DH reread CH 20
pippin_999
foxmoth at qnet.com
Sat May 23 22:46:12 UTC 2009
No: HPFGUIDX 186721
> Alla:
>
> Well yes, from within the story I do not really disagree with anything wrote here, it is not quite what I meant though. I mean, the fact that if Harry will say Voldemort's name now he will be foolhardy instead of brave, is my point.
>
> I am just trying to figure out how these two moments mesh together in terms of symbolism and to me they really don't, to me they sort of cross each other out.
>
> I thought that initially when Dumbledore was teaching Harry that, it was a moment of heroism, NOT foolhardiness and I thought that it is the moment that author wants her characters to follow, you know?
>
> I was thinking that maybe eventually everybody will say Voldemort's name without fear and that somehow will play up in the moment of victory.
>
> But now what we are having is the fact that unless one is idiot, he should not say the name, you know?
>
> I guess I am wondering why this moment was needed in the first place.
Pippin:
I think the idea is to show the difference between a superstitious fear and a rational precaution, and also the dangerous power of habits and symbols. Saying the name had no magical effect whatever until after the Ministry takeover, and Dumbledore encouraged it as a minor act of defiance against Voldemort. Very few people would actually have the magical strength or the opportunity to battle with Death Eaters, but anyone, even a child, could say the name. But when Voldemort actually had the power to put a trace on people who said it, the fact that only a few people had ever followed Dumbledore's lead in this made them vulnerable, and they needed to stop saying the name.
Being able to say the name did not give Harry any special power, beyond impressing people who were afraid to say it and antagonizing DE's. But Harry had unconsciously started to regard his ability to say it as a kind of talisman, IMO, and it became a habit that he found hard to break.
Pippin
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