CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Chapter 21, The Eye of the Snake

[elfundeb2]

No: HPFGUIDX 102965

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Dicentra spectabilis" 
<dicentra at x> wrote:

> 1. How is the following passage emblematic of the relationship 
between
> Ron and the twins?
> 
> 'Oi!' bellowed Ron, finally losing patience and sticking his head 
out
> of the window, 'I am a prefect and if one more snowball hits this
> window -- OUCH!'
> 
> He withdrew his head sharply, his face covered in snow.
> 
> 'It's Fred & George,' he said bitterly, slamming the window behind
> him. 'Gits ...'

I've said this before, but I think Ron's entire outlook on life has 
been shaped by the dynamic between the twins and Percy.  

Fred and George operate outside the rulebook.  They always have, and 
they have gotten away with it.  And if Ron attempts to assert his 
authority over them, he will be ridiculed as a Percy clone.  (In 
fact, they started the moment he got the badge.)  I think Ron's 
entire outlook on life has been shaped by his fear of the wrath of 
Fred and George; in fact, I think his fear of spiders really 
reflects his fear of the twins.  Ron is not unobservant and the 
effect of the twins' teasing on Percy cannot have gone unnoticed; 
moreover, Ron is more like Percy than he's willing to own up to, and 
he's adopted a mode of behavior where he won't have to deal with 
them.  That's why he studiously ignores all of their misbehavior.

Here's a link to an earlier, pre-OOP post on this subject:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/38730

I think OOP's development of Ron was quite consistent with this 
analysis.  It took an act of recognition from Dumbledore in making 
him prefect or else he would never have tried out for the Quidditch 
team.  And I suspect that Dumbledore never expected that Ron would 
stand up to the twins (just as Dumbledore gave Hagrid a chance by 
giving him a teaching job, knowing he would probably fall flat on 
his face).


> 3. If Harry saw Cedric die, why didn't he see the Thestrals at the 
end
> of GoF? 

Good question!  Sorry, I had to interject, because I think JKR's 
answer is a very unsatisfactory attempt to escape from a box she put 
herself into.  A full year after she gave her answer, it still 
screams "Flint!" to me.

> 5. Why might Ron have forgotten to tell Harry that he was invited 
to
> The Burrow for Christmas?  Why does Hermione roll her eyes?

Because Hermione is fairly well obsessed with Harry's well-being, 
and it astounds her that Ron would forget such an important 
request.  Ron, on the other hand, undoubtedly saw the invitation as 
so normal and expected that he forgot to mention it.  That roll of 
Hermione's eyes was undoubtedly accompanied by an unspoken "Boys!"
 
> 6. Is it significant that Luna points out the mistletoe to Harry?

I had to run back to the books to reread this bit.  I honestly don't 
think she had Harry in mind.  In my mind, since Luna's interest in 
mistletoe is so different from Cho's, it appears to have been 
inserted to set up Cho's later attack.  Cho's ignorance about 
Nargles also emphasizes how eccentric Luna is even in her own 
house.  

> 7. Cho turns on the waterworks and the Cedric-talk as a way to 
bust a
> move on Harry. What in sam hill is she thinking? Does Hermione 
explain
> it correctly?

Hermione seems very much in mother mode.  And I don't think it 
matters whether she was right (though she probably was), as the 
objective appears to have been to make sure Harry doesn't feel that 
the waterworks parade wasn't his fault.

And, though you didn't ask, Hermione's also right in telling Ron 
he's exhibiting the emotional range of a teaspoon.


> 9. Why is Harry so sure he wasn't just dreaming about the snake? 
Why
> does McGonagall so readily believe him?
> 
> 10. How can we readers tell that the snake vision is not just a 
dream?
> 
Harry's dreams are primarily visual and aural.  Here, JKR adds other 
senses to tell us that this is no dream.  Harry can taste Arthur's 
scent.  He feels the chill of the stone floor as he glides along it, 
and feels Arthur's ribs splinter beneath his jaw.  He feels the warm 
gush of blood.

I'm not certain whether McGonagall believed Arthur was injured, but 
she believed Harry saw what he saw, which was reason enough to 
summon Dumbledore.


Debbie