CHAPDISC: DH35, KING'S CROSS

[montavilla47]

No: HPFGUIDX 185117

Excellent summary, Alla!  Thanks!

> 1.	How many nods to Greek philosophers you can find in this 
> chapter?

Couldn't tell you.  It's all Greek to me. :)
 
> 2.    Is the action in this chapter happens in Harry's head or some 
> other place?               
>         Explain why or why not.

Nitwit.  Oddment.  Tweak.  (What's the other one?)  Anyway, I don't
think it was in Harry's head.  If we can have ghosts, not-exactly 
ghosts, and voices beyond a veil, then there's no reason that
there can't be an actual way station to eternity after-death.  

> 3.    Where do you think Dumbledore spends his days now?

In that train station (although it may not be a train station for him).
I think he didn't turn up in when Harry used the stone because he
--somewhat like Headless Nick--has not been able to move on to
that next great adventure.

> 4.	The theme of the hero given a choice whether to rest or to go 
> back and possibly be hurt more or prevail over the enemy is fairly 
> common in the fantasy genre. When Harry makes his decision to go back 
> did you feel at any time that he is going back to die for real now? 
> Explain why or why not.

Nope.  He's a hero and the heroes seldom die in these stories.  The
only time I remember being faked out (and it was only for about 
five seconds) about a hero dying was when the author spent most of 
the book showing the hero resolutely *trying* to kill himself.

> 5.	"Of house elves and children's tales, of love, loyalty and 
> innocence, Voldemort knows and understands nothing. Nothing. That 
> they all have a power beyond his own, a power beyond the reach of any 
> magic, is a truth he had never grasped". I think that this quote 
> pretty much sums up one of the major themes in the series. Do you 
> agree or disagree? Explain why or why not.

I agree, but an earlier poster explained it much better than I could.

> 6.	List discussed the injured baby under the table extensively 
> in the past, but if you want to please discuss some more here.

Only to say that I found that part extremely distressing.  But I'm 
finding out--slowly, it seems--that other people don't have my
disbelief in eternal punishment.  (I *don't* believe that Sysiphus is
still pushing that rock up the hill.)

> 7.	Can somebody explain to me one more time what was 
> Dumbledore's rationale in sending Harry on Hallows Quest?

Nope.  Maybe Dumbledore thought it would be bad luck if 
Harry were too focused and managed to get rid of the Horcruxes
before the Spring Term drew to an end.  It's the years of 
Headmastering that taught him that you don't want the 
students tearing through the school curriculum too fast.

> 8.	"If you planned your death with Snape, you meant him to end 
> up with  the Elder Wand, didn't you?
> "I admit that was my intention," said Dumbledore, "but it did not 
> work as I    intended, did it?
> "No," said Harry, That bit didn't work out"
> 
> What do you think Harry meant by his question? What do you think 
> Albus' actual plan was?

It's horribly confusing.   According to what Dumbledore says here,
it sounds like he intended Snape to have mastery of the Elder
Wand, which would indeed demonstrate great trust and faith in 
Snape's character.  It would mean that Dumbledore thought Snape
could handle the wand, and it mean rewarding him for his years of 
service by helping Snape to become the great and powerful wizard
Snape longed to be.

And, as a back-up plan, it would have been pretty good, since, if
Harry failed  to destroy all the Horcruxes before getting killed (and
if he wasn't resurrected), Snape would be armed with the best wand
in the world, have access to the Horcrux information through 
Dumbledore, might be able to deduce their locations from his own
knowledge of Voldemort, and thus be in a good position to finish
up the task.

But, if we listen to Harry's words while battling Voldemort, then
the plan was for the power of the Elder Wand to be ended because
Snape wouldn't really have "defeated" Dumbledore.  In which case,
Snape would be rewarded for his years of service with a dead stick.

Gee, thanks.  


> 9.	Why do you think chapter was named "King's cross"?

Well, it's an obvious reference to the train station.  But it's 
also an oblique reference to the Christian cross, and Harry's
role as a Christ-figure in the story.

> 10.	Please add your own question here.

Just a comment:  Although (as I'm sure you're all aware), my 
capacity to be annoyed is limitless, I did like this chapter on the
whole.  I find the baby disturbing and I really don't agree with JKR's
vision of Voldemort, but I like that she put it in there to be disturbing.

And, though I find Dumbledore as annoying as he ever was in any of
the books (the end of OotP comes to mind), I glad that he wasn't nicer
or better.  I don't need everything tied up with neat little ribbons--and
that Dumbledore admitted that Harry was a much better person is a 
very good touch.  Harry was a better person than Dumbledore.  So were
a lot of other people.

Montavilla47

Thanks again for the questions!