Who Will Die? / 10 Commandments

[Phil Nel]

No: HPFGUIDX 30815

Dear all:

Has anyone named Dumbledore as a candidate in the "Who Will Die?" discussions?
 Several times in _Goblet of Fire_, Harry notices how old Dumbledore is -- 
when Harry's in his office (first time), and later in the novel, too.  If I 
had the book with me, I'd quote a passage.  (I don't: the book's in my 
office.)  At any rate, here's a hypothesis: Dumbledore dies in book 7.  Harry, 
Lupin, Hermione, Ron, Black, et al. all must carry on his legacy.  Remember 
Dumbledore's words in _Chamber of Secrets_ -- which I do happen to have at 
home -- "you will find that I will only truly have left this school when none 
here are loyal to me" (chapter 14, near the end).

Very much enjoyed the 10 Commandments posting -- we just talked about the 
whole Christian issue in class yesterday (I'm teaching _Chamber of Secrets_ in 
my Children's Lit. class).  If anyone's interested in a thoughtful 
conservative Christian's take on this issue, see Kimbra Wilder Gish's "Hunting 
Down Harry Potter: An Exploration of Religious Concerns about Children's 
Literature," _Horn Book_ May-June 2000, pp. 263-71.  In the article, she 
outlines the objections conservative Christians have against the _Potter_ 
novels.  She then counsels conservative Christians to read the books with 
their children.  I am told that _What's a Christian to Do with Harry Potter?_ 
is a good book on the subject (as opposed some other books which we're not 
allowed to name on the list), but I haven't actually read the book myself.

And, finally, Joshua Dyal asks,

>different characters
>give different reasons for the concealment of the wizarding world.
>What do these reasons tell us about these characters?

Interesting question: any takers?

Best regards,

Phil

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Philip Nel
Assistant Professor
Department of English
Denison Hall
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506
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www.ksu.edu/english/nelp/
philnel at ksu.edu