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From the category archives:

Albus Dumbledore

A Sluggish Memory

by Travis Prinzi on June 13, 2009

c17-a-sluggish-memory The first few pages of chapter 17 of Half-Blood Prince belong to after-break catching-up. Hermione gets filled in on the Snape/Draco conversation, and Ron begins to show more signs of discontent in his relationship with Lavender.

Fawkes and Loyalty to Dumbledore

The action begins once again in Dumbledore’s office, where one of my favorite Dumbledore/Harry moments takes place: when Harry tells Dumbledore the story of affirming to Scrimgeour that he was “Dumbledore’s man, through and through.” Dumbledore goes speechless and teary, and Fawkes lets out “a low, soft, musical cry.” Fawkes’s song symbolizes loyalty to Dumbledore, which is loyalty to the good.

It’s an interesting moment to observe after our discussion about Lupin’s loyalty to Dumbledore in the last chapter. Whatever else you think about Dumbledore’s actions, this moment does not strike me as manipulative. Dumbledore isn’t working up a tear to take advantage of Harry’s declaration of loyalty. And Fawkes, quite obviously a symbol of goodness in the series, affirms Harry’s loyalty.
[click to continue…]

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Christmas Eve at the Burrow

by Travis Prinzi on June 11, 2009

c16-a-very-frosty-christmas We’re halfway through Half-Blood Prince!

More Snape irony in this chapter: As Harry what he overhears to Ron, he’s convinced he knows that Snape is on Voldemort’s side, because “No one’s that good an actor, not even Snape.” Wrong! Funny that as Harry is being vindicated about Malfoy, he’s completely wrong about Snape.

Dumbledore really becomes a show-stealer on a re-read. [click to continue…]

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Harry, Like Dumbledore

by Travis Prinzi on June 6, 2009

c14-felix-felicis Let the snogging begin! Chapter 14 of Half-Blood Prince centers on the continuing misunderstanding between Ron and Hermione and their frustration with each other. There’s probably a lot to say about that, but I’ll leave it to the pub.

I want to talk about Harry. It turns out we don’t have to wait for the Slughorn memory caper to observe Harry learning from Dumbledore. Harry’s trick with the Felix Felicis is very Dumbledorian. Harry believed he had reason enough to let Hermione believe a lie and make a fool of herself, even if just momentarily, in order to bolster Ron’s confidence and get him playing well. [click to continue…]

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Young Dumbledore and Younger Voldemort

June 5, 2009

I think Dumbledore is as intriguing in this chapter as young Tom Riddle, Jr. is. I’ve written much about our budding sociopath in my book and on this site, so I’ll leave commentary about him to you all in the comments. I want to focus primarily on Dumbledore.
Dumbledore makes an interesting comment prior to jumping [...]

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In the Spidery Broom Shed

May 12, 2009

We’re not yet done with chapter 4 of Half-Blood Prince. Before Dumbledore leaves Harry with the Weasleys, he has a few matters to discuss with him in a “smelly, spidery broom shed.” This is one of those moments which convinces me of my idealistic reading of Dumbledore, though I’m sure Manipulative!Dumbledore advocates have their take [...]

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Dumbledore Visits the Dursleys

May 9, 2009

After two chapters outside of Harry’s perspective, we’re ready to get back inside Harry’s head again. But Rowling doesn’t put us right there. She smoothly transitions us back into Harry’s head. “Harry Potter was snoring.” And while our hero saws logs, we get a bird’s-eye view of newspaper clippings around the room. As always, the [...]

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Fictional Politicians

January 17, 2009

I’m enjoying the Saturday discussion prompts at the My Friend Amy blog, so I thought I’d respond to this week’s as well. The question: Who is your favorite and least favorite fictional politician? I’ll stick with Harry Potter on this. Feel free to answer either from Harry Potter (considering every member of the Ministry is [...]

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Beedle the Bard: Dumbledore’s Commentary

December 5, 2008

This quick-fire series of initial thoughts on Beedle would not be complete without a discussion of Dumbledore’s commentary. The real meat on this will be in John Granger’s promised forthcoming post on Dumbledore’s writing on two levels. Still, I hope to add a little bit of fuel to the conversation here.
Rowling did get a couple [...]

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Beedle the Bard: “The Tale of the Three Brothers”

December 4, 2008

Here’s the great irony of Dumbledore’s commentary on “The Tale of the Three Brothers” – The man who knows the dangers of temptation to power, particularly the temptation of deathlessness, used his authority as a well-respected, even revered, member of the Wizarding community to convince the Wizarding World that the three Deathly Hallows have no [...]

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Beedle the Bard: “Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump”

December 4, 2008

What a fantastic little story! Aside from being a delight to read, there’s some interesting commentary by Dumbledore, who notes that this is the only story of the five that almost completely plays by the rules of real Wizarding World magic.
It’s an interesting observation, because even though the magical world is not, as I’ve argued, [...]

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Sorcerer’s Stone Week, Day 5: The Dumbledore Denouement

September 25, 2008

One of the key moments of each book is the “Dumbledore Denouement” – the final conversation, after the story’s climax, in which Dumbledore and Harry have a little chat about what happened.
Here’s a little assignment for Day 5 of Sorcerer’s Stone Week. With the knowledge of Dumbledore’s backstory in mind, go back and re-read [...]

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Why Joker Succeeds and Voldemort Fails (Part I)

July 17, 2008

by Dave
Since Deathly Hallows release last year, I’ve been perpetually puzzled by Voldemort’s characterization in the last two novels. Half Blood Prince humanizes Voldemort in a way that lends HBP a sophistication most of the earlier novels lack — Voldemort’s backstory both enlightens and befuddles the reader, at once shedding light on his origins [...]

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The Snaped Crusader (#2): The Rise and Fall of Harry’s Nemesis

February 18, 2008

by Dave
A standard literary trope is to set characters against each other, playing one’s personna in relationship to another. Typically, we find the “arch”-nemesis, especially in adventure or heroic stories. The main character is opposed by a primary antagonist, and the juxtaposition of these characters reveals something about one or both to the [...]

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Please, Mrs. Rowling, May We Have Some More? Or Might You Simply Shut It, Altogether?

October 23, 2007

by Dave
Update: Jamie, my wife, has forwarded me a link to an AP news story on Yahoo! The revised reading has begun…
So, we all woke up this weekend with our understanding of our favorite fictional realm…”altered”. I have to admit, my first reaction upon seeing the headline on Yahoo! Saturday morning included [...]

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Hog’s Head PubCast #39: “Dumbledore was Gay”

October 21, 2007

“Dumbledore was gay;” Christian reactions to the statement; maternal and romantic love in the Harry Potter series
You can subscribe to the Hog’s Head PubCast through iTunes.
Pub Menu:

John Granger’s response
Dr. Amy H. Sturgis’s eyewitness report of the night
The initial SoG discussion
My essay: “Dumbledore is Gay: Welcome to the Culture War”
The text of “The Ballad of Nearly [...]

Hog's Head PubCast #39: "Dumbledore is Gay" [38:15m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Dumbledore is Gay: Welcome to the Culture War

October 21, 2007

by Travis
Update: Comments at HogPro by Bob Trexler and Amy Sturgis are well worth your time.
If you’ve not been exposed to the “Culture War” before, welcome. J.K. Rowling has given you your introduction. I am hoping that after reading this post, you’ll run from the Culture War as quickly as I have. By “culture war,” [...]

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Rowling: “Dumbledore was Gay”

October 19, 2007

by Travis
Note: The spam-catcher is stealing a lot of comments in this thread. Matthew and I are trying to stay on top of it, but if your comment does not show up, please let us know, and we’ll find it!
Well, if the bombshell revelation that the Harry Potter books really were about the Christian story [...]

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The Fountain Told a Lie: Dumbledore’s Deconstruction of the Wizarding World

September 21, 2007

by Travis
I promised folks at Prophecy 2007 that I’d get this post up before the end of August. I apologize for the terrible delay. This is the content of my discussion at Prophecy 2007.
At Lumos 2006, and in his book Unlocking Harry Potter, John Granger enumerated the evidence that J.K. Rowling has written [...]

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The Meaning of the Phoenix, Prophecy 2007 Version

August 22, 2007

This essay is also available in audio form in PubCast #33.
From The Epic of Gilgamesh to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the question of death has been explored in the pages of literature, not least in mythological works. There is hardly a more universal human experience than death, and its chilling finality has caused [...]

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Love and Bitterness: Albus’s and Aberforth’s “Got To”

August 14, 2007

When Albus and Aberforth were young lads, despite Albus’s prolific magical talent, Aberforth was the better man. Albus’s heart was not with his family. The death of Ariana rattled everything for both of them.
For Albus, watching his friend cruciate his brother and (probably) kill his sister wrecked him for good. “He was [...]

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Dumbledore Got Younger?

July 31, 2007

Ok, this will be my last post before Prophecy 2007.
Something struck me as I was listening to the audio version of Deathly Hallows: Auntie Muriel, 107 years old, speaks of Dumbledore’s past and the mystery of Kendra’s hiding Ariana as though she were present for the whole thing. Rowling said twice, last time in [...]

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Dumbledore in Deathly Hallows

July 23, 2007

Spoiler Alert!

If you’ve been following this blog over the past year, you probably thought I’d really hate what Rowling did with Dumbledore in Deathly Hallows. I don’t. I hate what I know Fandom is about to do to him, but I’m quite pleased with what we learned in Book 7.
The Dumbledore backstory [...]

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Deathly Hallows: Initial Reactions

July 22, 2007

SPOILER ALERT!
Where does one begin a post like this? There’s so much to say in response to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I’m not even sure what issue to tackle first.
Let’s start simple: I loved the book. There are a few disappointments, perhaps, but on the whole, it’s a tremendous novel, and [...]

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DHW, Day 5: Dumbledore’s Defender

July 19, 2007

After Hog’s Head PubCast #30, Reyhan wrote, “Travis, history will record you as Dumbledoreâ€™s greatest apologist.” I’m not sure any volumes of history will record me at all, but there is a certain truth here: I’ve been “Dumbledore’s Defender,” in a very stubborn and staunch way, since I launched the site.
The primary reason is a [...]

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Hog’s Head PubCast #30

July 8, 2007

Dumbledore as Fabius Maximus; M. Scott Peck; How should we prepare our kids to read Harry Potter?
This is (most likely) the second to last episode before the release of Deathly Hallows! Remember that you can subscribe through iTunes.
Pub Menu:

The Fabian Society
Fabius Maximus
HogPro: Will Harry Go Through the Veil?
SoG post on Fabian Society
SoG Review: [...]

Hog's Head PubCast #30 [29:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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