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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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 [...]

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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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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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I’ll say it again: Rowling likes M. Scott Peck.  No, she hasn’t confirmed it, and perhaps it’s mere coincidence, but read this quote from the illustration Peck uses in Chapter 1 of The People of the Lie.  Here, Peck is advising a client on the course he must take in order to get better:
Easy.  That’s [...]

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Note: This material will appear in an upcoming PubCast (along with further commentary and other related subjects) either midweek or this weekend.
Rowling has given us a paradox concerning evil in the Harry Potter series. At face value, the lesson is very simple, and it has been stated by Dumbledore in two ways:
“It is our [...]

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I’m presently taking an online Harry Potter class at a local community college, and I’m hoping it will give plenty of stuff to blog about. We are required to answer two questions per week, and I will begin posting the questions and my answers weekly. This first week centers on Book 1, and here is [...]

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J.K. Rowling tackles the debate between fate and free will in the Harry Potter books.

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In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest set up Rowling’s theme of the prophecy, fate, and choice.

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