Othering and Bullying in Chamber of Secrets; News and Commentary; a strange E-Owl

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I’ve just finished listening to Chamber of Secrets again. On the whole, I’ve found that I agree with the Eating Words blog – this book is much more enjoyable in light of Half-Blood Prince. In fact, I think Philosopher’s Stone is now my least favorite, and Chamber has moved up a notch. Here are a collection of plotpoints and possible plot holes [Update: I’m never doing a “plot holes” post again unless I actually think before writing. ] :

Plotpoints:

• Scarcrux?: This book contains enough to keep the “scar as horcrux” theory alive in my mind, even if I’m overall inclined against it. The reference to Riddle’s name on the diary as an old friend from childhood, all the discussion regarding the scar in the book in light of the fact that we now know what the diary was, the comment made by Dumbledore that Voldemort put a little of himself in Harry…it’s all pretty heavy stuff. I’m still not sold on scarcrux, primarily for Dumbledore reasons (he would have told Harry…), but I’m not entirely ruling it out, either. See Felicity’s thoughts contra scarcrux in the comments.
• Legilimency: What we now know about Legilimency sheds new light on a re-read of the books. When Dumbledore asked Harry if there was anything he wished to tell him, was he performing Legilimency as Harry’s mind filed through things he didn’t want to tell Dumbledore? I’m inclined against it, since I don’t think Dumbledore is the kind to invade minds like that unless he absolutely has to. But Legilimency does put a spin on things, doesn’t it?
• Head of Hogwarts?: I think this book contributes to answering the question, “Will McGonagall be Headmistress in the final book?” In light of CoS, I’m inclined to say, “no.” When Dumbledore was suspended, Draco (I think) talked about how McGonagall was only serving temporarily, and that if Dumbledore didn’t return, they’d find someone else. Of course, that could just be Draco arrogantly assuming things. And McGonagall is Deputy Headmistress.
• McGonagall’s Big Mistake: One hopes if she is headmistress in Book 7 that she doesn’t make the kind of blunder she made in CoS. When the mandrakes were almost ready, she made an announcement to the entire school that the petrified students would be awake later that evening, and one might be able to identify the attacker. This is a silly thing to say to a group of students, among which the attacker might be! Certainly it was McGonagall’s announcement (and Ginny’s subsequent writing about it in her diary) that caused Riddle to act that very day.

Plot holes:

Just for the record, I’m not noting the plot holes to poke at Rowling’s writing. She’s a genius. But Lewis was a genius and had his own plot holes as well. And writing a series this detailed is bound to have its mistakes. She’s still put together a brilliant story.  In some of these cases, I may just be missing something that you can correct, and please do so in the comments.  Update: Good insights in the comments have resolved a few of these questions quite well.

• Why no lie?: Why didn’t Harry lie to Dobby when he demanded that he say he wouldn’t return to Hogwarts? Harry has had no trouble lying before. Perhaps this isn’t a plot hole – just a bad judgment on Harry’s part. See Johnny’s comments below on why Harry didn’t lie.
• No Lunch for Snake?: The petrification of the students seems like a rather gaping plot hole to me. If the basilisk’s job was to kill the students, and the basilisk claimed to be “so hungry for so long,” why did it not eat the students after petrifying them? Did it just say, “Dang it! It’s only petrified! Well, better go back to my lair”? Anyone got a good explanation for this one? Resolved in the comments!
• Aragog’s Knowledge: If Aragog was hatched and grew under young Hagrid’s care, how would he have known not only to be afraid of the basilisk, but that acrumantulas do not speak of it at all, preventing him from telling Hagrid the identity of the monster? The parallel here between the Acromantula-Basilisk fear and the Wizard-Voldemort fear was even made by Rowling in the book, yet Harry did not know to be afraid of Voldemort’s name. That seems to be an overlooked point on Rowling’s part. Resolved in the comments!
• Tell McGonagall!: I think the point that most irritated me this time ’round was Harry and Ron’s change of plans about telling McGonagall the location of the chamber. They were all set to tell her, and then they overheard that Ginny had been taken. At that point, most of us would have felt a greater urge to tell someone, to get something done as quickly as possible. Instead, they spend the entire afternoon sulking in the common room, wondering what to do. They finally settle on telling Lockhart, whom they both believe to be a fraud anyway. Makes no sense. It was necessary for Rowling’s plot, but it’s a gaping hole, in my opinion. Some good thoughts in comments. 

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We’re continuing our series where I post my answers to questions posed by my professor here at SoG.

Question: What purpose does Gilderoy Lockhart serve in relationship to Harry — especially when it comes to fame and celebrity?

Gilderoy Lockhart serves as sort of a check, keeping Harry from any possibility of letting his head get too big. It is highly likely that Harry is more popular in the wizarding world than Gilderoy. It’s exceedingly ironic when he explains to Harry that at the age of 12, “I was just as much of a nobody as you are now,” eventually admitting, “a few people have heard of you.” (91)

But Gilderoy’s irritating obsession with himself is J.K. Rowling’s caricature of celebrity (and the cult of celebrity) that is such a part of pop culture. Having such a blatantly egocentric celebrity, who also happens to be a liar about everything he claims to have done, keeps Harry from possibly going down the same path.

Certainly it is easy for an ego, especially a young, developing one like Harry’s, to be drawn very quickly to popularity and publicity. Harry unfortunately becomes quite unpopular as students begin to think he is Slytherin’s heir, but Harry does not lie his way out of it. He stays focused on the task of discovering Slytherin’s heir. He has learned from the appalling example of Gilderoy that popularity isn’t everything. Gilderoy is a pretty face with charm but no character or substance. He has no courage or self- sacrifice, which were so important to Harry’s triumph over Voldemort in Book 1. Without the extreme example of Gilderoy as a self-promoting, self-serving liar who cares only for popularity, the temptation for Harry to greatly struggle with his lack of popularity would have been stronger.

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. New York: Scholastic, Inc. 1999.

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Week 2 of the Harry Potter class I’m taking has begun, and the questions are in. The focus is on Chamber of Secrets. Keep in mind, in answering these questions, I am not allowed to refer to later books. Remember, this question answering series is taking us back to Harry Potter basics. Here is my answer to the first question for this week.

Question: What role does tolerence play in The Chamber of Secrets?

Tolerance is central to the plot as well as many of the subplots of Chamber of Secrets. The key issue of the book is the question of pure-bloods vs. half-bloods and muggle- borns, particularly the intolerance of many pure-bloods for the other groups. We see multiple examples of this issue:

- Lucius Malfoy’s disdain for Arthur Weasley, whom he believes has disgraced the name of wizard, being a pureblood who associates with Muggles. (51, 62)
- Draco’s insulting of Hermione, calling her a “Mudblood.” (112)
- “Mudbloods” and other non-purebloods, considered “unworthy to study magic” by Salazar Slytherin, are the victims of the basilisk’s attacks. (150-151)

We also see forms of intolerance in the book’s subplots:

- Myrtle, the victim of the basilisk 50 years ago, was ridiculed in school by her peers. (299)
- The house-elves’ treatment. (178)
- The “Headless Hunt” and the “Deathday Party,” in which Sir Nicholas is ridiculed for being only “nearly” headless. (136)
- Hagrid’s framing was easy for Tom Riddle, because of his status as a half-giant and a “big, blundering” monster-loving oaf. (311-12)

In contrast to all these examples of intolerance, we have the tolerance of Dumbledore, who believes Hagrid’s innocence. (312) We have Hagrid, who is there for Hermione when she is insulted by Draco. (116) We also see glimpses of tolerance in Harry. He is willing to attend Nearly Headless Nick’s Deathday Party, even though he would rather be at the Halloween dinner. (130) He helps Dobby get free from slavery to the Malfoys. (338)

All of this surrounding the issue of tolerance in Chamber of Secrets sets up another one of the key themes to the series: Prejudice. We will see many of these subplots develop in the coming books as illustrations of prejudice. Dobby’s statement that Harry’s victory over Voldemort produced “a new dawn” for his kind, which was in slavery, is foreshadowing to what we’ll learn from Dumbledore about prejudice in the wizarding world in the future books. (178)

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. New York: Scholastic, Inc. 1999.

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As I’m continuing to slowly work through the Harry Potter series, I’m looking for horcrux clues. I think I’ve stumbled upon another one that supports the scar theory. In Chamber of Secrets, we encounter the first object that we know for sure is a horcrux: The Riddle Diary.

Prior to the discovery of the diary, we have already learned that Harry can speak Parseltongue, just like Voldemort, and the Sorting Hat has affirmed that he would have done well in Slytherin. Though Ron insists the diary contains nothing of value, since nothing is written in it, Harry seems to think differently:

Harry couldn’t explain, even to himself, why he didn’t just throw Riddle’s diary away. The fact was that even though he knew the diary was blank, he kept absentmindedly picking it up and turning the pages, as though it were a story he wanted to finish. And while Harry was sure he had never heard the name T.M. Riddle before, it still seemed to mean something to him, almost as though Riddle was a friend he’d had when he was very small, and had half-forgotten. But this was absurd. He’d never had friends before Hogwarts, Dudley had made sure of that. (Chamber of Secrets, 233-34, bold emphasis mine)

The bolded words are the important ones. Why would Harry feel this connection with the Voldemort horcrux, as though it were an old friend of his? We know that Rowling likes irony, and these seemingly throw-away lines often hold important clues. When she puts phrases like, “But this was absurd” into Harry’s thoughts, it often means, “In reality, this is not absurd, Harry just thinks it is.”

I submit that this is more evidence for the scar-as-horcrux theory. How would Harry have this connection with Voldemort, as though he were a childhood friend? Part of Voldemort’s soul has always been with him. Especially in the presence of another horcrux, Harry has this funny feeling that he’s unable to explain and dismisses as “absurd.” I think it’s an important clue.

Quick review so far on support, whether directly or indirectly, for the scar-as-horcrux theory, chronologically (through the books): In Philosopher’s Stone, we have Harry’s dream. In Chamber of Secrets, we have parseltongue, the Sorting Hat’s affirmation of his potential for success in Slytherin, and Harry’s interaction with the Riddle diary. Of course we still have that famous quote by Dumbledore in the last part of Chamber, which I’ll blog about when I get there.

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