sucking in any substance that makes it more powerful. Harry and Hermione quickly realize that “the sword can destroy Horcruxes” (304) because, during Harry’s duel with the basilisk in his second year at Hogwarts, Harry stabbed the basilisk with the sword. They theorize that the sword is “impregnated with basilisk venom” (304), and because basilisk venom is one of the few substances that can destroy Horcruxes, the sword is a vital tool in their mission.
When Ron fishes Harry out of the forest pool and retrieves the sword of Gryffindor, Harry realizes that “Ron [has] to be the one to wield the sword” (373) and destroy the Horcrux. Ron has spent most of his life feeling unremarkable and forgotten, and in this moment, he is the chosen hero who must wield the mighty blade and put an end to the wicked Horcrux locket and its sinister influence over him. When the sword of Gryffindor is left behind during the escape from Gringotts, Harry, Ron, and Hermione believe they have lost their only weapon to destroy Horcruxes. But in the final battle scene, Neville draws the sword from the Sorting Hat and “slice[s] off the great snake’s head” (733), destroying the final Horcrux. These scenes remind the reader that Scrimgeour was right: the sword of Gryffindor belongs to no one person but is the collective property of all Gryffindors with noble hearts.
The Deathly Hallows
The sign of the Deathly Hallows has become one of the most prominent and widely-used symbols from the Harry Potter franchise. The simple symbol includes a triangle, a circle, and a vertical line, and it represents the three fabled items from The Tale of the Three Brothers: the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the Cloak of Invisibility. According to Mr. Lovegood, whoever can wield all three will become the “master of Death” (410). The Deathly Hallows represent a person’s quest for power, invincibility, and immortality. Becoming entangled in the search for the Deathly Hallows might lead a person to lose sight of reality and become engulfed with greed.
The Elder Wand represents power and the thirst for domination. The original story of the three brothers says that the oldest brother was “a combative man” (407), and he wanted a wand that would make him unbeatable. However, he quickly squandered his gift and picked a fight with an old enemy. He “boasted loudly” (408) about his gift, and the bloody trail of the Elder Wand began and never ended. The Elder Wand represents everything that Voldemort wants: brute force as a means of avoiding death. In the process, Voldemort paves the road to his destruction.
The Resurrection Stone represents the loss of loved ones and the struggle to conquer death. The second brother was “an arrogant man” who thought he could “humiliate Death still further” (407) by asking for the power to bring back his lost love. But the girl “did not truly belong” to the mortal world, and the brother was “driven mad” (409) and killed himself. The stone represents the pain of death and the human longing to reconnect with departed loved ones, and for Harry, who has lost so many of his loved ones, the Resurrection Stone is a promise of reunion and second chances. Still, the story of the second brother serves as a reminder that the stone is limited, and death is not to be defied.
The Cloak of Invisibility represents humility, peace, and family. The third brother, “the humblest and also the wisest of the brothers” (408), did not want glory or esteem: he simply wanted the freedom to live his life. The Invisibility Cloak symbolizes a peaceful existence, and in this context, this meaning is deeply ironic because Harry and his friends have used the Cloak of Invisibility to get into trouble and break the rules throughout their time at Hogwarts. The Cloak also represents family because it is passed down through the Peverell family for generations. The Cloak is not used for evildoing but survival and adventure.
Godric’s Hollow
Godric’s Hollow is the village where Harry was born and where Voldemort murdered his parents. Harry has a desire to visit Godric’s Hollow and see the place where his story began, and although Hermione initially hesitates, she finally agrees to the visit. Harry has never seen Godric’s Hollow and is full of anticipation. After all, “He [is] about to go home, about to return to the place where he had had a family” (321), and Godric’s Hollow represents the intersection between the life that Harry could have had and the horrific reality that set him on his path to destroy the most evil wizard in history.
Harry is haunted by the understanding that he could have had a normal life if Voldemort hadn’t killed his parents that fateful night. He realizes that if Voldemort hadn’t killed his parents, “he would have grown up and spent every school holiday” (321) at home with his family, like Ron, and “could have invited friends to his house” (321), like Ron. “He might even have had brothers and sisters” (321), like Ron. And “It would have been his mother who had made his seventeenth birthday cake” (321) instead of Ron’s mother. Harry is overwhelmed by grief, not only by the loss of his parents but by the loss of the life he might have had, and Godric’s Hollow reminds him of this tremendous loss.
Harry is surprised to learn that Potters and the Dumbledores had significant links to Godric’s Hollow. As Harry walks past the graves of Dumbledore’s mother and sister, he realizes that “he and Dumbledore both had deep roots in this graveyard” (325) and that they both suffered deep personal losses in Godric’s Hollow. Harry suffers from yet another wave of grief as he “imagine[s] coming here with Dumbledore, of what a bond that would have been, of how much it would have meant to him” (326). Instead, Dumbledore concealed this connection with Harry, and Godric’s Hollow becomes another reminder that Harry knew very little about his mentor, and he mourns the friendship they might have had if they were able to grieve together.
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