Do you think that Umbridge ruined ootp? I do, she made everything at hogwarts miserable and she really annoyed me, i just didnt enjoy it as much as the other books. Did you?

I agree... I felt so sorry for Harry all the time... and Umbridge was just horrible!!! But I still think it's a great book! I hope things will get better though!

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I agree... I felt so sorry for Harry all the time... and Umbridge was just horrible!!! But I still think it's a great book! I hope things will get better though!

I agree with both of you, but I think Umbridge added to the goodness of the book. She's the antagonist - the one everyone is supposed to (and does) hate.

I don't think she ruined it at all! I did hate her though.... :x

i dont think that she ruined the book either. i hate her though!! she is evil!! :twisted:

[size=18]I loved the book but I did always get an angry feeling while reading it. I wanted Harry to say something about his punishment with Umbridge but I know why he didn't want to. Plus the whole thing with Dumbledore not talking to Harry and him not finding out until the end why. I was as angry as Harry was thoughout the whole book. I felt bad for Ron and Hermione when Harry was yelling at them. I know why he was upset but what could they do. They had to keep certian things a secret until they were face to face.

JK Rowling did a great job putting in characters that you love to hate. I think the books would be a bit boring if everything went all great for Harry and the gang and there wasn't any kind of struggle either physically or mentally. I'm dying for the next book to see where things end up.

I hated Umbridge, but I think she was important too. You can't just have flowers and sunshine all the time. And, you gotta admit, we all hate her so much cos she's the perfect bad guy. Or... girl... woman... whatever! :wink:

Even though i hated her, i don't think that she ruined the book. She added a lil more punch and story to the book and it made readers wanna read more to find out wat other mean thing she is gonna do. I felt really bad for Harry though. Poor him :cry:

I didn't want to keep on reading after the hand thing. I wanted to throw the book across the room and cry my eyes out. Harry Potter wasn't for little kiddies anymore. It was turning BRUTAL. And that's not fair to the kids who are younger then us, who are just aching to learn how to read so that they can experience the magic of Harry Potter.

But yes, I think Umbridge ruined the book....for me at least. She totally destroyed my liking for Harry Potter at that time. (It's been rekindled, don't worry!)

i wouldnt blame anyone for hating umbridge (cuz i hate her too :twisted: !!) but i dont think that she ruined the books! like everyone said, it shows that the books arent always happy.

True, too true. They aren't always happy at all. But they're not not always happy to the extent where there's blood and detention and no Quidditch and all that other stuff. For us it's alright, but who's going to fight for the little kids? I mean, who is Harry Potter really meant for now? Is it for the people who are Harry's age? Is it for adults? Is it for six year-olds?

I mean.......Umbridge just made everything more mature.

I worry for the children as well. It's so gruesome for them, I just hope parents realize what's happening in the books before their children start sobbing over Harry.

Anyway, I don't think Umbridge ruined the book, either. Hatred burns inside of me when I think of her almost as much as it burns at the thought of Kreacher. That's saying something, believe me. I wanted to smash the book so much, burn it, rip it apart, anything to do away with it when I read about Umbridge, and mostly Kreacher.

I hope we have a more light-hearted DADA teacher in HBP.

But the rerason she ruined the book for me is that i was always in a bad mood whilst reading it because of her, and that made the book seem horrible and boring, i dont know why it made me feel that way...

Umbridge didn't ruin the book. The books are getting more serious and darker with Voldemort's return to power, and she's a sign of that. Anyways, she IS defeated in the end, it was just a harder struggle for Harry. He can't be THAT lucky his whole life.

Also, JKR never wrote Harry Potter specifically for kids. And I really don't see how little kids would be emotionally scarred or whatever by reading this book. I mean, kids can turn to almost any channel on TV and see people getting shot, stabbed, blown up, etc.

exactly! if they can see all that and be alright, i dont see why hp should be any different.

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I agree with both of you, but I think Umbridge added to the goodness of the book.  She's the antagonist - the one everyone is supposed to (and does) hate.

I agree.. If you dont have someone to hate.. then the book isn't good.

But I didn't hate her that much. she favoured the slytherin's.. so is she all that bad? Of course.. the only reason I could think of hating her is because she was on Fudge's side.

I was really upset that she made Harry have a terrible year, but I don't think she ruined the book. The books probably are going to get less happy as the series moves on.

i thought it was soo sad whe umbridge made harry do "lines"

Umbridge is very much like many teachers of the 'old school' out there. She is there to spy on Harry and Dumbledore and keep a lid on things for the Ministry. She plays dirty, like many adults I know from situations at work. I had teachers like her and then I had others that I loved and admired.

This is also not far from many stories...like Little Women or the novels of Charles Dickens. Kids are always mistreated and taken advantage of by power-hungry adults who aren't secure with or happy with themselves. Little Amy gets her hands whalloped with a ruler for trading lemons in class....I got my backside whalloped for taking two nickels off another student's desk. Such is life....life is NOT a bowl of cherries and politically correct. It is full of prejudice and hate and jealousy and lies and deceit.

Umbridge is the necessary evil that we all deal with in our lives...that powerful bully who won't let us go. Harry needs to fight to keep his spirit alive and grow but he also needs to learn to control his anger and bubbling passions within.

It is now up to Harry to learn the 'lesson' from these evil adults (and now Snape is not the worst teacher Harry has, is he?) and move on to other things. That is what JK Rowling is so brilliant at with Harry...he GROWS UP before our eyes and matures in his ways and beliefs. New situations bring new character development and growth.

BRILLIANT! in the words of RON.

And the answer is...not all young kids will be ready for this, so why push it on them or make Rowling write differently to suit a young audience? That would ruin the books for me, so parents and adults....judge for each child who reads the books. Don't make Harry into milktoast but into the honorable, brave, powerful wizard that he is sure to become WITH AGE.

Well, as much as we all hated Umbridge, she did serve a very important role in the book and the progression of the story. Before she arrived, Hogwarts was very secluded, in its own private world. Most of the student body believed that what the Ministry of Magic said was true and only had the best intrests of the general public in mind. They believed that Harry was crazy and dumbledore was going senile. Then, once umbridge arived and started making the place like a prison, the students banded together and decided that the Ministry of Magic doesn't always look out for the average person and maybe we should start to question the motives. I think the political upheaval in the upcoming books will be important, and Umbridge helped show what a blind loyalty can cause

I think that this is just the beginning of horrible happenings. To me, Umbridge was just the introduction into the more evil that will take place in book six and seven. The book is awesome, I think that Umbridge did not ruin the book at all!

As much as I hate her and hate her and HATE HER, she was important in the book and added to it, not ruined it. No doubt she ruined Harry's year at school, but the book needed her. Even though I HATE HER.

Honestly, I hated Umbridge as much as the next Harry Potter fan. But she added a lot to the book. Think how boring book 5 would be if they had a kind DADA teacher who loved Harry and the Gryffindors and disliked Slytherins. There would've been no conflict until the end, and honestly, I don't think I would've finished the book if it was all fine and dandy with rainbows and flowers until the last hundred pages or so.

Yea, Umbridge did make me want to throw the book across the room throughout most of the time I was reading it, but on the other ahnd, when umbridge was carried off by the Centaurs and when Fred and George told Peeves to "Give her hell", etc. it made me really really REALLY happy that she gave the school such misery, for if she didn't I wouldn't have cared much that everyone hated her, etc.
Wow, I sound weird...but that's just me talking.

Umbridge was annoying, but i think that she was needed in the book. She represented how the MoM was intefering at Hogwarts. I doubt that making Umbridge nice would work because she's meant to be a spy and she's meant to hate Harry. I hate her, but i think that the book benefits from having her in it.

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I don't think Umbridge ruined the book at all. It would have been boring with out umbridge. Harry can't just be happy all the time.

There had to be someone in in Harry's school life that he hates more than Snape or Malfoy and Umbridge was it.

Hogwarts needed to be a challenge this year with all the other adversities hanging over Harry's head. Why not add another one?

I say she made the book waaaaaaaay better! I mean with out her the book wouldn't have been as funny. I loved the way JK described her. Everytime I read it I would just laugh.

there needed to be a good subplot for what is happening inside of Hogwarts and she was it.

SS/PS - What is in the third floor corridor on the right side, and is Snape trying to steal it?
CoS - The Chamber of Secrets, Who is behind it?
PoA - Ok Harry stay inside the castle, don't worry about Hagrid or Buckbeak, or the trivial matter of the Dementors and the House Cup.
GoF - Who put his name in the Goblet, Plus all the stinky challenges and tasks.
OotP - Umbridge and her detentions - Suprise, Suprise.!

I personlly didn't like Umbridge, I thought she was a cruel, evil lady. But without her there wouldn't really have been any point to book 5. She was the antagonist in the book. She was the reason for so many of the events in the book. She was quite mean and nasty and no one liked her (hopefully) but without her the book wouldn't have been the same.

Professor Umbridge is one of the only characters in literature, who has actually made me squirm and my insides turn...she was AMAZINGLY written, how much the complete injustice of her was...essentially, how REAL she was....Like...in the real world....you can't get away with yelling at teachers to f*** off, I know, I've tried, my point is though, there are some teachers, and indeed some people, who, no matter how much they madden you, you can do nothing about, not even...and I had this all thought out, but I've only just woken up....sorry....

i totally hated her guts. i cringed whenever she made a new stupid decree, took away the brooms, making harry have the worse hogwarts year ever. BUT i think she was part of the book. she couldn't possibly ruin it. nor did she act like a filler either. without her, most of whatever happened in book five wouldnt have happened. mcgonagall wouldn't have seemed cool, the weasley twins wouldnt have a nice farewell either. anyway, having a nice DADA professor wouldn't have exactly been unique, ya know? and she added more angst to harry, giving him more a teenager personality

plus, it showed how much the ministry was corrupted =\

Well, I hate Umbrige's toad like guts. She is evil and if I met her, I'd have to hit her. But I agree. It wouldn't have been the same without her. She gave Harry an extra push over the edge that made him the moody maniac we all know and love. But I wouldn't want to be him. Ucks to be Harry right now...

I miss Sirius

Yes off course everybody hates Umbridge, but she did not ruin the book, she just put some bad action moments, like the quidditch thing, Harry, Fred and George suspended!!!
I can not imagine the book, with no action, no troubles, that´s what make the books interesting the thing that something wrong happen and then you can´t wait to see what´s coming next!!

I agree that Umbridge is pure evil and sick woman...my heart cried reading what she'd done to our Harry!! Poor Harry!!! After all that he had to go thru, after all the burden he had to carry on his shoulder, he had to face Umbridge!!!

But, whether we realize it or not, it only shows how Harry had grown up to be...strong-willed, determine, brave, bold, proud and full of pride....imagine if it had been to Draco? oh, he'd been running to daddy dear immediately, of course!!

It shows what a great wizard Harry is!!! Remember, he didn't even want to tell Ron and Hermione what happen with 'lines' he had to do? More or less, it shows that he's ready to face challenges alone which of course, in the end, Voldemort....

p/s: But it's soooooo good to find out what happen to her at the end...I'm almost up and dancing around my room!!!
So, no...Umbridge didn't ruin the book, if more she adds reality to the book...but I definitely HATE her!!!!

I don't think she ruined the book it all. I agree with Nivaya. Bellatrix and I have had several conversations about Umbridge and we think she was a very good character (not good in a good way) How many characters in books can get that big of a reaction from it's readers? Not many I can assure you. She was the first fictional character that I have ever wanted to do bodily harm to. lol. So, I think she was a GREAT bad character.

i loved her character. JK has to torute Harry in order for him to become the hero. A hero is someone who gives up a bit of himself for his cause, and JK had to torute Harry with the character Umbridge.

I loved the Umbridge character. She is so like so many people that I have met -- There are so many people who believe that if they can control everyone to their way of thinking, then the world becomes a better place; but the more she tries to control everyone, the more impossible they become to control.

One interesting tidbit that I thought was great -- since she removed Harry, Fred, & George from the Quidditch team, the final victory was truly Ron's victory. Had Ron been the goalie with Harry, Fred & George on the team, then it would not have been as special.

Remember Ron's vision in the mirror in the first book!

Umbridge is definitely a horrible person, but that absolutely does not mean that she ruined the book! In fact, I think that she is one of the most brilliant characters in the series. J.K. Rowling did a terrific job creating a woman who possesses all of the little annoying personality traits that often crop up in everyday (both muggle and wizarding) life. (The whole business with her voice, her cardigan, and the technicolor kittens was what made the character great to me.)

realbullet has an interesting point about Ron's vision in the Mirror of Erised in "Sorcerer's Stone." I'm sure that this is being discussed on other threads so I'm sorry to go slightly off-topic, but it's definitely true that Ron's wishes are starting to become reality. I was really happy when he was made a prefect and became Keeper, since he's constantly overshadowed by Harry, but I'm not sure if I'd want Ron to become Head Boy. After all, living up to his father's legacy is what Harry really wants, and I'd hate to see him get disappointed again... poor Harry, he has enough problems already...

The story needed a character like Umbridge to make it good. Umbridge was the one who kept me reading the story, even though I abosolutely HATED her! I mean, would you honestly like the book if Umbridge wasn't in it? I know I wouldn't have. She added a lot of interest to the book.

There are times when things come out so predictable that the book is no longer worth reading. But through Umbridge, Rowling was able to withdraw so much disgust and hate (I think for most of us) out of us and getting reactions like that made the book strong.

Umbridge helped the plot move and served as one of the protagonist's (Harry) biggest obstacle.

Aristotle had once said that plot and character are the most important two components in the story. If there was no conflict (in the plot) then how would they make it interesting? It's not fun to read about people and their perfect lives and how they do everything perfectly. (Except some cases)

i totally agree, she makes the book more interesting for me whenever she and harry cross paths

Not at all! I dont think Umbidge ruin the book, although i think she mades it more interesting. Of course I felt sorry for harry all the time, but since now on, harry´s life and the books can´t be always a bed of roses, u know?I got shocked with umbridge,but she was an important character. But i hope haryy doesnt have to suffer so much next book.

She made the DA what it was. Would Harry and other members of the DA have survived the Death Eaters if it wasn't for her terrible lessons, an immense hatred for her and mixed I suppose with teenage rebellion. She had a purpose and I cringe with such a happiness everytime I read the book and Harry triumphs over her.

i really hated umbrige... but it didn't ruin the book, i mean ootp wasn't my favorite book, but it wasn't bad... i thought umbridge was mean but funny to read about...i mean the whole hem hem thing was pretty funny and how she got taken by the centaurs was hilarious, it just seems if umbridge wasn't there, the book wouldn't be complete, but i'm glad she's not go to the the next DADA teacher

Oh, no, definately not!

I totally agree with Kreacher

First off, I did very much like this book - it may even be my favorite. I think Umbridge, despite how much I hate her, is partly the reason behind this. She almost makes the book, though I wouldn't quite go that far. She just stirs up so many emotions while your reading it, and some of them are the very ones the characters themselves are feeling! Half the time I just wanted to throw the book out the window, but luckly I didn't because the ending was too good to miss.

One of my favorites was the way the twins left, I loved that.

i totally agree with you!! i think that umbridge added the extra spice in the book

i hated umbridge but i still liked the book, except the ending..
R.I.P- Siruis Black