[HPforGrownups] Re: Quidditch as a metaphor for the series

[elfundeb]

No: HPFGUIDX 174780

Carol:
We might look at the other Seekers, too--Krum, who shows up in a cameo
to link Grindelwald with Xenophilius Lovegood (Now there's a pair for
you. Would Grindelwald have worn omelet yellow to a wedding? ;-) ).
Does his earlier act of winning the game on his own terms foreshadow
Harry, or does it have more to do with Dumbledore?

Debbie:
Actually, Krum won the snitch on his own terms, but by doing so guaranteed
that his team would lose.  IMO, the Quidditch World Cup game is a microcosm
of the Harry-Voldy war.  Krum (although he is, in fact, not a DE and is a
decent guy) and the Bulgarians represent Voldemort's side and the Irish side
is Harry's team.  Krum, like Voldemort, loses his faith in his team.  (In DH
ch. 27, after the cup is stolen from Gringotts, Voldemort concludes that he
was foolish to trust his DEs.)  Relying solely on himself, and refusing to
delve into aspects of magic that do not interest him, he wins the Elder Wand
but loses the war.  Harry, OTOH, chooses to trust in the mission he was
given by Dumbledore and does not fall for the false snitch.

Like Harry, the Irish Seeker, Lynch, knows the odds are against him but
never gives up the struggle.  And unlike Voldemort, who steals the Elder
Wand in an attempt for the win, Harry goes after the horcruxes.  Note that
Harry does not destroy a single Horcrux that remains to be found at the
beginning of DH.  His chasers -- Ron, Hermione, Neville -- take care of
three of them, and Crabbe (a bludger if I ever saw one) demolishes another.
Of course, Voldemort destorys the Harrycrux, bringing about his own team's
failure just as Krum's capture of the QWC snitch ensured his team's loss.

The QWC also contains a nice bit of foreshadowing for the graveyard, but you
can read about that here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/48192
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/88055
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/157754

Carol:
And why has JKR
taken the trouble to show us a photo of young Regulus, the Voldie fan
turned hero, as a Seeker?

Debbie:
Regulus was seeking exactly the same thing as Harry -- to destroy
Horcruxes.  Both employ Kreacher in their quest for the locket.  I think the
Quidditch photo was a clue to who Regulus really was.

Carol:
Harry, in contrast, remains a team player, and for most of the game is
captain as well as Seeker. His team, especially Ron, becomes dejected
when he doesn't pull an Oliver Wood and show them a detailed game
plan. (Or maybe Dumbledore is the captain who left them without a
plan.) No one is playing Keeper, blocking Voldemort from his goal of
obtaining the Elder Wand. (Harry has chosen Horcruxes over Hallows.)
They take turns playing Beater, each destroying a Horcrux. (Neville
joins the team to destroy Nagini.) They are also all Chasers,
searching for and retrieving the Horcruxes as a team.

Debbie:
Dumbledore is the Oliver Wood parallel.  Puppetmaster!Dumbledore did have a
detailed game plan, and chose to reveal just enough of that plan to Harry.

Debbie


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