PERSUASIVE SPEECH Twilight saga. Twilight saga.

A huge hullabaloo was created around the vampire saga penned by Stephanie Meyer. Surely, many were interested in how a bloodthirsty vampire could fall in love with a girl of human pedigree. It became an overnight sensation since the release of the first book. Twilight used to be the name on everyones lips. Young girls who had not even crossed their adolescence started delving deep into Edward and Jacobs embrace. The excitement and the euphoria kept on augmenting and it was pure hysteria. But amidst all this, a young boy who had grown up into an adult with time and his adventures kept on hovering the world more than anything present. Playing quidditch, fighting the dark lord, dealing with issues of teenage the trio kept on casting spells and slithering into our hearts. Yes, ladies and gentlemen Im talking about the mesmerizing trio of Harry James Potter, Ronald Weasely and Hermione Granger. The author Joan Kathleen Rowling created a world of her own which millions around the globe could identify with. Harry Potter J K Rowlings brainchild had gradually become everyones fantasy and heartbeat. Rowling spent 15 years planning every little detail and she created world within our own for witches and wizards. I believe this is just the twilight of my persuasion that The literature of Harry Potter is better than Twilight. J K Rowling has based the heritage of her characters on real mythology and history. She has followed her in characters stories from childhood to graduation and many times to their deaths. One of the best things about the Harry Potter series is that you can study these intricate details. The Twilighters can only argue about who Bella will marry. In Harry Potter, there are arguments over everything from Snapes loyalty, to the cryptic meaning of Trelawneys prophesies, to petty-ship wars. In Twilight, very few people ask questions. To Potter fans, asking questions is a normal thing. Like an amusing childhood fairytale, Meyers saga is to be taken for face value; delving deep within will display its undesirable flaws. The mere fact that Harry Potter makes you think, makes you question Rowling, and causes you to come up with creative theories proves its superiority.

One of the primary arguments presented by Twilighters is that their book is more emotional than Harry Potter. I, however, beg to differ. Lets delve into the subject of love, after all that is the primary emotion in Twilight. In Twilight there is only one kind of affection found: an obsessive, oppressive one. Unlike Twilight, Harry Potter proves there is incredible power in love, and love doesnt always work out. In Harry Potter, we have many different kinds of love present: Parental love, romantic love, sibling love, platonic love, childhood crushes and unrequited love. There are two loves in particular that arent present in Twilight: parental love and unrequited love. The parental love found in Harry Potter is incredibly rich. Molly Weasley and Lilly Potter are perfect examples of motherly love, and display it in their own special ways. Lilly sacrifices her life to protect Harry. The magic that results aids Harry until the Goblet of Fire. Stop and think about that for a moment. If a murderer or a kidnapper tried to separate you from your child, would you be willing to die to protect your child? What if you knew that there was only a slim chance of your baby surviving and growing up afterwards? This is one of the most beautiful acts of courage and selflessness in the entire series. The other super-mom, Molly, has an intense love for her children. While she scrambles to make ends meet, she still has plenty of room in her big heart for Harry and Hermione; Harry comes to see her as a second mother. She is also ferociously protective of her children. After Bellatrix attempts to kill Ginny, Molly singlehandedly takes down her daughters attacker. In Twilight, you neither see Bellas mother or Bella displaying this much love and strength for their babies. The lesson: Never EVER mess with a mad mama- you will pay with your life. The Harry Potter men also make better dads. They support, protect, teach, and laugh with their kids; they wouldnt think twice of dying for them, and will raise and care for their friends children. Sirius Black escapes prison and becomes a wanted fugitive to protect Harry, and later Harry raises Teddy Lupin after the Battle of Hogwarts. James Potter goes down fighting to protect his baby boy as does Remus. In the Epilogue of Deathly Hallows, Ron is seen loving on his daughter. Unlike Miss Swans father, he refuses to just sit around watching TV and be deceived. Instead, he jokes and encourages his daughter; its evident that hes rightfully proud of her, and hes going to let the whole world know that. Arthur Weasley is the same way. Love and dedication. Its obvious that the Cullens stand no chance against that.

What about unrequited love, the most painful emotion ever to exist? All I have to say is one name: Severus Snape. After befriending Lilly as a child, he fell in love with her, only to be denied her love in return. Their original friendship survived house rivalries and Marauder ridicule for five years; even after losing her as a friend, Snape continued to love Lilly and remained fiercely loyal to her long after her death. The most emotional thing about Snapes love for Lilly is that he felt that he was the cause of her death. He realized that his handful of mistakes lead to a lifetime of regret. He could have begged for death or even committed suicide, but he remained strong and kept all of that, pain, remorse, and love inside. Now thats passion. The most important emotions and themes present in Harry Potter that isnt even found in Twilight is prejudice. It is only alluded to twice in Twilight- werewolves vs. vampires, and Bellas hybrid baby. In Harry Potter, it is one of the cornerstone motifs. There is rivalry between houses- especially Gryffindor and Slytheryn. Pure-Bloods shun their muggle-born counterparts, who they call mud-bloods. Part-blood wizards in Slytheryn are pressured to disown their muggle roots, which leads Snape to call himself the Half-Blood Prince, and Tom Riddle to become Lord Voldemort. Whole blood wizards and witches who sympathize with muggleborns are called blood-traitors. In the seventh book, this blood-based discrimination is very pronounced; the Death Eater controlled Ministry of Magic orders a roundup of muggle-born witches and wizards, who get sent to Azakaban. Even Hermione, who manages to dodge court, gets a brutal taste of this intolerance. While captured with Harry and Ron in the Malfoys mansion, it is she who is tortured by Bellatrix, primarily for her blood status. That sounds like a real Holocaust to me. Remus, who is a good man and skilled wizard, is forced into permanent unemployment just because he is a werewolf. Dumbledore shows a mercy that looks beyond the common bigotry when he offers him a job as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. When parents find out his secret, they are outraged and force him to resign. Hagrid is even attacked by Umbrige, and its barely coincidence that he happens to be half-giant. Prejudice doesnt even stop among wizards. House elves are reduced to slavery for wealthy wizarding families, and even in their freedom, most have no other occupation but in the kitchens.

Goblins are held with mistrust by many wizards after they stage a revolt while seeking equality. Righteously outraged centaurs attack Umbridge after she calls them beasts of sub human intelligence. One of the reasons that Harry managed to win the final battle was that he and his allies managed to put their prejudices aside and unite to fight an evil.

And dont even get me started on the topic of feminism. Twilight is full of gender role stereotypes that ARE vampires- these sexist notions should have been dead decades ago, but instead continue to haunt this world and suffocate women of what they truly deserve. Here are some of the chauvinistic concepts present: Bella happily cooks dinner and cleans house for her father as he cleans his gun, drinks a beer, and watches football on TV. Like some housewife from the 1950s, she acts like belongs in the kitchen. This is the 21st century, where guys can cook too! Despite Edwards urging her to get an education and encourages her to hope and dream, she decides to stay at home, cook, and care for the family. Although I have no problems with a stay at home mom, something is definitely wrong when every woman in the series shares the same occupation. Methinks Meyers women enjoy staying home hiding behind their husbands. Then Edward decides to begin dictating who she may be friends with, going to the point of removing the tires from her truck. ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP ALERT!! Bella also completely falls apart when Edward leaves her, and only recovers when she begins spending time with Jacob. Whats with the constant need for a man in her life? Whenever she is exposed to peril, Jacob or Edward must come to the rescue. Bella isnt even seen fighting side-by-side with Edward; usually shes hiding somewhere behind him as he goes in for the kill. After discovering that Forks is in western Washington, I was even more surprised by this sexist point of view because Washington is usually pretty liberal. This is much different than the Trio; Harry and Rons survival is quite dependent on Hermiones intelligence, quick wit, and guidance. At one point, in the Chamber of Secrets, Ron ends up admitting Wheres Hermione when you need her? Compared to Twilight, there is no dearth of equality for women in Harrys world. Here women can be feminine without being submissive. In the rough game of

Quidditch, there are many talented female players: Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, Ginny and Cho. The Holy head Harpies is a professional all womens team in the sport. Women also rise to prominent positions in government. Umbridge-no matter how corrupt she is- had a high standing position in the Ministry of Magic; later we learn that Hermione rises through the ranks in the same government and leads reforms that undo centuries of prejudice. They had their first woman Minister of Magic in the 1750s! The muggle world was still being dominated by guys at that time. The females in Harry Potter truly kick ***! In the Battle of Hogwarts, students and alumni of all genders and ages unite to defend their school. Formidable female fighters on both sides include Bellatrix Lastrange, Ginny, Professor McGonnagal, Mrs. Weasley, and Tonks. Even Luna is a strong, quirky character who manages to hold her own.