The TWT - a peculiar event

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 152043

Pippin:
> > Did the judges make it about winning by awarding Harry points
> > for moral fiber? Only if you think it's about who gets the most
> > points. :)

> a_svirn:
> Most assuredly I do. Points is what any tournament is about.

Geoff:
As I remarked in a recent post, in the case of the Tri-Wizard 
Tournament, points seem to be largely irrelevant.

I have been mulling over the TWT and that fact is one of many 
which seem to add to the overall peculiarity of the contest.

On the question of the binding contract, we know little or nothing 
of its raison d'être; this seems to be lost in the mediaeval mists 
surrounding the first tournaments. However, we cannot just shrug 
off the contract with a casual "Why didn't Dumbledore cancel it?" 
We know of the existence of vows which cannot be reversed or 
cancelled – the Unbreakable Vow for example - so it is possible that, 
for some reason, the tournament is covered by something similar.

Looking at the question of points again, it is not normal for a 
competition which is effectively a knockout contest. where one 
person alone gets the prize at the end, to have aggregated points 
during its currency. Take tennis as an example. At Wimbledon – 
which I choose because I lived within two miles of the grounds 
for 45 years – a player advances by beating an opponent and thus 
goes on to the next round. Obviously points have a bearing within 
the actual match but there is no carry over to affect the next – it is 
a straight win or lose. The same applies to the various football Cup 
knockout championships whereas in the football leagues, points are 
paramount because they determine the team's position in the league 
and also decide on promotion or demotion at the end of a season. 
Again, in something like the football World Cup, there are groups 
which play each other where points are  necessary to determine 
which two teams go forward into the knockout phase. But 
accumulated points count for nothing after that. Hence my curiosity  
as to why the competitors in the TWT /need/ points.

Another oddity, which has been commented on in the past by other 
contributors I believe, is the spectator element. The pupils turn out 
to the side of the lake to see what? They see four contestants jump 
into the lake and disappear under the water. So they chat among 
themselves about the weather and taxes and the standard of Hogwarts 
food until eight people surface at various times from the depths of the 
lake. Exciting stuff


Then for the third task, the four champions disappear into a dark and 
gloomy maze. There is a flurry of excitement when a set of red sparks 
go up. Then, as they expect a champion to appear with the Cup, Harry 
appears with the Cup plus a very dead Cedric in tow. 

The only real task which is a decent spectator sport is the first task 
when the folk in the stands can see the four competitors battling with 
their respective dragons and are able to "ooh" and "aah" at the twists 
and turns of the match.

Just to add to the comments on Harry's perception of danger and 
whether it was justified. We are possibly picking on the safest task to 
analyse if Ron's views about them being safe are accurate. But there is 
obviously an element of danger in the first and third tasks.

We are told that there have been deaths in the past; the interesting 
thing to know would be whether the tasks were different in succeeding 
TWTs. I would imagine that they would be otherwise the competitors in 
the 1994/95 Tournament might have been able to look up information 
about tasks used in the past.

That apart, there could easily have been a serious injury or death in the 
first task if one of the four made an error of judgement in approaching 
their dragon. Harry was cut and Cedric burned on the face.  

In the third task, what would happen if a competitor tried to answer the 
Sphinx and got it wrong? "Answer wrongly, - I attack." (GOF "The Third 
Task" p.546 UK edition). What sort of attack would the Sphinx launch? 
Also, what about the spider? I am reminded of Shelob's lair in LOTR 
whenever I read this section as the spider seems just as malevolent 
and menacing.

No, the TWT is quirky and contains actions which are effectively 
redundant and would get very little TV air time in the 21st century 
real world.