Deathly Hallows, chapter 18

[anehan]

The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore

* And this short excursion into Dumbledore's past is relevant to the plot how, exactly?

* The sky is indifferent to Harry and his suffering. I only wish the author was as well.

* As a side note, how can silence be "glittering"?

* Oh yeah, Harry's wand is different, just like Harry is different. It can shoot golden flames on its own. Our hero just can't have a normal wand. I'd be happy at the destruction of such a super wand if there weren't another even more speshul extra-super wand just waiting for our hero.

* The pouch Harry is carrying around his neck is now too full of broken and useless objects to take any more. I'm sure this is meant to produce an awwwww reaction, but really, I'm just repulsed.

* "Out of sheer desperation they had talked themselves into believing that Godric's Hollow held answers." Ahahahahaaa! *wheezes* I don't remember Harry needing any desperation for his brainless decision to go to Godric's Hollow.

* Though he is perfectly justified of being angry at Dumbledore. If I were in his position, I'd be angry as well. It's just that he manages to make great melodrama out of being angry as well. Truly JKR cannot write strong emotions. *cough*ChestMonster*cough*

* And here comes Hermione, once again frightened of Harry. This is getting oooooold. Is this the Hermione who was ruthless enough to attack his best friend with birds? Whatever happened to that Hermione?

* Finally, there will be the answers about Dumbledore's life that Harry so desperately wants. Too bad they aren't of the kind that he likes. Beware further temper tantrums.

* Harry feels "savage pleasure" at getting to know everything about Dumbledore. Too melodramatic. Not only should JKR be banned from using adverbs, she should be forbidden to use adjectives as well until she knows how to use them respectfully.

* You wanted to know everything about Dumbledore, Harry. Now you'll have to grin and bear it, even if Dumbledore's past turns out to have a homosexual affair with Grindelwald.

* Dumbledore was a Youth Representative to the Wizengamot. How come we haven't heard about these Youth Representatives before? Or have they discontinued the custom? Maybe the post was created specifically for Dumbledore.

* 'Dogbreath' Doge. Is this supposed to be funny, or what?

* Grindelwald would miss out the top spot in a list of Most Dangerous Dark Wizards of All Time only because of the arrival of You-Know-Who? Excuse me if I'm slightly sceptical of Rita's assessment. Grindelwald seems to have been connected in some way with WWII, which puts his achievement quite high. What has Voldemort, in contrast, achieved? Well, he managed to have Dumbledore killed, a feat that owed more to Dumbledore's stupidity than his own skills. He has repeatedly failed to kill Harry Potter (maybe he ought to have enlisted Draco's help for that as well). It took him several years to put a top Ministry official under the Imperius Curse. Et cetera ad nauseam.

* I seems to me that, whatever Rowling tries to make us believe, Dumbledore still subscribed to the wizard dominance over Muggles for their own good even after he and Grindelwald parted. Just look at his treatment of the Dursleys. Besides, a person doesn't get over their deep-seated sense of superiority just because their friend turns out to be an ass, and a superiority complex is certainly what Dumbledore had until his death.

* Melodrama warning!

* This is the first hint that Grindelwald is alive. Until this bit, I thought Dumbledore had killed Grindelwald, because surely he was far too dangerous to be left alive. But I guess Dumbledore couldn't damage his precious soul.

* I happen to like the name Nurmengard. Has anyone any idea if the name means anything?

* Harry points out that the defence "they were young" doesn't really fly when it comes to Dumbledore and Grindelwald, because they were the same age as Harry and Hermione are and they are out there fighting the Dark Arts. Well, fair enough. But at least Dumbledore and Grindelwald thought for themselves, misguided though their thoughts were. Harry and Hermione, on the other hand, are fighting "the Dark Arts" (whatever they are) just because Dumbledore told them to.

* Really, Harry's smug insistence that they are risking their lives to fight the Dark Arts sounds really self-congratulatory. As if the poor idiot knows what the Dark Arts are any more than the readers do. They are just something that the Slytherins probably do during their midnight orgies.

* I think this time Hermione the psychologist actually nails it: Harry is so angry because Dumbledore never told any of this to Harry himself. As if Harry was somehow entitled to know everything about Dumbledore. I really don't like the man, but even I've got to say that he had a right to personal life and that it wasn't at all necessary to tell Harry anything about it.

* In fact, the whole Dumbledore subplot was completely unnecessary. It was interesting only as far as it concerned Grindelwald, and the space devoted to it could have been used to resolve any of the number of unresolved subplots from the previous books.

* Harry is right that Dumbledore never explained anything, merely demanding blind trust, but somehow I've got trouble of understanding how Harry thinks Dumbledore's telling him all about personal history would have helped any. If I were Harry, I'd rather Dumbledore had explained something useful, like how to destroy Horcruxes.

* Now Harry dismisses Hermione from his presence. Oh. My. God. Can the boy get any more conceited?

Comments

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

* And this short excursion into Dumbledore's past is relevant to the plot how, exactly?

But it's totally relevent to the time we heard this story before. And the time we'll hear it again.

* The sky is indifferent to Harry and his suffering. I only wish the author was as well.

I'm sure people are eating somewhere too. Eating indifferently to Harry. Bastards.

* Oh yeah, Harry's wand is different, just like Harry is different.

This was never ever explained, was it? It was literally something made up in one scene to get rid of Voldemort. It made him search all over for a new wand, but there was never any reason for it.

* "Out of sheer desperation they had talked themselves into believing that Godric's Hollow held answers."

LOL! This goes along with the defenses that the camping is *supposed* to be boring and frustrating to read because the characters are bored and frustrated. You're supposed to think it's on purpose that the only reason they think Godric's Hollow will help is because the author can't come up with any actual way to hunt for Horcruxes.

You wanted to know everything about Dumbledore, Harry. Now you'll have to grin and bear it, even if Dumbledore's past turns out to have a homosexual affair with Grindelwald.

But don't worry, it had nothing to do with sex!

Dumbledore was a Youth Representative to the Wizengamot. How come we haven't heard about these Youth Representatives before?

Nope. It's one of those issues with the world-building. As Harry gets older he ought to be part of this more complicated, sophisticated world that Dumbeldore inhabited, but by the time Harry got there it didn't exist.

* Grindelwald would miss out the top spot in a list of Most Dangerous Dark Wizards of All Time only because of the arrival of You-Know-Who?

Well, Rita's got to work overtime on Voldemort's publicity, I guess. Everybody has to act really scared of the guy so Harry can come of age. The whole country's in on it.

I seems to me that, whatever Rowling tries to make us believe, Dumbledore still subscribed to the wizard dominance over Muggles for their own good even after he and Grindelwald parted.

Since the whole series reeks of it he almost has to have.

Harry points out that the defence "they were young" doesn't really fly when it comes to Dumbledore and Grindelwald, because they were the same age as Harry and Hermione are and they are out there fighting the Dark Arts.

Yes, nice little reminder of how special it is that Harry and his friends, who've been tormented by Voldemort their whole magical lives and are friends exclusively with people who hate Voldemort, have taken to fighting "Dark Arts" at such a young age.

Harry is so angry because Dumbledore never told any of this to Harry himself. As if Harry was somehow entitled to know everything about Dumbledore.

And as if Harry even cared to want to know before now. I like Dan Hemmings' description of how this works: Suddenly Harry realized that JKR was a great writer whose characters were all very complex!

In fact, the whole Dumbledore subplot was completely unnecessary. It was interesting only as far as it concerned Grindelwald, and the space devoted to it could have been used to resolve any of the number of unresolved subplots from the previous books.

It was a really blatant clue about how important backstory is to the books--sometimes it's there to cover up the lack of story.

If I were Harry, I'd rather Dumbledore had explained something useful, like how to destroy Horcruxes.

Yeah, you'd think. But then, Harry will continue to blindly trust Dumbledore even after he's dead. This somehow makes him mature.

[aasaylva.livejournal.com]

Sporfle!!!! So much yes to all of this.

But don't worry, it had nothing to do with sex!
And if it had, it wouldn't have been Dumbledore but his trouser monster - so there!

It was a really blatant clue about how important backstory is to the books--sometimes it's there to cover up the lack of story.
Fact is, the back story made for much more interesting story than the supposed main story did, so I'm not sure we should complain about it. There might have been MORE Hermione cringing and Harry self-pitying and rampant idiocy in all quarters otherwise.

[anehan]

This was never ever explained, was it? It was literally something made up in one scene to get rid of Voldemort. It made him search all over for a new wand, but there was never any reason for it.

Yeah, not even Dumbledore knows the reason the wand acted like a Deus Ex Machina. Voldemort's searching for a new wand is just another completely unnecessary subplot. (It seems to me the whole books is filled with unimportant subplots, probably to cover up the lack of real story, like you said.)

But don't worry, it had nothing to do with sex!

In fact, Dumbledore will never have any sex, because he does not trust himself. Boy, he must be frustrated! All those closeted sessions with Harry in HBP acquire a completely new meaning.

Well, Rita's got to work overtime on Voldemort's publicity, I guess. Everybody has to act really scared of the guy so Harry can come of age. The whole country's in on it.

Yeah. Grindelwald cause a whole World War; Voldemort managed a minor kerfuffle in Britain.

Since the whole series reeks of it he almost has to have.

I really don't like to contemplate what exactly this says about Rowling's mental health that she would prefer to be lorded over for her own good.

Yes, nice little reminder of how special it is that Harry and his friends, who've been tormented by Voldemort their whole magical lives and are friends exclusively with people who hate Voldemort, have taken to fighting "Dark Arts" at such a young age.

Which is completely different from Draco being a follower of Voldemort. He chose it!

[aasaylva.livejournal.com]

I really don't like to contemplate what exactly this says about Rowling's mental health that she would prefer to be lorded over for her own good.
I don't think she realizes she'd be a muggle as well. Maybe she's a witch honoris causa - I mean, she's the creator so she'd be something along the line of Merlin I suppose.

[eir-de-scania.livejournal.com]

Nope. It's one of those issues with the world-building. As Harry gets older he ought to be part of this more complicated, sophisticated world that Dumbeldore inhabited, but by the time Harry got there it didn't exist.
***Lack of world building, that is. But at the end of book 7 the wizworld seemed less thought-out than in book 1. With all those notes, I expected Harry and us to learn more and more about the "adult" wizworld over the years, but no. Nothing.