Umbridge; Draco's potion making; Scary teachers

[puduhepa98 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 153168

>Carol
Does the depiction of Umbridge have any
> relevance to educational  trends in the UK or the "dumbing down" of
> education? Surely it's more  than a plot device to get a bureaucrat
> into Hogwarts to thwart the  students' practical training in DADA 
and
> usurp control through her  increasingly invasive decrees.
> 
> Or are we just supposed to hate  her because she's mean to Harry?
> 
Nikkalmati:
I think JKR is expressing her disdain for bureaucracies in general both in  
government and in education.  Fudge and Scrimegeor (sp?) as well as the  Muggle 
Prime Minister are also examples of her dislike of those whose job it is  to 
tell other people what to do <g>. Fudge and Scrimegeor are humorous to  some 
degree, but Umbridge is the face of evil.  She is one step short of  the SS and 
on the downward path.  Self-righteous self-satisfied, closed  minded - don't 
get me started.  Yes, we see these tendencies in education  as it becomes more 
centralized and the power lies in the hands of those who do  not spend time 
in the classroom but the Umbridges will take over everywhere if  we let them.  
I think dear Doris is meant a warning to all of us. JKR  prefers the 
independent thinkers, those who are self-reliant and  tolerant.  
Nikkalmati
 
>bboyminn

>While a muggle-born's 'back home' friends are watching TV  everyday,
going to the movies on the weekend, and constantly tracking  and
discussing Top 40's Pop music and the latest teen heart-throb,  the
muggle-born his or herself is isolated for 10 months at  Hogwarts
completely cut off from all 'Pop' cultural references. In that  degree
of isolation, the local wizard culture dominates because it is  the
only culture that is available.

Nikkalmati:
I just wanted to point out too that a muggle-born student must realize that  
his or her future lies in the WW, unless he or she wants to give up all that  
training and forgo all that power.  The muggle-born has to learn to fit in  
and make WW friends in order to enter a profession and make a go of it in the  
WW.  That would mean giving up some muggle ways.JMO
Nikkalmati
 
<
>Carol:
>Maybe. But the evidence in the books is canon-canon, so  to speak. It's
there on the page. Ten kids each from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff,  and
Slytherin per the number of brooms, cauldrons, earmuffs, etc.  (Lupin's
DADA class in CoS, which consists only of Gryffindors, also seems  to
have only ten students, based on the number of Boggarts described.)
 
Nikkalmati:
The numbers here are suggestive, but it could visualize the Gryffindors  etc. 
being separated into more that one section for various classes, there being  
more dormitory rooms than we see and more students than we know, but the real  
indication for me that there cannot be 600 students is the lack of  faculty.  
A teacher can only teach so many classes and we are never given  any hint 
that there are faculty members that we don't know.
Nikkalmati
>
> Alla : 
> No, I did not think that Draco was just scaring other  students. I 
> mean, think about it, if Marchbanks is indeed in Malfoys  pocket , 
> would she mention it to her friend?
<snip> 
>  Neville does not say that it does not happen, he just says that she
>  never mentions Malfoys.
<snip> 
> So, I am NOT saying that  Marchbank is necessarily in Malfoy's 
> pocket, I am just saying that  Neville line does not disprove it to 
> me.

Nikkalmati
I agree with Carol that Marchbanks is not presented as easily  corruptible.  
Nevertheless, Neville does not say that Marchbanks would  confide to his Gran 
that she was accepting bribes; he merely states that as far  as he knows, she 
hardly knows the Malfoys - the exact opposite of what Draco is  implying here.
Could Draco be showing off and got caught by someone with even  better 
antecedents?<g>
Nikkalmati


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]