CHAPDISC: DH35, KING'S CROSS

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 185124

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

Pippin:
No idea, but it's obvious that you have...so tell!

> 
> 2.    Is the action in this chapter happens in Harry's head or some 
> other place?                      Explain why or why not.

Pippin:
I think it's both, and I like that it's ambiguous. You can see
Dumbledore as Harry's superego and the baby as his id, or you can view
it more literally as an afterlife experience. 

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

Pippin:
I think, based on the 'treasure in heaven' quote, that in the books
you take into the next world only those parts of yourself that you
cherished in this one. So wherever he is, I think Dumbledore has 
books, and family, and great minds to consult with and young minds to
inspire, and warm socks :) He is still struggling with pride, but he
doesn't have the desire for power or ambition that became a burden to
him. 

However, JKR shows us that power and ambition are not all bad. Without
them one may lose the desire to do evil, but Dumbledore has also lost
the desire to help, and Harry loses it as the chapter goes on,
realizing he can get it back only by returning to life. 

> 
> 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.

Pippin:
I was pretty sure he was going to live when he decided to go back. It
wouldn't have made much sense to have him decide to live and then die
anyway. 
> 

> 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.

Pippin:
Yes, I think it shows that Voldemort's idea of power is very narrow
and limited.

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

Pippin:
It was clearly meant to be disturbing, and I thought it made a good
counterpoint to the (superficially) soothing epilogue. I don't know
whether Voldemort's punishment is eternal or not, but I have no
problem with it being beyond the capacity of Harry or Dumbledore to
help him. Like Gandalf, it is no longer their task to put things to
rights. 
 
> 7.	Can somebody explain to me one more time what was 
> Dumbledore's rationale in sending Harry on Hallows Quest?

Pippin:
Dumbledore wanted Harry to have the comfort that the Resurrection
Stone could provide, but he feared that it, like the Mirror of Erised,
had the power to lure people to their deaths. So he made sure that
Harry would learn of its power, but would not be able to possess it
until he had already realized that he must die.

He also needed some backup in case his plans for the Elder Wand
failed, but again, he wanted Harry to understand its dangers before
attempting to possess or use it. 

> 
> 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?

Pippin:
Harry is confirming here that Draco definitely wasn't supposed to
become master of the wand. 

I think that the plan was two-fold. If the Elder Wand was deprived of
its power, it would be like the ruined diary --  no longer
recognizable in any way as what it had been.  It would appear to be a
wand that had worn out with age, like its former master, and no one,
even Ollivander, would think that it was the Elder Wand, whose power
had passed through generations undiminished. Voldemort would conclude
that Gregorovitch and Grindelwald had been mistaken and he would
continue his quest.

If, on the other hand, Dumbledore had miscalculated and the wand
retained its power, he trusted Snape as its new guardian -- one who
could be trusted not to use its powers, and who would have both the
cunning and the skill at occlumency to conceal it from Voldemort. 

This is all a little clearer after reading ToBtB -- honestly, I think
Rowling had most of this figured out, but didn't want it in the books
because she didn't think most readers would be such wand geeks. She
thinks the story's about important stuff, as you mentioned in Question
5. Little did she know...

Pippin