CHAPDISC: DH13, The Muggle-born Registration Commission

[doddiemoemoe]

No: HPFGUIDX 181324

Thanks Lizzyben for the summary and excellent questions.

Questions for discussion:
 
 1. What do you think of the Trio's plan to infiltrate the Ministry?
 Was it well-planned, or could they have approached things a 
different way?

DD:
I think it was well planned, but I also wondered why they didn't 
utilize Kreacher to either 1. Kidnap D.Umberidge Dung style or 2. 
Discover where she lived so they could ambush her at her home.(I 
wonder how many cats she has?)
 
 2. Numerous characters mention that Yaxley's office has been jinxed
to create a downpour. Could this be a sign of low-level sabotage
against Death Eaters within the Ministry?

DD:
I think it was a sign of low-level sabotage. I remember in OOP 
Arthur made a statement of when the folks who bewitched the magical 
windows threatened to strike and made cloudy/stormy days in all the 
windows. I also wonder if Cattermole had done this to prevent/delay 
Yaxley from being at his wife's hearing. 
 
 3. Harry impersonates Albert Runcorn, a character whom we never
 actually meet. Based on other character's reactions to him, what 
kind of person do you believe Runcorn is? Do you believe he is a 
Death Eater?

DD:
I don't believe he is a Death Eater, Harry makes no mention of a 
dark mark on his arm.  I believe he's an opportunist and an 
intimidator and the current regime appeals to his darker nature.
 
 4. Ron impersonates a Ministry official with a Muggle-born wife,
Hermione a woman who assists Umbridge in the interrogation of Muggle-
borns, and Harry a high-ranking Ministry official. Is there any 
thematic or character significance to the identities that they take 
on?

I think there is some significance in that this experience probably 
had a profound effect on their career decisions.
This experience also gave them (Ron and Hermione in particular) a 
clear view of how Voldemort's regime affected the WW at large in a 
deeply personal way.
It was nice to see Hermione "hold it together" in an extremely 
stressful, unplanned situation; it was also nice to see Ron 
extremely worried and concerned about the life and loved ones of the 
employee he was impersonating.(Bless the twins for buying him that 
slef-help book and bless Ron for applying said lessons outside the 
realm of Hermione! LOL)
 
 5. How in the world did Dolores Umbridge get Moody's eye?
 
Probably from the Selwyn DE whom she claims to be a relation to. I 
didn't think D.Umbridge could sink any lower that she already had in 
OOP but she did--it disgusts me that she could put a part of a a 
dead person on her door. *retch*

 6. Harry takes a number of impulsive actions in this chapter: taking
 Moody's eye, stupefying Umbridge, and helping the group of Muggle-
 borns to escape. These actions create both negative consequences
 (tipping off the Ministry), and also positive consequences (freeing
 the Muggle-born wizards). Do you believe that Harry's actions were
 rash, or were his actions justified?

Harry's actions were utterly rash and completely justifiable. I 
think his actions made a massive impact on the wizarding community 
at large.  We learn later in the book that muggle borns aren't 
coming to the MOM voluntarily anymore--hence the snatchers. It 
probably also influenced a great deal many DA members into action at 
Hogwarts to boot. If all had gone according to plan, they would have 
slipped in and out of the ministry quietly no one would have known 
what they would have done. I believed they saved more muggle-borns 
than those that happened to be at the Minstry that day.  I also 
believe that both the MOM and the Gringotts missions had a profound 
impact upon who showed up at the final battle. 

I always wonder if Arthur ever caught on who was who in the elevator 
that day.

 7. The Ministry is producing propaganda pamphlets against Muggle-
 borns, registering all wizards with Muggle-born blood, interrogating
 Muggle-born wizards, and imprisoning Muggle-borns in Azkaban. Do you
 believe that this is meant to be an analogy to the treatment of Jews
 in Nazi Germany? Or is it a general analogy to bigotry and prejudice
 against minority groups?

I believe it is an Analogy to the Nazi treatment of Jews. 
The "stolen magic" is quite akin to some of the "stolen wealth" the 
Nazi's accused the Jews of doing. Also it is a general analogy how 
often in any country in the world do we hear, "All these imigrants 
are taking our jobs, stealing money from us, taking from us what is 
rightfully ours etc..."
 
 8. Umbridge accuses Mrs. Cattermole of taking another wizard's wand,
 and the Ministry propaganda accuses Muggle-borns of "stealing" magic
 from pure-blood wizards. What does this mean? Does the Ministry
 believe that Muggle-borns are literally stealing wands; or that
 Muggle-borns steal magic by their very existence in the wizarding
 world? How could this propaganda succeed when all wizards had seen
 Muggle-born wizards perform magic on their own at Hogwarts? Do you
 believe that the Ministry propaganda has convinced the wizards, or
 are they simply too intimidated to contradict the Ministry?
 
If you consider magic as a type of wealth...I suppose the Moldy-
Voldy regieme is saying that if the muggle borns cannot and do not 
use magic then there would be more magic available for them--not to 
mention a store of wands. This would also tip the balance of power 
towards Voldemort, and removes wands from a great deal of those in 
opposition to Voldemort. Nazi's took/stole/requisitioned a great 
deal of wealth from the Jews in Nazi Germany it was one of the first 
things they did. Voldemort takes their wands..their magic under the 
proclamation that their magic isn't truly their own. Magic is 
something only those of pureblood can weild effectively. (Disgusting 
isn't it?)

 9. In this chapter, the Ministry's "courtrooms" are used to 
terrorize and intimidate the powerless. What is the novel's view of 
the legal system? What does JKR seem to be saying about law versus 
instinct as a basis for morality?
 
I always thought that JKR made it a point that the political powers 
that be utilize the legal system for their own means rather than to 
enforce the law and maintain order in society--laws can be changed 
to suit the political powers that be, and enforced only 
selectively.   This is why politics never interested Voldemort 
beyond utilizing the legal sytem to make all his plans lawful.

Thanks again Lizzy!