DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FROM PHILIP NEL’S CONTINUUM CONTEMPORARIES BOOK:

“J.K. ROWLING’S HARRY POTTER NOVELS”

 

  1. Jonathan Levi said that GoF was “the first children’s book to endorse slavery since Little Black Sambo.”  Do the Potter novels endorse the house-elves’ enslavement?  Consider the positions on elf rights taken by Ron, George, Mr. Weasley, Dobby, Winky, Hermione, Sirius Black and Harry.   With whom are our sympathies supposed to lie?

 

  1. If the HP novels endorse subjugation of the house elves, do they endorse enslavement?  Or should we instead see Rowling as recognizing the limitations of social reform?  Are we supposed to be outraged or sympathetic to George Weasley’s statement that the house elves are happy (GoF, pg 211)?  A related point: Hermione says that the house elves have been brainwashed into accepting their jobs.  Should we agree with her?  Do we see the means through which the elves are brainwashed?

 

  1. As a corollary to the above two questions, consider the racial politics of the HP series.   Angelina Johnson is black, Lee Jordan has dreadlocks, Cho Chang appears to be of Asian descent, and Parvarti and Padma Patil have Indian-sounding names.  Should anything be deduced from the elision of these characters’ cultural backgrounds?  Or are attitudes toward cultural differences expressed figuratively, through magical metaphors?  That is, Voldemort and his followers prefer ‘purebloods’ to ‘Mudbloods,’ some wizards discriminate against giants, others believe Muggles to be inferior, etc.   If these are magical expressions of cultural prejudices, what do you make of the decisions to represent such tensions through this metaphor?  Is it too evasive or more effective?

 

  1. Do the novels critique or sustain a class system?  Are ‘wizards,’ as Pico Iyer suggests, ‘only regular Muggles who’ve been to the right school?’ Because Hogwarts is available only to those privileged enough to be wizards, is it an elitist school?  Or, because Malfoy’s snobby attitude is not presented sympathetically, are the books really anti-elitism?

 

  1. To a reader intrigued by Snape, Rowling advises, “keep an eye on him’ (Barnes & Noble chat).  So, who is Snape working for, really?  Is he on Dumbledore’s side?  Voldemort’s?  Is he only looking out for himself?  Put another way, is Snape’s behavior motivated by a schoolboy grudge or by allegiance to Voldemort?  Is Snape petty or evil?  What will his role be in the final three novels?

 

  1. Consider the character of Wormtail (aka Peter Pettigrew).  What motivates him?  When Harry is upset that he saved Pettigrew’s life, Dumbledore says, ‘Pettigrew owes his life to you.  You have sent Voldemort a deputy who is in your debt.  When one wizard saves another wizard’s life, it creates a certain bond between them …. And I’m much mistaken if Voldemort wants his servant in the debt of Harry Potter.’ When Harry says he doesn’t want a bond with Pettigrew, Dumbledore replies, ‘The time may come when you will be very glad you saved Pettigrew’s life.’ (POA, pg 311).  Does Pettigrew telling Voldemort that his return to power could be accomplished without Harry Potter (GoF, pgs 13-14) seem motivated by a desire to help Harry or by Pettigrew’s cowardice?  What will his role be in the remaining novels?  Will Pettigrew remain Voldemort’s faithful servant?  Will he help Harry?  Are these questions complicated further by Sirius Black’s suggestion in Chapter 19 of POA that other Death Eaters might turn against Pettigrew?

 

  1. In GoF, Ron remarks, ‘Percy loves rules,’ and he wonders whether his brother would send a family member to Azkaban if it would advance his career (GoF, pg 463).  Reflect on the role of bureaucracy in the novels.  Does his tendency to side with bureaucracy make Percy susceptible to the same sorts of errors made by Cornelius Fudge and Barty Crouch, Sr., errors that ultimately (if unintentionally) help Lord Voldemort?  Might we expect him – albeit unwillingly – to taid Voldemort by following the letter of the law instead of its spirit?  Will he side with Crouch or with his family?

 

  1. Think about the individual’s relationship to the law – Hogwart’s rules, national wizarding laws, international wizarding laws – and then think about those who operate outside of these laws.  Focus in particular on the characters of Sirius Black, Barty Crouch, Ludo Bagman, Arthur Weasley, the Weasley twins, Harry, Ron and Hermione, all of whom either bend the rules or break the law.  Which rules or laws do they break?  Does Rowling see their behavior as justified?  Why or why not?  How does she gauge whether a law or a rule is just or unjust?  When are laws or rules susceptible to challenge?

 

  1. When asked why her central character is male, Rowling replied that, having imagined Harry as the hero, she could not easily change him into Harriet Potter.  She has also said, ‘Hermione is such a good friend . . . that I don’t feel I have shortchanged girls!’ (JKR chat transcript).  However, Donna Harrington-Lueker faults the books for ‘subtle sexism,’ maintaining that ‘none of the girls or women in GoF escapes shrillness, giddiness or fear.’  Hermione is ‘bossy, shrill, exasperating and meddlesome,’ ‘the stereotypical good girl who completes her work ahead of time, chides her friends fro breaking rules and always has her hand up in class.’ Christine Schoefer writes, ‘Girls, when they are not downright silly or unlikeable, are helpers, enablers and instruments.’  Of the professors, Minerva McGonagall is ‘stern,’ overly ‘bound by’ rules, and too emotional in a crisis: Sybill Trelawney is ‘a misty, dreamy, dewy charlatan.’  Do you agree with these analyses?  Do the HP novels uphold stereotypical gender roles?  Why or why not?  What would the books be like if Hermione was the central character instead of Harry?

 

  1. Why has Rowling drawn connections between Voldemort and Harry?  In linking these characters so closely, is she suggesting some kinship between opposites?  Are good and evil bound closely together?  Can you think of other characters in the series who, though they appear to be opposites, are in fact more alike than we initially suspect?

 

  1. Nigel Newton, the chief executive of Bloomsbury Publishing, has predicted the HP books ‘will still be bought for children in 100 years’ time.”  (Prynn).  Is he merely promoting his company’s interests?  Will the Potter novels be classics?   What do they share in common with other classics?  In your answer, decide how you’ll define the word ‘classic.’  Does it denote ‘classic literature for children,’ ‘classic fantasy,’ ‘classic British literature’?  Something else?  In defining the term, choose some points of comparison.  If you think they are classics, are we to compare the novels with works by Lewis Carroll?  C.S. Lewis?  Charles Dickens?  If not, what would be your point of comparison?  Enid Blyton?  Against what other works are we to measure the HP series?  What are the criteria of a classic?

 

  1. Look for clues.  As illustrated by Sirius Black’s motorbike (mentioned in the first chapter of the first book), Rowling often leaves hints in her novels, looking ahead to future plot developments.  Identify those hints she’s already developed, and see if you can spot ones that will be addressed in future novels.