One thing that influenced my outlook on speech was a passage from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that I read on Saturday night. Here’s the context: In the book, Harry competes with three other wizards in the Triwizard Tournament. In the final task of the tournament, held at Hogwarts in front of the entire school, the competitors enter a hedge maze, knowing that the first competitor to reach the tournament’s trophy (hidden somewhere in the maze) would win the tournament. Harry and Cedric (another competitor) reach the trophy at the same time. Instead of winning the tournament, however, Harry and Cedric are transported to a graveyard, where Voldemort kills Cedric. Only Harry knows this. He tells Dumbledore the news that Voldemort has returned in great power. Dumbledore tells the Minister of Magic, but the Minister denies the story, because he would rather believe that Voldemort has not returned than confront the truth. At the end-of-year feast, Dumbledore addresses the entire school about the truth:

 

“(Cedric’s) death has affected you all, whether you knew him well or not. I think that you have the right, therefore, to know exactly how it came about. Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort. The Ministry of Magic does not wish me to tell you this. It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so – either because they will not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, or because they think I should not tell you so, young as you are. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric died as the result of an accident, or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory.”

 

            I put in bold text the most important sentence in the paragraph. Once again, Dumbledore teaches us an important life lesson: that the truth is preferable to lies, even if the truth is not pleasant. This quote, along with my experiences in the Right Speech Experiment, encourages me to be aware of the truth, and to let it be known through my speech.