BOOK: The Chamber of Secrets CHAPTERS: 8 & 9 SYNOPSIS: Harry, Ron, and Hermione attend Sir Nick's deathday party and, on the way back to the dorms, make an ominous discovery.
Although she frequently goes beyond the bounds of believability in her exaggeration of size and number, I do still love the wealth of detail Jo puts into every scene. If you have any imagination at all, you can see in your mind the location and scene of every place she takes you. The detailed description of the rotting food, given in so few words, and the way the ghost walks through it and his reaction to it are wonderful, and give you a moment to pause and consider what the next life might bring.
I agree with you on the attention to detail but this is probably my least favorite chapter. It's just...so superfluous you know? It's completely pointless in the grand scheme of things, not only in terms of the whole series but in the little plot of the book.
There are several important things to learn by being at the deathday party, some of which is important later on, so it's a bit like foreshadowing, whereas others are just of interest. As we are "live ones" (according to Sir Patrick) it's something that most humans in Harry's world wouldn't be able to experience in their lifetime. You find that the Bloody Baron is feared even among the ghosts, because there is a few feet between him and the next closest ghost, and no one is talking to him. It shows how much Peeves is different than ghosts more clearly than at any other place in the whole of the set. This is also the first meeting place of Harry, Ron and Moaning Myrtle. Another important thing it shows you about her is that Myrtle can and does go into other parts of the castle, which is part of the foreshadowing I mentioned earlier. You find, too, that not only do humans make her cry, but Peeves can do that in a heartbeat (or lack of a heartbeat, as they are dead) as well. Another thing to learn from this party is that the ghosts know each other pretty well --as whitnessed by the exchange between Harry and Sir Patrick-- and have ways to communicate outside of the castle -- not only is Sir Patrick Properly Decapitated-Podmore there, and we know he doesn't live in the castle, but also at the party is a widow from down in Kent. This communication process is more of an interesting side note than anything else, but it kind of rounds out their characters a bit...makes them more "human" if you will, and something which would be impossible to do if the only time one can actually talk to ghosts is at dinner, or on the occasional meeting in the halls. All this gives you a better "feel" for Harry's world, and the creatures who inhabit that world.
Although she frequently goes beyond the bounds of believability in her exaggeration of size and number, I do still love the wealth of detail Jo puts into every scene. If you have any imagination at all, you can see in your mind the location and scene of every place she takes you. The detailed description of the rotting food, given in so few words, and the way the ghost walks through it and his reaction to it are wonderful, and give you a moment to pause and consider what the next life might bring.
ReplyDeleteRomana
I agree with you on the attention to detail but this is probably my least favorite chapter. It's just...so superfluous you know? It's completely pointless in the grand scheme of things, not only in terms of the whole series but in the little plot of the book.
ReplyDeleteYes, but because of the Deathday party, Harry hears the voice, and follows it to Mrs. Norris, starting the mystery of what that voice really is.
ReplyDeleteHe could just as easily have been coming back from dinner or the library, or any other place. Blah, I just don't like this chapter.
ReplyDeleteThere are several important things to learn by being at the deathday party, some of which is important later on, so it's a bit like foreshadowing, whereas others are just of interest. As we are "live ones" (according to Sir Patrick) it's something that most humans in Harry's world wouldn't be able to experience in their lifetime.
ReplyDeleteYou find that the Bloody Baron is feared even among the ghosts, because there is a few feet between him and the next closest ghost, and no one is talking to him.
It shows how much Peeves is different than ghosts more clearly than at any other place in the whole of the set.
This is also the first meeting place of Harry, Ron and Moaning Myrtle. Another important thing it shows you about her is that Myrtle can and does go into other parts of the castle, which is part of the foreshadowing I mentioned earlier. You find, too, that not only do humans make her cry, but Peeves can do that in a heartbeat (or lack of a heartbeat, as they are dead) as well.
Another thing to learn from this party is that the ghosts know each other pretty well --as whitnessed by the exchange between Harry and Sir Patrick-- and have ways to communicate outside of the castle -- not only is Sir Patrick Properly Decapitated-Podmore there, and we know he doesn't live in the castle, but also at the party is a widow from down in Kent. This communication process is more of an interesting side note than anything else, but it kind of rounds out their characters a bit...makes them more "human" if you will, and something which would be impossible to do if the only time one can actually talk to ghosts is at dinner, or on the occasional meeting in the halls.
All this gives you a better "feel" for Harry's world, and the creatures who inhabit that world.