CHAPTER DISCUSSION: COS 14, Cornelius Fudge

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 189186


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> 1.	I am pretty sure JKR was going for comic effect with the Mandrakes, but when I was rereading this chapter I found myself strangely disturbed by imagining young wizards and witches cutting the parts of the beings that seem so humanlike in their behavior. What part of the Mandrakes is being used in the potion? Are they going to be really and most sincerely dead before or during the process?
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Pippin:
Most comedy is disturbing on some level. Presumably despite their mimicry of human beings, the mandrakes are plants with no central nervous system or self-awareness and can't actually think for themselves. I realize that's a dangerous assumption in the wizarding world. Still, I think if you cut a mandrake open you'd just find something like a potato, not flesh and blood. If JKR was going for an effect besides broad comedy, I think it's to point up how category-dependent our thinking is.  It's  just plants, so it's okay. 

But potion-making does require parts of other animals which are presumably raised and killed for the purpose. 

> 2.	"Travels with Trolls" is one of the items Harry finds on his bed after the villain who stole the diary went through his trunk. What was the reason for Lockhart to assign it as one of the books for class, what did you think he was hoping students will learn from that book? 

Pippin:
I suppose, having required that everyone buy his books, he felt he had better assign some homework from them. I don't think Lockhart was interested in teaching anything except how great he was. 


> 3.	What was your first impression of Cornelius Fudge?

Pippin:
It was hard to take him seriously in his lime green hat. 

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> 4.	 I know it will come as no surprise to anybody but I found myself if not sympathizing with Lucius Malfoy (his tone showed to me that he had little if any concerns about the plight of Muggleborns), but at least definitely cheering him on and hoping in vain that somebody in the later books had guts to act decisively and throw Dumbledore out of school for good. Did you think that Board of Governors provided effective checks and balances to Dumbledore's powers?

Pippin:
I thought the Board of Governors just took care of the business end of running the school. I didn't think it was supposed to function in an adversarial role. Presumably they hired Dumbledore because they agreed with his educational philosophy or, in Malfoy's case, pretended to. Parents who don't agree can send their children elsewhere or pressure the Ministry. 

I can see where someone might agree with Malfoy  that only the worthiest should be protected while disagreeing violently on who the worthiest are. But JKR is engaged, IMO, in showing the flaw in that philosophy. 

We all know Harry never makes any real Slytherin friends. But what I just noticed is that the Muggleborns are the counterweight to the Slyths. Harry never makes any real Muggleborn enemies. He doesn't hate Hermione, no matter what she does, even when he thinks that she's gotten his best friend's pet killed or ratted him out to McGonagall. The worst he can think of to do in seven books is have Hedwig peck her for not writing. 

But it's not just her. Even when Justin is spreading ugly rumors about him, Harry doesn't fight back, though everyone thinks he has reason to.

My guess is Harry identifies with Muggleborns so deeply, sympathizes with them so much, that hating one of them would be like hating himself. Now obviously this is completely subjective on his part. I mean, even Hermione's biggest fans would not think she is so lovely that no one could possibly hate her ever. And it's not a conscious decision of Harry's. Harry doesn't have to bite back on his hatred  or argue it away. It's just not there. 

And that's JKR's point, IMO. Our judgements about who is worthy are so subjective, so influenced by unconscious factors, that, just like the Founders,  we as a society are never going to agree on who the worthiest are.  That is why Dumbledore, instead of protecting the worthy as Malfoy would have him do, protects those who can least protect themselves.



> 5.	If you remember your first reaction, did you believe that Hagrid was guilty?

Pippin:
I didn't think he had deliberately set the monster on students. But I thought he might be in denial about what it was doing when he wasn't around. 
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> 6.	 What did you think about Hermione being a victim? Was it a clue for you that  the monster target Muggleborns? Was Hermione rash in her actions and put herself at risk? Did readers worry how Ron and Harry would manage without her? Why do we think Rowling wanted them to manage without her?

Pippin:
I think I was surprised that a main character was out of the action for so long. But I think JKR wanted to show us the Ron/Harry dynamic -- and of course she wanted to preserve the mystery, which is hard when you have a character who is so good at figuring things out. 
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> 7.	Who did you think stole the diary from Harry? Was Ginny among the suspects?

Pippin:
I had no idea. 

Pippin