
With this quote Tacitus addresses the very entity that spurns resistance and fuels the fire that keeps it lit: hope. Tacitus, a Roman historian, clearly expresses that there is a small fiber of every person's being that is dedicated to resistance by way of unyielding hopefulness. The varying factor in that statement, however, is how large the fiber of inspiration may be. For enslaved Africans, forced to do bidding at the command of foreign Europeans, it is thick and cable-like for their spirit of resistance was honed for generations. Father and son alike, western Africans were picked as if they were a mere piece of fruit and whisked across the sea to another world to answer the ominous toll of slavery. However, they met this slavery with an iron will and the flame of hope that could not be extinguished. The very same fire inspiration came alive in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when Dumbledore's Army was created to oppose Dolores Umbridge and her crazed lust for power. By observing the unifying tendencies that connect all resisting peoples such as enslaved Africans and Dumbledore's Army, we can see that hope is the primary catalyst that promotes and many times sacrifices are needed to sustain opposition against oppression; this is important to note because it suggests that, through self sacrifice, the flame of hope is kept alive when it is shared amongst an inspired people. 

In the overwhelming majority of the cases that involve oppression, the ruling body constricts the mental freedom just as much or more than the physical liberties. Fear and despair are quickly found to be extremely effective to neutralize and break a fighting spirit. The greatest asset to any group of resisting people is the belief that they can truly do something to improve their situations. Armed with this knowledge, belief often transforms into resistance and opposition against the ruling body. The regime, then, does all that it can to ensure that inspiration does not strike. In her description of the slave trade of western Africa, Orena D. Lara depicts the enslavement as vastly more debilitating psychologically than otherwise. What is despicably ironic is that this process feeds on itself. In essence, the slave trade itself was the root of the evil that "sowed fear and insecurity" (Oruno1880). The vicious cycle repeats, leaving the oppressed people derived of all hope, wallowing in sorrow and self-pity.
 
Unfortunately, when an oppressing regime is assaulting the mental state of its victims, spreading uncertainty and discord is not enough. Fear itself was not enough so satisfy the ravenous appetite for mental destruction that the European nations sought to wreak on the defenseless African slaves. They wanted to go beyond trepidation and disallow all other forms of mental stimulation from rousing the dormant spirit of hope that lay within each of the men they enslaved. By blocking off any method of education, the slave traders ensured that their quarry would remain illiterate and ignorant of the injustice with which they were being treated. Similarly, the institutional control that Umbridge exerts over the students at Hogwarts traps the students in their own inadequate knowledge. Hermione again is the first to recognize the Ministry's methods, questioning Umbridge's methods for teaching on the first day of class: "There's nothing up there about using defensive spells"(Rowling 241). Hermione's outburst serves as the catalyst for the other students who are apt to realize that this unorthodox manner of teaching will not only cripple them for their examinations, but also in real life. This perfectly exemplifies the theory that if the light of one person's inspiration is allowed to show, the hope in others is illuminated. The effect is almost instantaneous with other students voicing their incredulity at Umbridge's policies. Over half a dozen students express their displeasure after Ron Weasley enunciates, "We're not going to use magic?"(Rowling 242). This is precisely the moment that every oppressing body seeks to avoid. For if one person begins to inspire another, the end result that arrives is debilitating for the regime: resistance.

Although resistance of any kind against an oppressing power is inevitable, the imminent threat of punishment is just as unavoidable. It goes without question that the oppressing regime must punish those who seek to undermine it, lest they spread inspiration and hope amongst their peers. This is precisely the case when one analyzes the annals of Dutch slave trade off the western coast of Africa. It was recorded that an Ashanti native by the name of Essjerrie Ettin was hanged and lynched after leading a rebellion with his fellow slaves. Though the records are few, it is quite apparent that Ettin was in fact the primary figure in mounting this particular revolt in 1770, and thus suffered the worst consequences. His punishment, described as "having his right hand cut off and being hanged and lynched to death" (Oruno 195), gives testimony to the brutality suffered by any who resisted enslavement. Nevertheless, his actions inspired others, giving them hope for a brighter future than the bleak prospect of slavery. Ettin's heroics were not in vain as demonstrated further in the records, "Though the waters of Juda Harbor were teeming with sharks, men and women captives alike jumped into the water rather than accept their internment" (Oruno 195).

However, the small percentage of opposition that are successful in their fights, are quick to realize to the valuable flame that hope can emit, and are wise to surround themselves with its glow. Quite simply, it gives the people something to fight for. Hermione, who first proposes the idea of forming a resistance group to Umbridge's regime, grasps this logic the quickest out of any student at Hogwarts. The first glimpse of this hope is shown in her manner in chapter fifteen as she introduces the idea of forming Dumbledore's Army. Her face, described as "alight with the kind of fervor that S.P.E.W. usually inspired in her"(Rowling 319), gives testimony to the power that inspiration can instill in people. As mentally debilitating as the absence of inspiration is, the restorative powers that it possesses are greater by far. Hermione goes further in her attempts to coerce Harry into teaching them by using flattery, "You were the only person last year who could throw off the Imperius Curse completely, you can produce a Patronus, you can do all sorts of stuff that full-grown wizards can't"(332). After persuading Harry into helping train them against the dark arts, hope abounds in the school. Once inspiration has touched one, the result is a spreading wildfire that soon becomes uncontrollable, expanding to all peoples. This too is evident within the Harry Potter novel as evidenced by the "rush of people" (337) who show up at The Hog's Head to hear Harry speak about what would soon be known as Dumbledore's Army.
 
The relationship between the oppressing regime and the oppressed is a dark one. The sadistic mental and physical injustices suffered by the victims of oppression is comparable only to torture. However, this torture extends much deeper than merely the mind or body. It penetrates the soul and tears at the moral fiber with which human beings are composed. Its sole purpose is to suppress and extract hope. But it is with hope that the oppressed are able to fight back. Indeed, the greatest asset that a people can have is the power of hope. For if they are able to foster and spread this hope, then the fate of many will be rescued. Hope is a collective emotion, meant to be shared and never to be captivated or contained. As was the case with African enslavement and Dumbledore's Army, hope can inspire resistance of all kinds whether it be passive or aggressive. It is precisely as Tacitus said many hundreds of years ago, every person possess a fighting spirit, a hopeful spirit. It is up to the people of the resistance to spread the light of hope to illuminate even the darkest situations. Hope must be all-encompassing and as pervasive as the sunlight if it to truly succeed.



