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pauraque_bkAvast, 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
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
Previous GoF posts are saved in memories here.
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'.I was under the impression that "Happy Christmas" was the usual phrase in Britain, but I guess either works?
'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 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--'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".
'Do us a favour, Perce,' said Bill, yawning, 'and shut up.' (131-132)
'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.'Harry doesn't hesitate this time; now he's sure he wants to call him Wormtail.
There was a silence in which Ron fidgeted absent-mindedly with a hole in his Chudley Cannons bedspread. (134)
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.
