CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Prisoner of Azkaban Chapter 1: Owl Post

[Ka]

No: HPFGUIDX 189383




[snipping the summary]> 

> Questions for Discussion:
> 
> 1) Ron bought Harry a Sneakoscope, Hermione bought him instructions and products for broom care, and Hagrid bought him  the book "Monster Book of Monsters".  What did you think of these gifts? What do they tell us about the senders and their relationships with Harry?

kadede:
I paid the presents little attention the first time I read the story, but upon rereading it found it funny that studious Hermione would send a broom kit, Ron the more practical sneakoscope but above all that it would be Hagrid to send the book – it seemed to me that the presents came from the wrong people.
 
> With his gift of the Sneakoscope, Ron also sends a story about it: how it kept going off and Percy thought it was broken, but Ron knew the Twins were putting beetles in Percy's soup. 
> 
> 2) This story shows us several of the Weasleys interacting. What does it tell us about the actors? What do you like/dislike about the characters in this scene and how they are written?

kadede:
I was under the impression it was Bill that got pranked by the twins.
As one of 8 siblings I can fully understand the dynamics of a large family, including having a pair of twin brothers. It is of course different, there was fortunately no magic in our household (not sure to be disappointed or not LOL) but the teasing and pranking or embarrassing our older siblings was `normal'. For me it brought back memories of our own youth.
We already know the twins as prankers, Bill apparently falling for their prank just shows me he's been gone from daily contact with them for too long to have let his guard down around them.


> 3) This story is also our first clue to the big Scabbers/Peter surprise in the climactic scenes of the novel. What do you think of it in this context?

kadede:
At the time my first thought was how strange it was to have them take the rat with them, pet or not, but that was me thinking like the muggle I am – just try going on holidays with a pet along. Again magic is the answer to all weird things going on.
 
> 4) This chapter includes information relevant to the relationship between the Muggle and Wizard worlds, including Harry's History essay on witch burnings and Ron's ignorance of the proper use of a telephone. What light do these details shed on your understanding of this relationship?

kadede:
We now know there's more to that separation but at the time of first reading these books it seemed perfectly normal to me – it is like looking at a totally unknown tribe in the amazon with their own tools and habits – or even some customs and habits from other civilised people who do things totally different from us – not sure if me being a European has anything to do with that. I mean, we've seen American movies where there's a senior Prom or the hat throwing at graduation ... all things we don't do (at least not in my time – I remember when Valentine's Day  was still just a cold day in February, not the first commercial high-point of the year after the X-mas and New Year's boom). Ron not knowing the phone is the same as Harry not knowing about the floo system – they've never seen it or used it before.
 
> In this as the third book of her series, Rowling devoted time in the first chapter to recapping events an persons of significance.
> 
> 5) What do you think of her choice to do this in PoA and other books of the series? It is appropriate or unnecessary?

kadede:
It seems unnecessary to do so, but how could JK Rowling have ever known she'd land such devoted fans with her stories ... taking into account it was about a year since the last book came out, that would seem like a reasonable amount of time to go over the previous details – like the recap they do when a new season of some or other soap starts up again.
I watched (via PC) the US episodes of Who Do You Think You Are (with Sarah Jessica Parker, Lisa Kudrow and others) where after each break a detailed recap came of the previous 7.5 minutes of `show' – as if the commercial break gives you a memory charm to make you forget all about the show you're watching .... now THERE it is grossly inappropriate

 
> 6) Do you like how she did it? Do you agree on her choice of things to re-introduce? Did you find reading these bits pleasant, annoying, repetitive, etc.?

kadede:
Taking into account I bought the first four books in a boxed set (it was cheaper than buying them separate) I read the books in some 36 hours (pulling an all-nighter with book 4) so yes, it was a bit repetitive.
 
> 7) Why do you think Dumbledore selected Percy to be Head Boy? Do you agree or disagree with this decision? The other Head Boys/Girls identified in canon are Tom Riddle, Bill Weasley, James Potter, and Lily Evans. From this evidence, what do you think is involved in choosing Hogwarts Head Boys/Girls?

kadede:
I didn't pay any attention to his being Head Boy other than the teasing opportunity for the twins, mainly because Harry himself didn't seem at all interested in the concept. Another factor I guess is that it is one of those cultural differences ... I'd heard about it via the Enid Blyton books in my youth and it was just something they had that we didn't.
 
> 8) Please feel free to add your own questions.

kadede's Question (and answer) :
Were you eagerly awaiting the publication of this third book ? Or were you at that time still oblivious about HP and his wonderful wizarding world ?
For me it was around the time of the publication of book 3 in the Dutch version that my sister recommended the series but the introduction fell flat as I did not take to the story at all. It wasn't until just before the publication date for book 5 was announced and while my sister demonstrated the advantages of DVD (and the language-dubbing possibilities) that I heard Alan Rickman/Prof Snape's first class lecture in the original English that I got interested in the story.