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August 16, 2015 at 3:23 pm in reply to: Harry Potter Reread: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone #307211JosephineParticipant
Dumbledore’s bio on his chocolate frog card: “Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon’s blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel.”
Interesting to note that Grindelwald was defeated in 1945, the same year as the fall of Nazi Germany during WW2. Knowing Rowling, this is not a coincidence. Also, Nicolas Flamel was a real historical person. If you were a British reader in the UK, where the original title of this book was “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”, the connection would be pretty obvious about now. More information about Flamel can be read here:
JKR later said she wished she would have fought harder to keep the title “Philosopher’s Stone” in the States. But you have to remember she was still largely unknown at the time of the initial publishing and didn’t have the clout that she has now.
I have to admit a part of me was disappointed that the twelve uses of dragon’s blood were not instrumental in Voldemort’s downfall. We did get basilisk venom but no dragon’s blood.
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August 16, 2015 at 3:17 pm in reply to: Harry Potter Reread: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone #307210JosephineParticipantChapter Six: The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters
aka
Chapter Six: THEY MEET, THEY MEET!
“Whatever house I’m in, I hope she’s not in it,” said Ron.
–SS, p. 106
My OTP!!!!!!(Sorry, shipper moment there. My OTP of OTPs meet for the first time and dislike each other. Ahhh, true love. *will shut up about that….maybe*)
I’ll start with the discussion points
If the Malfoys met Harry at the barrier I doubt they’d even help. If the boy doesn’t know where the barrier was then they’d recognize him as someone unfamiliar with the Wizarding World…not one of their kind. They’d sneer at him and continue on with no assistance. As for if Draco and Harry sat together I doubt they’d have bonded like Ron and Harry did. Harry had already met Draco, although he didn’t know his name, in Diagon Alley and didn’t come out of encounter with a positive opinion of the boy.
As for Ron, he certainly reinforced Harry’s opinion about Slytherin. Hagrid warned him about the Slytherin House in the previous chapter with his “There’s not a a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn’t in Slytherin” comment. Add in Draco’s claim that he would be placed in Slytherin, the seed was already planted that he didn’t want to be placed in the house. Ron’s contempt for the house just reinforced what knowledge he already had.
So our 3 core characters all feel that they aren’t good enough, albeit in different ways.
They all three come from such diverse backgrounds and yet they all have this same deep fear of failure that manifests itself in so many different ways. It’s interesting how each deal with this. Ron struggles with his self esteem. We see the first signs of it immediately. His brothers are older, more fun, smarter, more athletic, more daring. He feels there is really no way to make his own mark on the school. Harry feels like he’s lost at sea. He literally knows nothing and feels so behind. On top of that he also has this reputation that was the result of something he didn’t even remember. Then there is Hermione. Who, in my opinion…although many will disagree, is the most scared of all. Her ‘know-it-all’ air, babbling, and demeanor is a a cover for being scared. I imagine she’s not used to failing academically and probably socially awkward in part stemming from her emergent magic in the Muggle world and largely it’s just her personality. So she overcompensates to the point that it rebounds and she’s still an outcast in her new environment.
As for Molly, I have to say her willingness to assist Harry just illustrates how horrid Petunia really is by not helping her nephew. The more I read the more I hate her (and I tweeted this to JKR). I will be interested to see how my opinions of Snape form during this exercise. I’ve always despised him for his treatment of his students, largely because of coming from an Educational background myself. He’s a fantastically layered character and, yes, he did good things, but he was also a horrid person. I’m really interested to examine it in the future.
Keeper of Rumplestiltskin's and Neal's spears and war paint and crystal ball.
August 15, 2015 at 8:49 pm in reply to: Harry Potter Reread: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone #307096JosephineParticipantThe term “Muggle” is presented as a neutral noun. It had no negative connotations, unlike “Mudblood” which is always presenting as a foul, insulting label.
Excellent point. Muggle seems to be a general catchall for non-magical folk but without rendering them as less than or inferior than the magical born.
I do continue to wonder, however, if there is a sense of superiority over the Muggles. This doesn’t need to mean that the magical born feel like they should dominate the Muggles, but that there is a sense of just general “betterness” because they have magic (which can solve many problems) while the Muggles do not.
For example (eh, not really a spoiler but a line from an upcoming book so I’ll tag it)
at one point Arthur Weasley says to Harry about Muggles, “Bless them. They’ll go to any lengths to ignore magic. Even if it’s right in front of their face.” I’m not calling Arthur a racist or wizardist but rather that when he looks at the Muggle world, however much he may love it–and we know Arthur does–there is a sense that the Muggles are like the children in the world. They can’t see what is right in front of them and when confronted with the unknown, they rationalize it to make sense in a language (terms) they can understand. We’ve seen this quite a bit back in chapter one with Vernon’s desire to cast all the magical goings on in mundane terms.
So while I agree that the term “Muggle” is just an ordinary neutral term, I do continue to ponder that heightened sense of superiority that all Magic born have over the non-magic born.
It’s a two way street, though. Arthur talks about Muggles not recognizing magic but those not Muggle born or Half blood don’t understand Muggle technology, which in some ways is far superior than what we’ve seen Wizards do. Wizards have more abilities than Muggles, but Muggles use technology: they’ve gone to moon, developed enough weapons to destroy the Earth, travel to the far reaches of the solar system and beyond. All on their brain power, not magic. I think Arthur realizes this, too.
Ultimately, if it wasn’t the word “Muggle” it would be another. Humans need to create words to describe. It’s just what we do.
Keeper of Rumplestiltskin's and Neal's spears and war paint and crystal ball.
August 15, 2015 at 4:37 pm in reply to: Harry Potter Reread: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone #307072JosephineParticipantI admit I usually associate the plight of Muggleborns and Purebloods to the Nazi movement. Maybe it’s the years of WW2 movies that were on in the background in the house that my dad adored.
But going further, is anyone else bothered by the term “Muggle.” It’s a distinction that I don’t know I’ve ever thought overly much about because when I first read, it was just a way to distinguish between “this” and “that.” But…isn’t that what all discriminatory remarks are? A way to put people into boxes as being separate from some other category.
Personally, I’m not bothered by term “Muggle” just because we humans have a need to categorize and compare and contrast. As a teacher, it’s essential to instill these thinking-skills on my students. It’s human nature. Self-identifying as “Wizard” or “Witch” is no different than calling non-magical “Muggle”. We categorize by ethnicity, language, geography. It’s when you act in a discriminatory manor to these groups that the trouble begins. The term “Muggle” is presented as a neutral noun. It had no negative connotations, unlike “Mudblood” which is always presenting as a foul, insulting label.
Keeper of Rumplestiltskin's and Neal's spears and war paint and crystal ball.
August 12, 2015 at 2:02 pm in reply to: Harry Potter Reread: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone #307009JosephineParticipantChapter Five: Diagon Ally
Summary
Harry wakes up scared to open his eyes, thinking the previous night was just a dream. He keeps his eyes closed despite the tapping he hears. Thinking it’s Aunt Petunia knocking on his door, he reluctantly gets up and discovers that it wasn’t a dream after all. What’s really tapping is an owl carrying a newspaper. With Hagrid sound asleep on the sagging sofa, Harry doesn’t know what to do so he lets the owl in and wakes Hagrid to find out why the animal is pecking the man after it drops the paper. Hagrid informs him to go through his coat and pay the owl “five knuts“. Happy with payment, the owl flies away.
After Hagrid reminds him they have to be off to buy school supplies, Harry looks at the wizarding money and worries because he has none and his relatives said they wouldn’t pay for anything. Hagrid quickly puts this worry to rest and informs Harry he has more than enough in the Wizarding bank, Gringotts that he inherited from his parents. The couple then take the Dursleys’ boat and with a bit of unapproved magic speed across the water where they go to the station to catch a train to London.
In London, despite it being his first time in the city, Harry sees nothing out of the ordinary until they stop before a small pub that appears to be seen only by Harry and Hagrid called ’The Leaky Cauldron’. When they enter, swarms of people dressed strangely approach Harry and greet and thank him like a hero, including a professor he will have for a subject called “Defense Against the Dark Arts”. Hagrid pulls Harry from the crowd and out a backdoor to an enclosed courtyard. After a few taps on a brick, the courtyard wall opens to reveal a bustling street filled with exotic establishments.
Before they can do anything, they must get money from Gringotts. When they approach the wizards’ bank, Harry discovers the entrance guarded by a goblin who is a bit shorter than he is but with long feet and fingers. At various points in the bank, it’s also revealed the penalty of trying to steal from the bank. Dire consequences with rumors of dragons guarding treasure and no means of escape. Inside the bank, Hagrid informs the Goblin clerk that he needs to access Harry’s vault, which he has a key for and also a vault or Professor Dumbledore on “official Hogwarts business.” The trek to the vaults involves a roller coaster-like rail cart ride of which Hagrid is not a fan. Meanwhile, Harry tries to take everything in, including looking for evidence of dragons. When they arrive at Harry’s vault, the key is used to open it and Harry discovers piles of coins and realizes how much money he actually has. After grabbing some coins to cover his needs “for a few terms”, they move on to the Hogwarts vault, Seven Hundred and Thirteen. Unlike Harry’s vault that needed a key, the goblin opens the vault with just a stroke of his finger upon the door. Griphook, the goblin, informs Harry that if anyone besides a goblin tries to enter they will get sucked into the vault with no way of escape. Harry expected a ton of treasure to be inside the vault when he peaks in but is surprised it only contains a small box which Hagrid takes and puts in one of his many inside coat pockets.
With money in hand, the pair head off to Madam Malkin’s to buy Harry’s robe. While Harry is being measured Hagrid drops back in on the Leaky Cauldron for a ‘pick-me-up’ to get over the disagreeable Gringotts ride. Inside the shop, Harry meets another boy who is being fit for Hogwarts robes. The boy, going on about smuggling a racing broom into Hogwarts despite the rules, reminds Harry of Dudley. When questioned, Harry reveals that he doesn’t have a broom, play Quidditch (which he has no idea what it is), or anything about Hogwarts houses. The boy goes on to insult Hagrid and questioned about his parents and whether they are “our” kind, but is saved from answering by his fitting being finished.
Harry questions Hagrid about the things the boy talked about and he fills the boy in on things as they go on to their next stop to buy the rest of his supplies. Books, cauldron, and potions ingredients are purchased during the visit. Then Hagrid decides to buy Harry an owl, which is a permitted pet at Hogwarts and handy because it can deliver mail, for his birthday. Harry protests but comes out of the shop with a snowy owl.
The last stop on the trip is to buy Harry’s wand. The shop they go to is nondescript and small. The proprietor, Ollivander, immediately knows who Harry is and quickly informs him about his parents’ wands and even the wand that gave him his scar. Ollivander remembers every wand he ever sold and says that the wand picks the wizard. Harry then tries out a variety of wands, but none see to work. The more they try the more excited Ollivander becomes. Finally, he pulls out a wand and wonders if it will work as it’s an unusual choice and hands it to Harry. A warm feeling parks immediately fly from the wand as he waves it around. Ollivander is taken aback and tells the two that the Harry’s wand contains a phoenix feather from a phoenix that gave only one other feather for a wand. That wand belonged to Voldemort.
The day is now at an end and Hagrid takes Harry back to the train station so he can travel back to the Dursleys. They stop for dinner and Harry confides in Hagrid over his worries of being famous for something he doesn’t remember and not knowing anything about magic. Hagrid reassures him he will do fine and gives him a ticket with instructions to be at King’s Cross Station on September 1st to take the train to Hogwarts.
Analysis
How Ya Gonna Keep Them Down On The Farm (After They’ve Seen Paree)?
It’s safe to say none of you know the reference above. It was a famous song post-WWI about a real life concern. How do you get soldiers to return to the rural lifestyle post-war after they’ve seen the culture and excitement of Paris and other European destinations? A rather obscure reference, but it was reminiscent of Harry’s trip to Diagon Ally. In this instance, how does Harry return his Muggle life after experiencing the wonders of the Wizarding world?
When Harry awakens he can’t imagine that the delight of the night before actually happened and believes it was all a dream. He quickly realizes it wasn’t a dream at all and is soon off to experience this new world he was told about only hours before. He’s fascinated with everything from Gringotts to the various strange businesses littering Diagon Alley.
Harry wished he had about eight more eyes. He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once; the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping.
–SS, p. 71
Diagon Ally has become the candy store for this kid. He’s enamored by everything: the cart ride in Gringotts, the unusual books at the Flourish and Blotts, the owls at Eeylops Owl Emporium. This trip is a major stepping stone for Harry. The opening of the bricked barrier signifies the opening of his life to something else. Something more. He can never go back to being Harry who slept in the cupboard under the stairs. Walking through that archway was walking into a new life. And while we know he will return to his Muggle relatives’ house, it’s no longer home and never will be again.
The Song Remains the Same
Harry may be in a new world, but in a larger sense it’s the similar to the one he’s leaving behind. Diagon Ally may be full of exotic creatures, brooms that fly, and interesting shops, but on another level it’s the same as the mundane world of the Muggles.
It’s discovered in the quick trip to Diagon Ally that wizards have infrastructure, commerce and society not unlike that of Muggles. Banking institutions, for example, might look vastly different have the same function in either world. Both worlds place value on currency and rely on the exchange of goods and services to keep society functioning. Although we don’t know for certain, it would be safe to assume the phrase that ‘the only sure things in life are death and taxes’ would apply to the Wizarding community, too.
Harry’s first introduction to a fellow student at Madam Malkin’s emphasizes the point fact that society, for good or bad, is not that different after all, either.
“My father’s next door buying my books and mother’s up the street looking at wands,” said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. “Then I’m going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don’t see why first years can’t have their own. I think I’ll bully father into getting me one and I’ll smuggle it in somehow.”
–SS, p. 77
The boy’s greed and spoiled nature immediately remind Harry of his cousin Dudley. As the conversation goes on during the fitting Harry likes him less and less as he insults Hagrid for being just a “servant” and a “savage” and then reveals his prejudice against others.
“I really don’t think they should let the other sort in, do you? They’re just not the same, they’ve never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What’s you’re surname, anyway?”
–SS, p. 78
Discrimination occurs in everywhere. They may have magic, but wizards and witches are not immune to human emotions such as greed, hatred, or jealousy.
Foreshadowing
–Gringotts and how hard it is to break into the bank.
“Yeah–so yeh’d be made ter try an’ rob it. I’ll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Harry. Gringotts is the safest places in the world fer anything yeh want to keep safe–’cept maybe Hogwarts.”
–SS, p. 63
“Like I said, yeh’d be mad ter try an’ rob it,” said Hagrid.
–SS, p.73
“If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they’d be sucked through the door and trapped in there,” said Griphook.
“How often do you check to see if anyone’s inside,” Harry asked.
“About once every ten years,” said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.”
–SS, p. 76
Questions
1. How do you think the “student” in Madam Malkin’s would react if Harry had had time to finish the conversation and revealed his surname?
2. How do you think Harry feels about having funds of his own for the first time ever?
3. What do you think Harry’s opinions are on having a wand that shares a common core with the wand that killed his parents and did great evil in the wizarding world?
Knitting Reference:
And because I am knitting nerd and HP is full of knitting, I shall count all the knitting references in the series and post each. So here is the first.
1. Hagrid knitting on the train on the way to London to get Harry’s supplies.
People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.
“Still got your letter, Harry?” he asked as he counted stitches.”
–SS, p. 65
Keeper of Rumplestiltskin's and Neal's spears and war paint and crystal ball.
JosephineParticipant“Highly articulated” Uhmm….
Yeah I have no idea what that means…
Highly articulated dolls means they’re arms and legs and neck move easily. Not that they can talk, just able to be posed. My comment was me trying not to crack an inappropriate joke. 😛
Keeper of Rumplestiltskin's and Neal's spears and war paint and crystal ball.
JosephineParticipant“Highly articulated”
Uhmm….
Keeper of Rumplestiltskin's and Neal's spears and war paint and crystal ball.
August 8, 2015 at 9:42 pm in reply to: Harry Potter Reread: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone #306939JosephineParticipantYou know, I was thinking the same thing. “You’re a wizard, Harry”. I think it’s also because it was used as a soundbite so much in the promos and even currently on commercials for the movie’s airings on TV. Did you also Hagrid is a bit more…angry and mean in the book than in the movie. He’s this big lovable hulk in the the movie but we do see bits of true anger on the part of Hagrid on the pages.
Looking at this through the “Sneaky Dumbledore is sneaky” filter, I think Dumbledore might have wanted to stack the deck: let the kid have an awful life in the muggle world so that his dangerous destiny in the wizarding world will seem preferably when the time comes.
In essence, making it the less objectionable option of the two. Hmm, that is sneaky and underhanded. I didn’t realize how interesting it would be to examine Dumbledore as we go through the series, but it is fascinating to see his character in a different light.
Keeper of Rumplestiltskin's and Neal's spears and war paint and crystal ball.
August 8, 2015 at 6:24 pm in reply to: Harry Potter Reread: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone #306930JosephineParticipantQuite an interesting comparison with Cinderella. Rowling draws from so many fables, fairy tales, lore, etc, (and has been often criticized for it) but Harry really does have a bit of Cinderella to him. In the previous chapter, he was happy to escape to the dreaded ‘Stonewall High’ because the alternative was being with Dudley. But this is like hitting the lottery, like being handed a whole pile of ‘get out of jail free’ cards.
Hagrid’s revelation of Harry’s wizardry will be the biggest turning point of his life, and he will have many, many, MANY major ones. But this one, in my opinion will forever be the biggest. It’s like a blind person being able to see for the first time, or a deaf person gaining hearing. He finally has an escape, a rationalization for the strange things that happen, a reason for the Dusleys’ true dislike of him. The scales have been lifted from his eyes. Like was mentioned, there is no wonder the ‘refusal of the call’ is so short lived. The alternative is just unthinkable. You can’t close the Pandora’s box once it’s opened. The Dursleys can’t hold back Harry from his destiny just because they despise magic.
Foreshadowing
About Hagrid’s umbrella. Swinging it around is causing some major damage.
He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley–there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clapped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig’s tail poking through a hole in his trousers.
—Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J.K. Rowling. U.S. edition, pp. 59
We’re told Hagrid was expelled and can only do approved magic on certain terms but yet is wand is broken. Is it just his anger and magic spontaneously occurring or is that umbrella more special than we think?
As for Voldemort’s remains, as we’ve been saying in regards to Once, no body equals no death (although we have issues there, too). We can’t disregard the fact that Voldemort is very likely not dead and therefore very much alive in some form or fashion.
Questions:
1. I think Petunia’s tirade makes me dislike her even more. Even if her sister was a horrid person, you’re casting the sins of a parent onto the child. Vernon’s contempt can be rationalized. You don’t agree with it but can see where it’s coming from. Petunia’s is from a petty, jealous place. Lily got the specialness, the adulation of their parents, the talent. I think Petunia felt that nothing she could do would ever compete with her sister. Success really did bread contempt. It’s sibling rivalry at it’s worst. Instead of dealing with her issues, she bottled them up and became the nastiest version of herself she could. She held that inside her and took it out on her nephew in a way she could never do with her sister. I find myself having the most visceral reaction to the characters in the series whose sins are more realistic than magical. Petunia is one such character.
2. I think Harry is so ready to accept his fate because he knows he doesn’t belong in his current environment. He wants to get away from the Dursleys but I also think he knows he never belonged there. He’s not like them. So to be told he’s something other makes it easy to accept. The strange things that have occurred to him reinforce these feelings that he’s known all along.
3. Dumbledore trusts Hagrid completely. We’re told that in the first chapter and having Hagrid approach Harry as his guide to the wizarding world is just another piece of evidence that suggests this is absolutely true. It seems from what we know that despite Dumbledore being the “leader” he has a very hands-off approach physically with the boy. Does he not want to be close to him? Is there a reason for the standoffish manner with the boy? We have a supposed ‘mentor’ who as of sixty pages into the story hasn’t yet interacted with the ‘hero’. It’s an interesting thing to exam as we go on.
Keeper of Rumplestiltskin's and Neal's spears and war paint and crystal ball.
August 7, 2015 at 8:24 pm in reply to: Harry Potter Reread: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone #306897JosephineParticipantOne of the definitions for latent is “hidden: present or existing, but in an underdeveloped or unexpressed form”. So yes, according to that definition, Harry’s powers are latent. They’re present but he doesn’t know how to use them and they’re not developed. And he doesn’t even know that he has powers.
Keeper of Rumplestiltskin's and Neal's spears and war paint and crystal ball.
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