CHAPDISC: HBP 18, Birthday Surprises

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 153510

Debbie:
> QUESTIONS
> 1.  What do you think of Golpalott's Third Law?  Was it included as 
an example of magical principles?  Do you think it will be applied in 
Book 7, either actually or metaphorically?  And is there any 
significance to the name Golpalott, other than its resemblance to 
gulp-a-lot?

Ceridwen:
I think Golpalott's Third Law is intended to show the difficulty of 
N.E.W.T.-level Potions.  It may or may not appear in book 7, but if 
it does, then it will be Hermione who applies it, IMO.

> 2.  Harry and Ron appear incapable of anything in Potions class 
without Hermione's assistance.  They can't even manage to consult 
Advanced Potion Making to figure out what to do (although Harry does 
look in the margins for advice from the Prince).  How did they do so 
well on their Potions OWLs? And is this joke getting old now that the 
Trio are 16?

Ceridwen:
I hadn't even noticed this aspect of it.  Both Harry and Ron got Es 
on their Potions owls, maybe this, along with Galpalott's Third Law, 
is meant to establish why Snape only accepted O students to his 
classes.

> 3.  How do you think Lily acquired her reputation as having 
an "intuitive grasp of potion-making"?

Ceridwen:
Maybe she was good at Potions.  My mother is still a whiz at math, 
even though I barely passed last semester with a D and was glad for 
it.  Just because a parent is good at something doesn't mean the 
child will be.

Also, I think Slughorn has a soft spot for Lily, for her personality 
and her accomplishments in class both.  He may be enhancing her 
abilities because he liked her so well.  He seems that type.

> 4.  Why is it so important to Hermione to outshine Harry in 
Potions?  Is it a need for recognition?  Fear of failure?  Concern 
about Harry's reliance on an unknown author?  Annoyance that Harry is 
taking credit for the Prince's work?  Something else?  And why do you 
think she put her own hair into her potion?

Ceridwen:
I think it's annoyance that Harry is taking credit for the Prince's 
work, coupled with the amount of effort she is expending herself 
without the assistance.  The point was to use Galpalott's Third Law, 
not to use an alternative, which could have been a footnote instead.

The hair was probably a remedy for one of the poisonous ingredients.

> 5.  JKR frequently makes a point of describing the weather when she 
shifts to a new scene or section of narrative; for example, February 
brought "cold dreary wetness."  Do you think JKR is using the weather 
to set a mood here or is it just transition?

Ceridwen:
The changing weather seems to be an aid to transition.  Various times 
of the year are characterized by certain types of weather.

> 6.  Wilkie Twycross tells the students that the restrictions on 
Apparition have been lifted in the Great Hall for the duration of the 
lesson.  If it's that simple, couldn't anyone undo the restriction?  
Why, then, is Draco spending an entire term trying to create an 
entrance through the Vanishing Cabinets?  Shouldn't the DEs have 
tried to undo the restriction long before now?

Ceridwen:
Maybe the restrictions are 'password protected' - only the headmaster 
can undo them?

> 7.  Is the watch Ron received for his coming of age birthday 
significant in any way?

Ceridwen:
I don't know.  It seems like a special present, the sort a young man 
might receive at a coming-of-age, like a special birthday or a 
graduation.  Maybe it's just being used to show that Ron is now a 
man.  Though, it is described in great detail just to be a prop for 
that idea.

> 8.  JKR uses Ron to portray the effects of Love Potions in a very 
humorous way (I thought Ron's deadpan comments about Romilda Vane 
were the most laugh-out-loud funny in the entire book).  Does this 
scene help to envision the effect of Merope's love potion on Tom 
Riddle Sr.?  How do you think Riddle's family and friends reacted to 
lovelorn Tom?  Is JKR lampooning the effect of crushes on us Muggles?

Ceridwen:
I think JKR used all of the ships and near-ships in HBP to lampoon 
crushes.  I do think the love potion in the chocolates echoes the 
love potion Dumbledore supposed to have been hidden in a glass of 
water.  I think TR's family would have reacted in surprise and almost 
horror at his sudden infatuation with Merope, if they knew about it, 
just like Harry reacts to Ron's sudden declaration of love.  Being 
Muggles, they wouldn't have known to suspect a love potion, so they 
were probably tearing their hair out over it.  They were certainly 
unable to counter the effects!

I think the funniest part of this scene is the contrast between Ron's 
fervent 'love' against Harry's growing alarm.  Humor is often used to 
show serious ideas.  Love potions, while not banned, are not exactly 
fluffy-bunny goodness and light.  I think the humor was used to 
underline the seriousness of depriving someone of their will.

> 9.  Why is Ron horrified when Slughorn administers the antidote? Is 
he feeling the disappointment of the crush wearing off, or is he just 
embarrassed at having acted the way he did?  And why does JKR always 
select Ron as a victim of forms of magic with sophomorically humorous 
effects?

Ceridwen:
I think Ron is embarrassed at having acted the way he did.  And, I 
think JKR uses Ron in the humorous effects more because his 
personality lends itself to OTT characterizations.

> 10.  There is so much Slughorn in this chapter it could have been 
named for him.  Slughorn's actions include (i) invoking Lily, (ii) 
reacting badly to Harry's inquiry about horcruxes, (iii) calling 
Ron "Ralph", (iv)opening a bottle of mead intended for Dumbledore, 
and (v) failing to recognize Ron's symptoms or take responsive 
action, even though the bezoar was in his bag. How do these actions 
affect our prior perception of his character?  Is Slughorn a 
sympathetic character despite his faults?  What do you think of his 
ethics?  His potion-making skills?

Ceridwen:
i. Slughorn's invocation of Lily, I think, is meant to get him into 
Harry's good graces: he still wants to 'collect' Harry.  ii. Slughorn 
has already given Dumbledore an altered memory about horcruxes.  This 
has probably brought the subject back to his mind.  Harry asking is 
an echo of TR asking, and given Harry's link to TR/LV, I think this 
is what set Slughorn to sweating.  TR's reason for asking was 
revealed to Slughorn when he died withuot dying at GH.  Now, here is 
Harry, who lived through LV's AK, asking the same thing.  iii. 
Slughorn isn't trying to collect Ron, he isn't impressed with him, so 
he mistakes his name.  It's insulting - I had someone merely misspell 
my name constantly, even after being corrected.  It's a contemptuous 
practice, and shows that the misuser doesn't give a hoot about the 
recipient, in this case, Ron.  iv.  Slughorn has accidentally 
forgotten to give Dumbledore his present (accidentally on purpose?).  
He sees an opportunity to impress Harry, and to have some of the mead 
himself.  v.  Slughorn panicks.  He's apparently good at theory and 
practice, but doesn't operate well under stress.  We saw that with 
his reaction to Harry's questioning him about Horcruxes.  From all of 
this, I think Slughorn is a good Potions maker but no good in an 
emergency; he uses favoritism so heavily that he insults the people 
he does not favor (Molly's reaction to the way he treated Arthur); he 
is agreeable to accidentally keeping something marked for someone 
else as his own.  He is weak, nice, but weak.

> Bonus Question.  Despite the fact that ch. 18 is infused with 
potions, former potions master Snape is barely mentioned.  If Snape 
had still been potions master, how do you think he would he have 
handled Ron's predicament?

Ceridwen:
I think Snape would have stuck a bezoar down Ron's throat.

> Debbie with many thanks to Petra Pan and SSSusan for their comments 
on the summary (and especially for pointing out all my mistakes)

Ceridwen, who didn't notice any mistakes, but who did see some things 
she hadn't considered before.  Thanks, Debbie!