Quickness: Emblem

At first I thought that I would want my emblem for quickness to be the ring with a precious stone from the story of Charlemagne. But then I remembered that Calvino said that in many stories that have the quality of “Quickness,” there is often a magical object that is endowed with particular qualities and usually has some sort of symbolism. Then I realized that my analogy to Hermione’s Time Turner was a perfect example! It’s a necklace that would otherwise be mundane if it weren’t endowed with special magical qualities!

Hermione’s necklace is in the form of an hourglass and it has the following engraving: “I mark the hours every one nor have I yet outrun the sun. My use and value unto you are gauged by what you have to do.” I tried to logic out a connection for the motto to quickness but I couldn’t really come up with one that wasn’t a bit of a stretch. So I’ll settle for it to be the emblem.

I think the Time Turner is a really good emblem for quickness because it has the ability to make time an ally instead of something to be conquered. Hermione was able to handle her heavy course load with the help of time. I think it’s a more modern adaptation of an emblem than Calvino’s emblem for quickness: the horse.

Quickness: Analogy

I am undeniably and unabashedly a huge Harry Potter fan (like almost every 20something born in the early 1990’s). That being said, I best understand Calvino’s explanation of Quickness through the example of Hermione Granger’s Time Turner. If you’re not an HP reader, here’s the back story:

Hermione Granger is a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardy. She is feeling overwhelmed with her class load (because she’s an incorrigible overachiever) so she is given a Time Turner by Professor McGonnagall so that she can get to her extra classes on time and get her homework done. She has hidden it from her friends for the entire school year.

Towards the end of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hermione, Harry, and Ron are all trying to save the life of Harry’s Godfather, Sirius Black, from death. In order to save him, Hermione must take Harry along with her in time so that they can re-trace their steps and alter the course of time. I’ve included this YouTube video to catch you up to speed:

Harry and Hermione retrace all of their steps and slightly alter the course of time so that Sirius can escape and they can also save the Hipogriff, Buckbeak (an animal) from getting beheaded. Hermione and Harry cleverly evade their past selves.

This scene from HP3 is a great analogy because I think a lot of people my age would be able to relate to it. They’ve likely read the books, or at least saw the movies, so it’s probably somewhat familiar. I also liked it because it involves the aspect of time. Just as in the story of Charlemagne, time passes by very quickly when Hermione uses her time turner. The events in this scene and the ones that follow could very easily have seemed repetitive and droll; however, the reader/viewer is drawn in by the rapidity of the chain of events. It was also very well composed. You’re drawn in and can assimilate with Harry’s character. Hermione succinctly defines the function of the time turner and suddenly they’re zooming through the past, sneaking around pumpkin patches, fighting off dementors and saving the day! 🙂