Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Summary | Plot Summary

The book begins describing the eerie happenings at an abandoned house in Little Hagleton. This had been the residence of Tom Riddle and his family, all of whom perished in an inexplicable manner. The house had lain empty for years, cared for by an old gardener, Frank Bryce. On the night in question, Frank, attracted by unusual movement, goes up to the house to check what is happening. Here he stumbles across a strange conversation between a short, bald, beak-nosed man named Wormtail and Lord Voldemort. These two men are accompanied by a huge evil looking snake, Nagini. They speak of the murder of one called Bertha Jorkins and the planned murder of Harry Potter. Caught in the act of eavesdropping, Frank is struck down dead.

Harry Potter, staying at his aunt and uncle's house on vacation, has strange dreams and senses something strange when the scar that he received from the evil wizard Voldemort begins to pain him. Strange signs and occurrences are happening in the wizardry world, but few seem to notice. Voldemort is conspiring to regain his powers and use them for evil.

Meanwhile, Harry is now facing his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is now fourteen and demonstrating all the normal characteristics of adolescence. This year seems to be full of exciting events, starting with the great excitement of the Quidditch World Cup. His best friend's family, the Weasleys, has invited Harry to the finals. The match is a wonderfully exciting opportunity for the young friends to see their favorite players and all the fun of being in the middle of all the hustle and bustle of a stadium with thousands of spectators and enthusiastic fans.

The next great exciting event is the Triwizard Contest to be held between three great wizardry schools. Each school is supposed to compete with only one contestant. The names of all applicants are entered into the Goblet of Fire. As this is a dangerous contest, an age limit of seventeen has been established as a minimum age for all applicants to the competition. The great surprise is that not three but four contestants' names are chosen by the Goblet of Fire. The first three chosen were Viktor Krum, from Durmstang, Fleur from Beauxbatons, and Cedric Diggory for Hogwarts. The plot thickens as Harry Potter is amazingly chosen as the fourth contestant. This is a strange situation as not only was it impossible for Harry to put his name in as he was under age, the Goblet could only chose one contestant from each school. Obviously, someone plotted to include Harry in the competition and we wonder what real dangers Harry will be facing.

Behind the scenes of this great contest, everyday life goes on for the young characters. Hermione finds herself being the object of Viktor Krum's attention. Harry's heartthrob Cho Chang seems to be pairing off with Cedric Diggory. Apart from being wizards and witches, the young characters in this book portray all the characteristics of normal boys and girls. Adolescent doubts, crushes, petty arguments, envies, fan clubs, lighthearted fun, and pranks are all part of these youngsters day to day lives.

The main plot, however, revolves around the Triwizard Contest and the three challenges the contestants must face. Harry apparently luckily completes the first two tasks with some help from outside sources and is pushed into the leading position with Cedric Diggory to face the third. As they reach the final prize, after having conquered the dangers placed before them, they decide to reach the goblet of fire together. The Goblet had been transformed into a Portkey to take Harry Potter to a cemetery in Little Haggleton. Voldemort has been plotting all along for Harry to win the Goblet and to be brought to his enemy's presence. We discover Voldemort's evil plan is to regain his strength, become whole again, and regain his powers. The sad and dark happenings at the cemetery give Voldemort a partial success and he is able to retain his powers. Harry, however, manages to escape and return to the school. Yet, the book ends on the disturbing note that Voldemort, the evil wizard, has not only survived, but has also regained his power and followers, and the reign of terror will begin. This leaves the reader anxious to know what further adventures and battles between good and evil will await Harry in the next books.

This is the first book of the series where there is an actual tragedy involving one of the young wizards. It is a little bit "darker" and heavier than the previous books. However, Harry is growing up and life does become more complex as one grows up.

J. K. Rowling manages to reflect the real world and real world moral issues behind her fantasy novel. Moral dilemmas about correct behavior, ethics, and character pervade the book in a very natural way. Temptations and the fight between good and evil are underlying themes which Rowling handles in a down-to-earth manner. Rowling manages to defend upright behavior and strong moral values in a very simple and pleasant way.