First things first! Today (March 1st) is Ron’s 32nd
birthday.
Now that we have that out of the way, I have some exciting news of my own! We now have another individual contributing to this blog! My fellow student, Alice of Rabbiton, has graciously allowed me to use her notes as well as my own on this blog. Thus, together we shall strive to give you a fuller and more wholistic view of this class.
Enjoy! And spread the word!
-Victor Bennet
Death
Where
do we encounter death in the books?
-
Lilly and James are murdered by Voldemort. What is Voldemort’s attitude towards
death? He is afraid of death but will kill anyone without hesitation. And yet
he gives Lilly a way out of death if she chooses it. Harry miraculous escapes
death.
-
Killing animals is a bit different. Killing a unicorn is especially wrong.
There are different levels of “bad.” (5-)
-
Ghosts are all over Hogwarts. Prof. Binns is even a ghost. Professor Binns, the
History of Magic Professor at Hogwarts, died one day; he continued teaching as
a ghost. The ghosts of Hogwarts stayed at the castle after their deaths, and
they play an important part in the stories. They also reflect a certain opinion
of death.
-
Did Harry kill Quirrel? He tries to stop Quirrel from killing him, but he does
not mean to kill Quirrel.
-
Nicholas Flamel is going to die because the Philosopher’s Stone will be
destroyed. Dumbledore says that “To a well organized mind, death is just
another great adventure.”
- Dumbledore’s
attitude towards death: death is an adventure, and there are far worse things
than death. Dumbledore erected the tombstones in Godric’s Hollow, and he chose
the inscriptions upon the stones. The last enemy to be defeated will be death.
-
Hagrid tells Harry that Voldemort doesn’t have enough left of him to even die.
- Ron,
Harry, and Hermione were willing to risk it all to take on the defenses
guarding the Philosopher’s Stone, no matter the cost, to keep Voldemort from
returning to full power.
Rowling
subtly explores a lot of attitudes in our culture towards death.
Neville
Neville is an orphan and an only
child. And he has no family of his generation or his parent’s generation. His
family isn’t well off, but they are “comfortable”. His grandmother berates him
and tries to make Neville live up to his fathers legacy. It is only when
Neville is able to do his own thing that he thrives, and yet he loves his grandmother
and she loves him. Neville is receiving the brunt of his grandmother’s grief
for her son, Neville’s father. Neville is forgetful and very uncoordinated.
When we meet him, it is because he lost his toad.
Therefore it is clear from the
very beginning (in Dr. Poe’s eyes) that Neville will be a hero of the story.
Part of Neville becoming a great
hero, is that you have to feel the great change take place within Neville as a
sense of spiritual transformation. She draws you in, makes the case of future
change and growth, and she intrigues you with the way things could be.
She doesn’t denounce Neville’s
grandmother, but by the end of the story, the grandmother has seen what was in
Neville all along. Neville and his grandmother adore each other completely, but
Neville gains the confidence to do what he’d enjoy rather than just what she
wants him to do.
Edger Allen Poe &
Art.
Art is at the center of a culture
and is an artifact of a culture; it represents the core beliefs and values of a
culture. There were so many struggles with art over the centuries because the
cultures were collapsing. Rowling took a great stand, as many movie makers did
in the twentieth century, and she managed to create a sustained effect. Part of
that is how she wants you to feel when you read her novels; she’s not trying to
lecture you to teach you something, but she’s trying to get you to feel
something.
“Before you can have art, there
has to be entertainment.”
Harry Potter and the
Chamber of Secrets
We meet Dobby for the first time. Harry goes back to the
Dursley’s for the summer, and over the summer, a new character is introduced:
Dobby the House Elf. He just pops up in Harry’s room, and he’s going to get
Harry in trouble. Harry doesn’t like Dobby’s method of protecting him.
Harry doesn’t understand or like what Dobby is doing to try
to save Harry’s life.
The mysteries of this book are why Dobby is trying to save
Harry, who is the heir of Slytherin, and where is the Chamber of Secrets? Harry
is the most likely candidate to be the heir of Slytherin because he can speak parseltongue.
Harry doesn’t know he can speak Parseltongue, and there’s never been a witch or
wizard who was a Parseltongue that didn’t end up becoming a dark sorcerer. When
Moses cast down his staff in the court of Pharaoh, God transformed the staff
into a serpent. This instance, like Harry’s ability, shows serpents in a
somewhat better light.
Eve is the first parseltongue, but it runs in the family. Thus,
we’re all Parseltongues, we’re all sinners, and we all have our little chats
with Satan. We have all fallen short of the glory of God.
The whole idea of the serpent explored here takes us to the
idea of the animagous. The first great animagous was Satan, but the greatest
animagous is Jesus Christ. The Lord of Glory, Creator of Heaven and Earth,
should empty himself and become a servant? That’s even more important than
turning into animals. Jesus is the greatest one because He is God and yet able
to become human.
Halloween
In all of the books, there are important days. There
are never any birthdays celebrated, though we do know of Harry’s. However, Sir
Nicholas’s deathday is celebrated, which elaborates a little more towards the
attitude toward death (opposed to birth). There is also Halloween (All Hollow’s
Eve). On Halloween in Harry’s first year, the troll is let into the dungeon and
vanquished by Harry and Ron. Halloween = All Hallows Eve (Deathly Hallows), All Saints Day celebrates all Christians that have died
for their faith. This day celebrates the martyrs and those who have vanquished
evil with their deaths. On Halloween, Lily and James Potter died, and Voldemort
was also vanquished. On All Saints Day, evil is vanquished, but you’re not
protected from dying.
On Halloween during Harry’s second year, the saints are
under attack. Harry, Ron, and Hermione leave the deathday party, and the first
attack has occurred. In order to have a martyr, someone has to die, and we see
the first attack on this Halloween.
What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and lose
his own soul?
Christmas
Another holiday celebrated at Hogwarts is Christmas which is
meant to celebrate the incarnation of God. There’s a breakdown in the passing
on of the faith, and today is a culture that knows almost nothing of Christianity.
That’s why, though they celebrate Christmas, Christianity, as a religion, is
never mentioned in the books. All these elements are subtle. These books are
very much intended for a secular audience.
“Christianity is one generation away from extinction.”
When we get to the last book, “for the greater good” is a
vile and despicable philosophy that is prevalent; this means that someone’s
going to get shafted so that others do all right. She teaches a generation that
it’s not okay by writing for her culture’s feelings and brute reactions.
Dark Magic and the Occult in Harry Potter
Harry and Ron get to Hogwarts by means of a flying car, land
in a Whomping Willow, and the car goes rogue. The car, like Riddle’s diary, can
think for itself; it throws them out and heads off into the Forbidden Forest,
yet it rescues them in their time of need.
Riddle’s diary is also considered occult. Wesley says “never
to trust anything that thinks for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its
brain.” Whenever we get into the occult in the books, there is always a
warning. McGonagall and Dumbledore warn about divination, Wesley about Tom
Riddle’s diary, and so on.
What’s the source of power for the occult? Like an Ouija
Board or Tarot Cards, this is an aspect of the occult powered by the demonic.
Rowling recognizes this, points to it, and she critiques it; you don’t dabble
in things like that, even if, like voodoo, they’re a form of religion.
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