by Dave
Part I of this series: Why Joker Succeeds and Voldemort Fails
“Behind the scenes” is a trope of long standing tradition in many forms of literature. In a recent essay on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Terry W. Thompson argues that the violent deaths occur off the page as a direct result of Shelley’s love of classical [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Themes'
Voldemort is a Failed Character (Part II)
August 8th, 2008 · 51 Comments · Deathly Hallows, Good vs. Evil, Hogwarts School of Literature, Severus Snape, Voldemort
Tags:Harry Potter Tragedy·Snape and Voldemort·Voldemort character study·Voldemort Greek Drama
Why Joker Succeeds and Voldemort Fails (Part I)
July 17th, 2008 · 39 Comments · Albus Dumbledore, Deathly Hallows, Fate and Choice, Half-Blood Prince, Hogwarts School of Literature, Severus Snape, Voldemort
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 [...]
Tags:Alan Moore·Batman·failed character·Frank Miller·graphic novel
Another View on Social Justice in Harry Potter
June 30th, 2008 · 34 Comments · Prejudice
by Travis
If you want to read a take on social justice issues in the series that is polar opposite of my own - but is a good read from the other point of view - Mary has a new essay up at her livejournal. Mary finds Rowling terribly lacking in her portrayal of social justice [...]
Tags:social justice
Family and Some Other Things…
April 9th, 2008 · 5 Comments · Death, Fate and Choice, Harry, Voldemort
by Dave
Last Wednesday, I found out my paternal grandfather passed away at the age of 88 at 7:30 that morning. My memories of him are sparse and fuzzy — tied to some history before my parents split. I have an odd affliction with memory; nothing serious mind you, just a strange dividing line [...]
Tags:Death·emotion·love·maturity
The Snaped Crusader (#2): The Rise and Fall of Harry’s Nemesis
February 18th, 2008 · 12 Comments · Albus Dumbledore, Good vs. Evil, Harry, Hogwarts School of Literature, Severus Snape
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 [...]
Tags:comic books·Harry Potter·Severus Snape·Watchmen
The Great Humbug Irony
December 12th, 2007 · 3 Comments · Fate and Choice, Gryffindor Common Room, Hogwarts School of Literature
by Dave
I’ve said before that Victorian Era novels (whether British or American) have always left me cold. It may be a failing on my part, but if you put passages from Thomas Hardy, George Eliot, Henry James, or the Brontes in front of me, I’d have a difficult time distinguishing between them. Dickens [...]
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Q&A: Voldemort’s Afterlife
November 8th, 2007 · 19 Comments · Good vs. Evil, Gryffindor Common Room, Voldemort
by Dave
Travis’s earlier post concerning what we’ve been reading made me think about some purely hypothetical questions. My philosophy major side is creeping out a bit here. I’m not sure of the greater merit of such a question, but I started wondering how an archvillain like Voldemort might find his end in some [...]
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“The Tale of the Three Brothers”
September 27th, 2007 · 12 Comments · Death, Deathly Hallows, Gryffindor Common Room, Hogwarts School of Literature
by Dave
If a reader drops Deathly Hallows on the ground in expectation of the book opening to the literal center of its story, she will more than likely find Chapter 21, “The Tale of the Three Brothers”. Presented as a children’s story of three brothers attempting to cheat Death, Beadle the Bard’s tale narrates [...]
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The Fountain Told a Lie: Dumbledore’s Deconstruction of the Wizarding World
September 21st, 2007 · 20 Comments · Albus Dumbledore, Prejudice
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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Voldemort and the Perversion of the Hero
September 18th, 2007 · 11 Comments · Death, Fate and Choice, Good vs. Evil, Harry, Hogwarts School of Literature, Severus Snape, Voldemort
by Dave]
The heart of the classical Hero type drives towards some sacrifice — either in a quest for glory sometimes doomed from the start, or on the behalf of something judged “the greater good”. Classical epic heroes struggle against their humanity, often goaded by the self realization of their partial divinity. They hope [...]
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Harry’s Christian Cred
September 11th, 2007 · 12 Comments · Defense Against the Harry Haters, Themes
by Dave
Harry’s credibility as a Christian symbol/figure fixed well and good within the Christian tradition marks most of the public discussion of HP in the wake of Deathly Hallows. I’m not nearly as well versed in theology and Christian thinking as Travis or Johnny, but I do teach a lot of Rhetoric/Composition for a [...]
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The Pardoner’s Tale in Deathly Hallows
August 31st, 2007 · 8 Comments · Death, Hogwarts School of Theology
by Johnny
J.K. Rowling’s reference to “the Pardoner’s Tale” as the realworld myth or faerie tale basis for the articles known as the Deathly Hallows is interesting because of the obvious Christian references in Chaucer’s work, The Canterbury Tales. If the Pardoner’s Tale is a morality tale then the idea of JKR tapping into Chaucer implies [...]
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Hog’s Head PubCast #33: The Meaning of the Phoenix
August 22nd, 2007 · 6 Comments · Death, Hogwarts School of Literature, Podcasts, Symbology
The Meaning of the Phoenix: Love’s Victory Over Death in Harry Potter
The transcript of this pubcast is also available.
Remember that you can subscribe through iTunes, and also that you can say nice things about me there. Search for “Hog’s Head PubCast.”
Update: I knew a few months ago when I read about Garuda and the [...]
Hog's Head PubCast #33: The Meaning of the Phoenix [24:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1569)Tags:
The Meaning of the Phoenix, Prophecy 2007 Version
August 22nd, 2007 · 3 Comments · Albus Dumbledore, Death, Harry, Hogwarts School of Literature, Symbology, Voldemort
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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The Ministry as Panopticon
August 9th, 2007 · 4 Comments · Good vs. Evil, Gryffindor Common Room
At Prophecy 2007, I argued that Rowling’s presentation of the growing arm of influence of the Ministry of Magic can be paralleled to Foucault’s concept of modern society as a Pantopticon. The Panopticon was Jeremy Bentham’s idea for a circular prison in which only one security guard could maintain surveillance over every prisoner at [...]
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