GoF 10

[pauraque_bk]

Avast, me hearties! Here I be celebratin' Talk Like a Pirate Day by writin' me chapter commentary in the talk o' the high seas!

Er. Then again, perhaps not. :)


In Chapter 9 there's talk of whether Harry rushes into danger, or has a Saving People Complex, or various other things. I think this deserves to be picked apart in greater detail... How much of Harry's heroism (or lack of caution, if you like) is merely assumed, and how much is actually shown?


GoF 10: Mayhem at the Ministry

Mr Roberts had a strange, dazed look about him, and he waved them off with a vague 'Merry Christmas'.

'He'll be all right,' said Mr Weasley quietly, as they marched off onto the moor. 'Sometimes, when a person's memory's modified, it makes them a bit disorientated for a while ... and that was a big thing they had to make him forget.' (130)

I was under the impression that "Happy Christmas" was the usual phrase in Britain, but I guess either works?

I wasn't going to say anything, but this is like the fifth time JKR's used the word "disorientated". In the US, this is considered nonstandard. ("Disoriented" is preferred.) Does it read okay to non-Americans?

Poor Mr Roberts. Arthur may just be trying to reassure the kids here; we and Harry have known since CoS how dangerous memory charms can be.

'I knew it,' said Mr Weasley heavily. 'Ministry blunders ... culprits not apprehended ... lax security ... Dark wizards running unchecked ... national disgrace ... Who wrote this? Ah ... of course ... Rita Skeeter.' (131)

Well, so what? Isn't she right? There were Dark wizards running around unchecked, and they weren't arrested, and it is a disgrace to the British wizarding government that their security allowed such a thing to happen at an internationally important event. We learn later that she does report falsehoods, but that's hardly evident here.

She goes on to report rumors that bodies were removed from the woods. Arthur says this is BS, and that no one was hurt. Do you think it's possible he's lying -- or misinformed?

'That woman's got it in for the Ministry of Magic!' said Percy furiously. 'Last week she was saying we're wasting our time quibbling about cauldron thicknesses, when we should be stamping out vampires! As if it wasn't specifically stated in paragraph twelve of the Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans--'

'Do us a favour, Perce,' said Bill, yawning, 'and shut up.' (131-132)

Damn. I'd have liked to hear the end of that sentence! Now that we know from HBP that vampires can sometimes be found standing around quietly at Christmas parties, the idea of "stamping out vampires" starts to sound more akin to "stamping out werewolves".

'I'm sure [Voldemort] wasn't in Privet Drive,' said Harry. 'But I was dreaming about him ... him and Peter -- you know, Wormtail[...]' (133)

Since Chapter 1 we've been talking about Harry finding dehumanizing ways to refer to people he's uncomfortable thinking about. Peter's been "Wormtail" throughout the narration, but I think this is the first time Harry's had to call him by name out loud since PoA. He starts to say "Peter Pettigrew" as he would have during the bulk of PoA, but then hesitates and switches to "Wormtail", as he's heard Voldemort call him.

[Harry:] '[...]And [Trelawney] said the Dark Lord would rise again ... greater and more terrible than ever before ... and he'd manage it because his servant was going to go back to him ... and that night Wormtail escaped.'

There was a silence in which Ron fidgeted absent-mindedly with a hole in his Chudley Cannons bedspread. (134)

Harry doesn't hesitate this time; now he's sure he wants to call him Wormtail.

The hole in Ron's bedspread -- Scabbers used to chew holes in his bedsheets. This is great. Ron's definitely thinking of Scabbers here, and the moment is allowed its subtlety.

'Why are they all sending Howlers?' asked Ginny, who was mending her copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi with Spellotape on the rug in front of the living-room fire. (135)

This is one of the possible bits of evidence for Ginny having given Harry a love potion in HBP, as was mentioned earlier. Of course, her Potions book may simply be secondhand, not heavily used by her.

By the way, I said I'd keep an eye out for evidence that Ginny is interested in Quidditch, and I'm not seeing it. When they're talking about the game the previous night, she falls asleep in her chair.

[Percy:] 'They want compensation for their ruined property. Mundungus Fletcher's put in a claim for a twelve-bedroomed tent with en-suite jacuzzi, but I've got his number. I know for a fact he was sleeping under a cloak propped up on sticks.' (135)

Aw, Dung. Yet another introduction-by-passing-mention.

Then we have Ron's dress robes with the moldy lace. Of course, Molly buys Harry some nice new robes (green, to bring out his eyes), yet she has to get Ron's secondhand. Might have been nicer to get decent-but-not-great robes for both of them -- or take the lace off, by hand or by magic -- or, hey, let the rich kid buy his own stuff! I can't say I blame Ron for getting upset.

'Fine,' snapped Mrs Weasley. 'Go naked. And Harry, make sure you get a picture of him. Goodness knows I could do with a laugh.' (140)

This made me wince, sort of the same way Ginny's "as much experience as a twelve-year-old" comment in HBP did. Maybe this wasn't JKR's/Molly's intention, but it reads to me like "Your naked body is laughable", which isn't exactly a thing you should be saying to your teenaged son. Or anybody, really!


Previous GoF posts are saved in memories here.

Comments

[conuly]

No, I think she bought Harry's robes with Harry's money, same as his books and everything else.

[pauraque]

Ah, you may be right. That'd be a bit better.

[caesia390.livejournal.com]

re: heroism

I think you're looking it on a the wrong axis (heroic vs cowardly), when it's more like Harry's personally concerned about things that concern him but doesn't feel the need to jump in when he's not involved (me vs not-me). Maybe it's splitting hairs, but in Harry's mind it's Harry vs Evil because Evil Targets Harry, not Harry doing Good because he takes responsibility for others' welfare. In other words, what they said.

[pauraque]

I actually didn't say he was heroic, I said he went running into dangerous situations! You guys starting talking heroics. :D

[caesia390.livejournal.com]

Bicker bicker!!! :D What else can we do? Goblet of Fire?!!?!?!? Like I have the will or the way to contemplate this book again. >:D

It didn't seem odd to me, is all, Harry just milling around in this situation. And it brought to mind Hermione's words, which seemed to imply that Harry was the not-milling-around-when-people-were-in-danger sort.

[pauraque]

Eo's GoF Commentary, revised edition

This is a rather long book in which Harry ogles some boys, plays with some dragons, and then almost gets killed by Voldemort's deadly army of ellipses but escapes at the last moment.

The end.

[caesia390.livejournal.com]

*claps*

There now! You can just kick back for the weeks it would have taken you to finish this discussion otherwise! ;D

[mctabby.livejournal.com]

Best. Summary. Ever. *applause*

[pauraque]

And that's coming from the summary queen! :D

[http://users.livejournal.com/_hannelore/]

You forgot to add the part where he is GAY GAY GAY. XD

[pauraque]

I said he ogles boys! Perhaps I should have added BECAUSE HE IS GAY GAY GAY. :D

[theatresm.livejournal.com]

Re: Happy/Merry Christmas -- I was under the same impression. You have the U.S. edition? Sounds to me like someone meddled, although a Brit-picker once told me that there's been a bit of muddying on that example.

And, on the other hand, "disorientated" is proper Brit. My pocket OED lists "disorientate" as the Brit standard, preferred over "disorient".

[pauraque]

No, this is the British edition. I always use the British editions for the commentaries.

[theatresm.livejournal.com]

Hmmmmm. US edition (paperback) is exactly the same.

Please tell me what your mood icon means. Because for some reason, all I can see in it is, somehow, Eeyore's butt. Except with eyes. I think.

[pauraque]

It's X The Eliminator (of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law). *points at icon*

[caesia390.livejournal.com]

...And you know what's weird to me about HBP? (um... tangent:)

That I really didn't get a sense of a war going on. Everything about that book was just so... disconnected. Like those few minutes of Tom Riddle flashbacks were more important that months of people dying. And it wasn't like the detachment that comes from a horrible situation, it was like everybody literally forgot about it. Or at least I did. And then the acknowledgements of detachment were just a reminder that there was something to be detached from.

And that thought was probably prompted by something somehow relevant... But damned if I know what.

[likethemodel.livejournal.com]

I felt the same way about HBP, but I thought that feeling was intended. Hogwarts is really sheltered from the war, which, I thought, makes it so much more shocking that a group of DEs got inside. It was supposed to be this sanctuary, but it was violated and so the last really safe place for wizards is gone. This drives Harry to go after LV immediately.

[hilarita.livejournal.com]

It's always 'Merry Christmas and Happy New Year', but if you're referring to Christmas in isolation, you may well say Happy Christmas like you'd say Happy Birthday. It's not at all unusual to say Happy Christmas, but then again you often get the portmanteau wishes for Christmas and New Year together.

[pauraque]

I thought maybe his saying "Merry Christmas" was supposed to be part of his confusion, like saying "Merry Birthday" or something. Sounds like not, though.

[misentropic.livejournal.com]

She goes on to report rumors that bodies were removed from the woods. Arthur says this is BS, and that no one was hurt. Do you think it's possible he's lying -- or misinformed?

It's possible that there might be a connection between these rumors and the fact that the unconscious Crouch Jr. had to be taken out of the woods at some point. No idea how she would have found out about that, but it is interesting that a body was removed from the woods in that regard.

The hole in Ron's bedspread -- Scabbers used to chew holes in his bedsheets. This is great. Ron's definitely thinking of Scabbers here, and the moment is allowed its subtlety.

Very well-spotted. JKR does have a few interesting subtle characterization moments.

[pauraque]

You're right, there was _that_ body removed... presumably under the invisibility cloak. I can see how someone might have spotted something going on like that.

[silentauror.livejournal.com]

My Brit friends say both "happy" & "merry" in conjunction with Christmas.

She goes on to report rumors that bodies were removed from the woods. Arthur says this is BS, and that no one was hurt. Do you think it's possible he's lying -- or misinformed?

I was just under the impression that no bodies were removed from the woods. Except, of course, Crouch's Jr's, later. But he was still invisible then, right? So how could Rita have known?

Somehow I missed your last chapter, but just went back and read it, and I completely agree with you about Ginny's characterization. She really comes and goes, as it were. Not seeing the Quidditch fervour here, definitely. She's bored by it! I mean, has she even tried out for the team as an alternate before?

I also agree with the wincing at Mrs. Weasley's comments to Ron, as well as Ginny's outright cruelty to him in HBP. Honestly, Ron's old-fashioned older-brother act pisses me off, too, but he's acting out of concern, at least. Ginny is just horrible to him. Not nice!

[skelkins.livejournal.com]

Well, so what? Isn't she right? There were Dark wizards running around unchecked, and they weren't arrested, and it is a disgrace to the British wizarding government that their security allowed such a thing to happen at an internationally important event.

Yes, but it's not a truth that benefits the "good guys o' the moment," so it is viewed with suspicion and hostility.

I'd completely forgotten this bit, but it seems to me to foreshadow one of the things that I found the most disturbing about OotP: the apparent ethical double-standard when it comes to issues of truth and propaganda, a double-standard which I found particularly disturbing in a novel that focused so heavily on those very thematic issues.

Were it not for later canonical developments, I'd be tempted just to read this as indicative of the wizarding world's dubious attitudes towards the role of the media. In light of later canon, however, it strikes me as a reflection of what may indeed be a weird (yet oddly fascinating) blind spot in the narrative's moral vision.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Well, so what? Isn't she right? There were Dark wizards running around unchecked, and they weren't arrested, and it is a disgrace to the British wizarding government that their security allowed such a thing to happen at an internationally important event. We learn later that she does report falsehoods, but that's hardly evident here.

I agree with skelkins that this kind of double standard was one of the most disturbing things about OotP. The good guys were often seen both manipulating the press and getting lies printed and criticizing people for not magically knowing which things in which paper are true at any given time, or which ones they wanted them to ignore. It works a lot like the law does--it's supposed to be "fair" when other people might get off, but it's all good if it's twisted to their benefit.

I'd also mention that the same is true in CoS. There's no mention in the paper about the attacks at Hogwarts and Malfoy assumes the school is covering it up. There's good reason to believe he could be right.

Damn. I'd have liked to hear the end of that sentence! Now that we know from HBP that vampires can sometimes be found standing around quietly at Christmas parties, the idea of "stamping out vampires" starts to sound more akin to "stamping out werewolves".

Exactly! (And Rita isn't lying there as far as we know, just expressing an opinion.)

The hole in Ron's bedspread -- Scabbers used to chew holes in his bedsheets. This is great. Ron's definitely thinking of Scabbers here, and the moment is allowed its subtlety.

That really is great, as is Harry seeming to tell himself to call him Wormtail. Does he feel like he's letting go of someone by doing that, after spending a year thinking of Peter as his father's friend?

By the way, I said I'd keep an eye out for evidence that Ginny is interested in Quidditch, and I'm not seeing it. When they're talking about the game the previous night, she falls asleep in her chair.

Yeah, because there is none. Ginny's showing a perfectly coherent personality in this book, it just isn't the one she has later. She's laughing, she's talking, she stands up for herself. I seriously do not understand why this girl is somehow not as Ideal as the one who's...mean.

This made me wince, sort of the same way Ginny's "as much experience as a twelve-year-old" comment in HBP did. Maybe this wasn't JKR's/Molly's intention, but it reads to me like "Your naked body is laughable", which isn't exactly a thing you should be saying to your teenaged son. Or anybody, really!

Yes, it is the same thing, and Molly is just weird here. She fawns over Harry and his robes and when Ron expresses horror over his own she makes a big show of making him feel guilty and then takes a cheap shot at him. I'd also like to point out here, because it's a pet peeve, that almost everything having to do with Weasleys and clothing suggests a lack of taste, not a tasteful aversion to the ostentatious. Ron's robes aren't just second-hand, they're horrible and lacey, and green-to-match-your-eyes isn't exactly sophisticated.

[likethemodel.livejournal.com]

Maybe this wasn't JKR's/Molly's intention, but it reads to me like "Your naked body is laughable", which isn't exactly a thing you should be saying to your teenaged son.

My mother said that sort of thing all the time. When I complained about wearing whatever dressy thing she bought me she'd say "go ahead, walk around naked." And then, she'd sort of laugh because of the idea of me being so foolish as to choose to be naked rather than wear a [frilly death-contraption] dress, not because me naked is hilarious. I think that's what Mrs. Weasley meant, she'D laugh at Ron's silliness not his body.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Actually, the thing is, it doesn't sound like your mother did say that to you all the time. She was laughing at your silliness by saying, "Go naked then." She sounds like a Mom laughing at her teenager's being a teenager.

Molly, by contrast, seems genuinely hurt by Ron's complaints. She tells him to go naked, then turns to the other boy (the one with the nice dress robes that match his eyes) to take a picture of him naked and send it to her because she could use the laugh she'd get looking at him naked. At most I'd say Molly is trying to make it seem like she's just laughing at his silliness but her real hurt comes through and she crosses the line into genuine insult.

[stellahobbit.livejournal.com]

An Australian would say they feel disorientated, or were suffering from disorientation.

And it's always a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year here.

[pilly2009.livejournal.com]

Aw, Dung. Yet another introduction-by-passing-mention.

Come to think of it, the context in which Dung was mentioned in this book should have clued us all in to the shady character that he is, which is why I was somewhat confused by all the renditions of Lily'sbestfriend!Mundungus in pre-OotP fanfic.

Maybe this wasn't JKR's/Molly's intention, but it reads to me like "Your naked body is laughable", which isn't exactly a thing you should be saying to your teenaged son. Or anybody, really!

Eh, the Weasleys to me have always read like the most everyday family in the books, so I'm not really one for taking a stance on the things they do to each other. But yeah, it was a little mean.

Merry Christmas in summer?

[(Anonymous)]

Correct me if I'm wrong here as I don't have the book with me, but doesn't the QWC take place in the summer? Harry spends each Christmas at Hogwarts instead of going back to the Dursley's house. Mr. Weasly took Harry from the Dursley's to go to the match, he didn't pick him up from the school. I don't think it matters if he said happy or merry christmas as much as it matters that he was so confused from the constant memory charms that he didn't even know if it was summer or winter.

Re: Merry Christmas in summer?

[pauraque]

Yes, it's August. We know. :)

[thaisa.livejournal.com]

I happened upon this through another journal, and now I'm reading back through your chapter readings. They're great to read. I did have a comment on this one:

'That woman's got it in for the Ministry of Magic!' said Percy furiously. 'Last week she was saying we're wasting our time quibbling about cauldron thicknesses, when we should be stamping out vampires! As if it wasn't specifically stated in paragraph twelve of the Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans--'

'Do us a favour, Perce,' said Bill, yawning, 'and shut up.' (131-132)

Damn. I'd have liked to hear the end of that sentence! Now that we know from HBP that vampires can sometimes be found standing around quietly at Christmas parties, the idea of "stamping out vampires" starts to sound more akin to "stamping out werewolves".

I read this as implying that the Ministry isn't stamping out vampires at all, due to the regulations that Percy quotes, and that Skeeter is criticizing them for "quibbling around with cauldron thickness" instead of doing their real job. That seems to match very well with how the media behaves in the Wizarding world (just like they do in the Muggle world, basically). I do wonder how this compares with the anti-Dark Arts position that the Ministry seems to enforce, though. Also, why is that vampires are non-wizards, whereas werewolves clearly can be wizards as well? Anyway, this is very late, but I figured I should comment anyway :)

[pauraque]

Welcome!

why is that vampires are non-wizards, whereas werewolves clearly can be wizards as well?

Well, that's an awfully good question, given that in folklore, vampires generally do start out as people. And if they're not capable of making other vampires via biting, why should we be afraid of them?