During times of crisis and fear, people look to and expect authority figures to find comfort. After Britain entered what would be known as the Second World War, the population looked to King George. When the World Trade Center was attacked, the American people looked to President Bush. In both cases, authority figures gave memorable and comforting speeches to their people; a true example of an appropriate response to a moment of Kairos. Soon after the events of 9/11, a British author was writing the fourth installment of a series featuring a speech that contained several striking similarities. The speech given by Albus Dumbledore at the end of The Goblet of Fire, the fourth book in JK Rowling's Harry Potter series, is the appropriate response to a moment of Kairos who tries to comfort and prepare Hogwarts students for the future by honoring the hero innocent who died, preaching unity against the opposition and warning them of the hard times to come. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay After a traumatic year in which dark wizards emerged, teachers were held captive, and a student who was loved and admired was killed, the headmaster of Hogwarts needed to comfort his pupils and staff by honoring an innocent hero and died. This was the first time a character died in the book world who was well known and liked by all the main characters and many readers of the book. Many speeches following tragic events actually aim to honor the victims and heroes who died. For example, on September 11, former President George W. Bush made a point of honoring their sacrifice, stating that they were “America's best, with the bravery of our first responders, with the care for strangers and neighbors who came to lend a hand." blood and help in every way possible,” (Bush). By illustrating the best qualities of the people who lost their lives, he hoped to appeal to the pathos of the audience. Furthermore, this recognition and humanization of dead people will bring comfort to those members of the public who have suffered a personal loss, making their loss more meaningful to the public. The Goblet of Fire was released shortly after the events of September 11th. This may explain why Dumbledore's opening remarks, “there is much I would like to say to you all this evening, but I must first acknowledge the loss of a very good person, who should be sitting here enjoying our feast with us. I would like all of you to please stand and toast Cedric Diggory,” (Rowling 721) is very similar to Bush's previous statement, but certainly illustrates how post-crisis speeches have similar elements. Highlighting Cedric's best qualities , Dumbledore attempted to comfort his students as he honored their fallen friend. Whatever happened next, everyone present at the speech drank to his memory, recognizing that this act of comfort was universally welcomed. It is fitting that Cedric Diggory achieves almost heroic status in his death in The Goblet of Fire, and that Dumbledore, in his closing speech at the school, pays homage to Cedric as exemplifying the typical characteristics of Hufflepuff House” (Hopkins 27) . The characteristics that Dumbledore describes Cedric as possessing include being "a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, he valued fair play", all commonly associated with heroic or admirable individuals (Rowling 721). Giving Cedric a heroic status in his speech, as well as reminding the students of his more qualitieshuman Hufflepuff, Dumbledore recognizes the extent of the loss the school is suffering and reminds the students that they are not alone. If they need comfort, they are surrounded by people who are going through the exact same thing and understand exactly how they feel. This is also another example of how 9/11 and other catastrophic events may have influenced Rowling's writing during the preparation of Dumbledore's final speech, particularly when she was attempting to comfort her students. In his address to the nation, Bush highlighted the type of people who had died, saying, “the victims were secretaries on planes or in their offices, businessmen and women, military personnel, and federal workers. Moms and dads. Friends and neighbors” (Bush). In Dumbledore's speech, he also highlighted the truly senseless nature of the setting in which the tragedy occurred, in a school, and emphasized how similar Cedric was to the students, calling him "a very good person, who should be sitting here" ( Rowling 721).By recognizing these similarities, he made sure the students felt they knew their feelings were justified, dispelling any guilt they felt for not knowing him well enough to feel sad about his death and bringing comfort to the students tribute in recognition, Dumbledore brings comfort to his students and staff and brings them together as a community, but must also prepare them for what comes next. Having honored the dead, Dumbledore now attempts to unite the students and preaches how important it is that they come together and remain united despite their differences to prepare for the war that awaits them and defeat Voldemort. The audience of Dumbledore's speech is made up of students from three different countries with different languages, customs and cultures. Even in the best of times, there is often no unity between the four houses of Hogwarts, where none of these differences exist. As one literary analysis pointed out, “the immediate result of this rare example of interhouse cooperation is that Cedric is murdered” (Kornfeld 127). This lack of unity did not help anyone present to face the pain or the dark days of war that were to come. This is why Dumbledore's attempts to unite everyone present are so important; that year at Hogwarts should have been about unity and togetherness from the start. As Dumbledore points out, “the purpose of the Triwizard Tournament was to foster and promote magical understanding. In light of what has happened – the return of Lord Voldemort – such bonds are more important than ever” (Rowling 723). If he can bring the students together in what is surely the darkest moment of their lives so far, they will have a better chance of surviving this war. However, just because he says they should all gather together, doesn't mean that all students present will believe his speech applies to them. There are students from three very different types of schools, one of which is famous for being notoriously involved in the Dark Arts. Perhaps this is why he so insistently reiterates that “every guest of this Hall will be welcome here at any time, should he wish. I say to all of you, once again: in light of Lord Voldemort's return, we are as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided” (Rowling 723). Here he emphasizes the goal of reaching Durmstang students who are at greatest risk of joining the dark arts, some because they believe they have no other choice. When he gives this speech, especially when he talks about unity, Dumbledore knows that this will be his finest moment and one last chance to reach all the students present as some of them will graduate and others will return abroad to their own schools and countries. This is why.