CHAPDISC: DH32, The Elder Wand

[jkoney65]

No: HPFGUIDX 184763

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Zara" <zgirnius at ...> wrote:
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> Questions:
> 1) What is with ending chapters with the dramatic deaths of 
> characters, including, of course, descriptions of their eyes? (I 
> refer the reader to Dobby's sightless orbs staring unseeingly up at 
> the starry sky *sob*, Fred's eyes that stare without seeing, and 
> Snape's eyes, from which "something" vanishes as he dies.) Feel 
free 
> to comment on similarities and differences between these three 
> character deaths witnessed by Harry.

I just thought the deaths were a good place to end the chapter. The 
description of the eyes was just to let us know for sure that they 
were dead.


> 
> 2) Speaking of this something, what are we to make of it? These 
same 
> eyes have been elsewhere described thusly: "They were cold and 
empty 
> and made you think of dark tunnels". (Empty things have *nothing* 
in 
> them.)

"cold and empty" describes death. A dead body is cold to the touch 
and empty of life.


> 
> 3) What was your reaction to Snape's death on your first reading of 
> it? Did the following chapter change your view? Does it affect you 
> differently on rereading?
> 

I was elated that he was dead. While an interesting character, he was 
not someone I could like or admire. So I was glad he was gone. After 
reading the next chapter, I realized how lucky he was. Without 
Harry's compassion, he would have completely failed in the mission he 
was supposed to carry out.

Harry checking on Snape is still the most unbelievable thing to me. 
He had no reason to check on Snape. All he knew was that Snape had 
treated him like crap his entire life and the last time he saw him 
before this day was when he killed Dumbledore right in front of him. 
So from Harry's perspective I don't know why he did.



> 4) Voldemort compares Lucius and Snape. What meaning, if any, do 
you 
> ascribe to this?

I though he was just insulting Snape. Lucius was a"fallen" follower. 
Any comparison was not supposed to be good.


> 
> 5) Will Zara ask a question that is NOT about Snape? Erm, right, 
yes, 
> well
Personally, I prefer the battle scenes in this chapter to the 
> ones in the previous one, even though the last chapter was named 
> after the battle. Which is your favorite scene of the first part of 
> the battle (feel free to name one from the previous chapter!)? Why?

I wasn't impressed with any of the battle scenes. I appreciated the 
humor, but it detracted from the storyline we were following. Which 
was Harry.


> 
> 5) What was Draco doing on the upper landing of the marble 
staircase, 
> to need rescuing from a Death Eater, in your opinion? What do you 
> suppose happened to Goyle?

I assume Draco was trying to get out of the castle and back to his 
parents to report what he had done and seen. I would expect that 
Goyle was fighting on Voldemort's side.


> 
> 6) The Death Eaters brought a giant to the battle, and Grawp fought 
> him to defend the school. As payoff for Hagrid's back-story, Mme. 
> Maxime, "Hagrid's Tale", and the Grawp subplot in OotP, was this 
> sufficient for you? Why or why not?

The story line was unsatisfying, but I think it was only there to 
maintain the fantasy aspect. You expect to see giants, elves, magical 
creatures, etc. in this setting. I think it was more of window 
dressing than anything else.


> 
> 7) The Slytherin hourglass broke as Harry ran down the stairs into 
> the Entrance Hall, just as the Gryffindor one had in the fighting 
at 
> the end of HBP. Did you ascribe any particular meaning to this bit 
of 
> trivia on your first read? Do you now?

I didn't give it any meaning the first time through. Now, if we look 
for some symbolism, I suppose it would be the death's of the 
headmasters of the school at the time.


> 
> 8) What was your reaction to Hagrid's defense of the giant spiders 
> and its results?

I didn't like that I didn't know what he meant. Was he protecting the 
spiders or the students. 

> 
> 9) How cool was it that Hermione defended Lavender from Greyback? 
> (Or, why was it not cool?) Why do you suppose Rowling chose 
Trelawney 
> as the person to finish him off?

I thought JKR was just trying to show that Hermione held no hard 
feelings towards Lavender.


> 
> 10) Luna, Ernie, and Seamus's Patronuses are revealed to be, 
> respectively, a hare, a boar, and a fox. Do they suit your ideas of 
> these characters? Why or why not?

I never gave them a second thought.


> 
> 11) Hermione tells Ron "Are you a wizard, or what?" when he regrets 
> Crookshanks cannot open the Willow for them. This echoes the moment 
> in PS/SS when Ron said the same to Hermione as she worried 
> frantically that she has no matches. What does this serve, in your 
> view? Do you see other mirrors in this chapter?

Again I think she was just trying to tie things together as best she 
could.

> 
> 12) Please excuse the length of these last. They concern 
> the "official" subject of this chapter as expressed by the title. I 
> begin with some quotes from the text and an observation.
> 
> "Why doesn't it work for me, Severus?" <snip>
> "I do not understand. You – you have performed extraordinary magic 
> with that wand."
> 
> This seems to me to establish the fact that Snape is aware 
Voldemort 
> has acquired a new wand, and has been for some time.  If you 
> disagree, part a) of the question can be explaining to me why I am 
> wrong. <g> What, if anything, does Snape's choice of the 
> words "extraordinary magic" suggest to you? Would you expect Snape 
> recognized the new wand as the one Dumbledore has had throughout 
> Snape's entire life?

While I am not a Snape fan, I do believe he had some intelligence. I 
have no doubt he recognized Dumbledore's wand. This would be like 
some guy not remembering that their teacher/collegue drove a '68 
Mustang everyday. It's not something that someone with interest in 
the subject (like magic) would ever forget. Add to it that it was 
Dumbledore's wand, the most famous wizard of the era and I don't see 
how he could not recognize it.


> 
> 13) Do you think the acquisition of this new wand might be a matter 
> Severus would have mentioned to Albus? Why or why not, and what do 
> you suppose Albus would have said back, if yes? 

I think he would have mentioned it. Even if we ignore the grave 
desicraton this is too big to ignore. Snape would be wondering why 
Voldemort took his wand and why it mattered. He knew that Voldemort 
had already tried Lucius' wand and now he had Dumbledores.


> 
> 14) How do you feel about not knowing the answers to these 
questions 
> about two major characters and the magical artifact that settled 
the 
> central conflict of the series?

Not knowing didn't bother me at all because I didn't think there 
knowing or not was relevent to the story.
>