Comments for The Hog's Head

Comment on Azkatraz Registration Extended by revgeorge

revgeorge — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:07:43 +0000

SatiricSatori, I signed up for the movie on Thursday night but I’m planning on skipping it now. You can have my ticket for free if you like. Just ask Travis if you can have my personal email, I’m not going to post it online, and if he thinks it’s all right he can give you my email.

Comment on Azkatraz Registration Extended by SatiricSatori

SatiricSatori — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:58:48 +0000

If there is ANY CHANCE that you are giving away/ selling your ticket, well, lets just say I am in…. dire need of one. I registered really early this year and I could have sworn that I bought the movie ticket as well…. I’ve looked, but I can’t find any evidence of that in my account.

I’m pulling a major *headdesk* here….

I’d be totally willing to meet up with any of you at or after the registration pick up on Thursday…. I can pay cash as well if that helps any…

I will need to confirm the authenticity of the ticket before-hand of course.

Just comment back and I’ll email you as soon as possible!

Comment on The Seer Overheard, by revgeorge by revgeorge

revgeorge — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:53:18 +0000

Regarding the images of the Grim, I just read that this imagery could be perhaps a mild mockery by Rowling of certain Gothic story elements. To quote,

“Certainly the Grim subplot in Prisoner, in which Harry thinks he is being haunted by a Black Dog death omen, which turns out to be his godfather working to protect him from danger rather than supernatural sign, is an echo of gothic parody a la Austen, in which natural explanations always supplant superstitious fears eventually.”

I think this helps us understand Trelawney as well. Trelawney seems to be a sort of tragio-comic figure. She is often used for laughs in the story, & she is a bit of an old fraud to a great extent. But she also has a real gift of prophecy and she is also able to use certain divination devices to see things, like tea leaves and cartomancy. But she doesn’t know she makes prophecies, & she’s always misinterpreting her other real visions, & she’s always making more of things than should be made of them. And making lots of things up to.

Comment on The Seer Overheard, by revgeorge by Lily Luna

Lily Luna — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:48:30 +0000

It seemed like Snape had been searching the whole place, probably to make sure there was no important info left behind in case the death eaters DID find a way to get in (as they may have after the Ministry escape). Finding the Lily’s photo and letter was an added bonus. And he and Phineas can meet in the castle if Phineas moves to a picture out in a hallway late at night.

I’m surprised Sirius had the letter from Lily there, actually. It would have been sent to him long after he moved out and before he went to Azkaban. I doubt he can take pictures to Azkaban. That means his personal effects must have been preserved somewhere and/or by someone such that he could retrieve them after he escaped (or someone helped retrieve them after he came back to G Place).

Comment on Harry Potter – Great Literature? by miles365

miles365 — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:39:39 +0000

I agree that Harry is fairly flat as a character, and most of the time he comes off as “just good.” But sometimes he chooses badly and with the wrong motives. He doesn’t practice legilimency in spite of being told to do so by Dumbledore, Lupin, Hermione, and Snape. I think Harry knows he should be practicing, feels guilty about not practicing, and that his argument that his visions are helpful are almost more a justification of his failings than anything else. He’s choosing badly, and I think he knows it. He certainly blames himself for Sirius’ death at the end of OotP.

It’s true that Harry doesn’t really change from his death in DH, and in that respect, his death doesn’t mean much. Rowling could have ended the story when Harry chooses to take that walk into the forest. Harry’s journey is really complete at that point. So what was his journey? In book 1 Harry seems to make exactly the same decision he makes at the end of book 7. But I Harry is a child in book 1 and an adult in book 7. In SS/PS he knew little about Voldemort, little about Dumbledore, and little about his parents. He simply chose good over evil, following his parents’ faith. By the end of book 7 he has doubted his parents, doubted Dumbledore, felt pity for Voldemort, doubted himself. He has developed his own faith and been tested in it. John Granger says he has become a pure soul. He has matured; he chooses to believe despite all of his doubts (which he didn’t have as a child).

Comment on Harry Potter – Great Literature? by Beth

Beth — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:28:07 +0000

It’s late and I should be sleeping (very tired and Monday morning is coming…no, wait, it’s here!) but one thing that occurred to me on my recent re-read of the entire series is how good Rowling is at showing goodness. That probably sounds lame, but I deeply appreciate it. Evil characters often seem easier for authors to draw/make interesting, but showing the depths of someone’s goodness…and their struggle for goodness…is much harder. I think she has done this in a very compelling way with Harry, although his character also retains some of the stock characteristics of a fairy-tale hero (and I don’t see that as a weakness).

Hope that’s a coherent comment. Off to sleep!

Comment on Harry Potter – Great Literature? by revgeorge

revgeorge — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:26:22 +0000

While I can certainly see and appreciate to some extent Dave's and SPT's points, I still lean more toward Travis' and Arabella's position. Not that I won't enjoy reading Dave's essay.

Comment on The Seer Overheard, by revgeorge by SchoolMarm

SchoolMarm — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:11:35 +0000

I don’t think Snape knew he was going to find a letter from Lily in Sirius’s bedroom when he went snooping, though. He must have had another reason to be at Grimmauld Place. Snape and Phineas might have even planned to meet there.

Comment on Harry Potter – Great Literature? by Dave the Longwinded

Dave the Longwinded — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 03:02:35 +0000

Arabella, that’s a really good way of putting it — better than I could. And I totally sympathize with your sense of Harry vis-a-vis the Dursleys. There were times I really wanted him to start firing jinxes all over 4 Privet Drive just to show that he could control them if he wanted to — to exert some control over the situation.

Is Rowling’s assessment of children perhaps a little too idealistic?

Comment on Harry Potter – Great Literature? by Arabella Figg

Arabella Figg — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:56:23 +0000

Well, Dave, I take your point. To me, one of the weaknesses of the book (and part of the knowledge that Harry is good and will be the Hero) is that he emerges from the Dursley’s in such an unrealistic, psychologically healthy manner. The first time we see a really damaged Harry is in Order, where anger building for years finally consumes him, and I’m not convinced, and never have been, that this is all do to Scarcrux acting up. The kid has serious anger issues to deal with, which in Order, he does. To me, he was the most “real to life” in that book, which is a favorite.

Sorry about the camping and rain. That’s our common Memorial Day scenario in the Spokane region. Beautiful 4th–uh oh, we’re under a severe t-storm watch.