BOOK: The Order of the Phoenix
CHAPTER: 1
SYNOPSIS: In which Harry is angry and picks on Dudley, Dudley is attacked by Dementors, and their neighbour Mrs. Figg returns. Harry receives various owls informing him of his future at Hogwarts and as a wizard, while being hounded by Uncle Vernon about Dudley's condition. Petunia receives a howler.
FOR TOMORROW: 3 & 4
POSSIBLE DISCUSSION TOPICS
* Compare Harry's attitude at the beginning of Book 5 to the opening chapters of the previous books.
* What memories do you think Dudley was reliving during the Dementor attack?
* Apart from what we already know about Petunia promising to keep Harry safe at their house, do you think she knows something that we still aren't aware of?
I have found it impossible to stick to the schedule. I've already started Book 7, so, YES, Petunia knows more than she's saying! :-)
ReplyDeletePossible MOVIE SPOILERS below in my book comments:
What I have to say about the opening chapters here is that I despise what they did to the first chapter in the movie. I won't say more than that since some people may not have seen it yet since they're still reading the book.
Harry's attitude is completely understandable. He just watched Cedric die and fought the fight of his life so far, yet the Ministry of Magic is denying what happened, calling him a liar or lunatic and broadcasting that everything is hunky-dory. He hasn't heard from his friends all summer and he's feeling alone. It's no wonder he decides to egg Dudley on a bit in a rather death-defying way. I really adore Mrs. Figg in the book. Wish they'd stuck to this chapter closer for the movie.
You know, I hate when people tell me they don't like this book because it always seems to be for the same reasons. "Harry is such a jerk!" I've heard it countless times and to them I say, he has a right to be! I mean, not only does he have to deal with all the stuff mentioned above by Knit Wit but let's not forget that he's, in fact, a 15 year old boy. Life pretty much sucks for him all around. So he's a bit of a prat sometimes. So he shouts a bit. I think he's entitled.
ReplyDeleteOh, and Knit Wit, I'm assuming your name implies you like to knit? I just taught myself how (handy youtube) and my goodness is it addictive! So time consuming though.
That's what I like about the hardcover versions of the books. They're heavy enough to stay open on your lap and let you knit while you read. :-D
ReplyDeleteAnd as far as what you said, Harry has every right to act the way he does. As you say, he's 15. I never met a 15 year old--boy or girl--who didn't act out some under *normal* circumstances, never mind what Harry had just been through.
I just feel so sorry for him in this book.
Slight spoiler for the book!---
Dumbledore also made a huge mistake in how he "handled" his relationship with Harry in this book. He should have told Harry the bare essentials to begin with so Harry would have understood why D. kept himself apart so much.
Okay, this is a HUGE spoiler not only for later in the series, but in something JK let us know after the books were done.
ReplyDeleteWe all know that Harry had plenty of people (religious fanatics for the most part I believe) trying to get him banned from schools and saying he promoted satan worship and witchcraft and the like. Do you think those nay sayers would have felt the fact that Dumbledore was gay and had a very close personal relationship with one of his students (that was in no way inappropriate) would have been more of a "threat" to their children than the witchcraft? I've always wondered how that would have played out if we'd known it earlier.
on Knitting: I learned how so I could make Tom Baker's Dr. Who scarf. It's taken me almost two months as it's thirteen feet long and a foot wide. I'm getting fairly good now though.
the maroon and red one or the multi-colored one with the wider stripes?
ReplyDeleteRomana
and...where did you get a pattern for it?
ReplyDeleteRomana
This book is my least favourite of the lot (although I'd never say I "hate" it). I never read it as Harry being a jerk - just a kid going through puberty. It mentions right here in the first chapter that he had grown a huge amount in a short time.
ReplyDeleteIt's my least favourite because there is so much unpleasance in it - so much pain, so much trauma, so much loneliness. We're meant to be put off so we can appreciate the growth that's happening later.
It's also not as tight and concise as the rest of the books.
SPOILER
I think the anti-witchcraft crusade would have had a conniption if they'd known DD was gay.
While we're on the subject (and it's a touchy one, I know) I really, really don't get what all the hoopla was about. My neighbour wouldn't let her kid read them because of the witchcraft business, but she let him immerse himself in all things Star Wars (and let's face it....Jedi are really a kind of mind wizards). She also let him dress as a "magician" for Halloween one year, but it was a wizard costume through and through.
I wonder, if Hogwarts had been called a school for wizardry (instead of witchcraft and wizardry) and if they'd called the women sorceresses or something other than witches, would the protesting have happened?
As far as the opposition to the HP books among certain "Christian" (using the term loosely) groups, I don't think any wording would have helped. Witch and sorceress both have negative connotations to many.
ReplyDeleteTo tell you the truth, I only read the first book to see what the hubbub was about. Of course, then I was hooked but on reading I thought, "What's the big deal? It's a hero fable where the hero has his own magical power."
I took a folklore class in college and, if you stand back and look at the whole HP series from beginning to end, it is a textbook example of Joseph Campbell's Path of the Hero as described in "The Power of Myth". Single hero, seemingly ill-equipped to win out, overcomes obstacles with assistance from helpers along the way to finally win the battle ALONE. This pattern shows up in the folk tales of EVERY single culture on Earth.
Anyway I make it a point to never say, "Don't read that book" unless I've read it and have a concrete reason. Not reading the book because some acquaintance tells me I shouldn't isn't good enough.