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Post by Songbird on Jul 17, 2017 17:08:14 GMT -5
So is everyone cool with rereading the Half Blood Prince?
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Post by Isadora Is a Door on Jul 18, 2017 0:51:43 GMT -5
Yep. Also it's 607 pages which is a random fact I know
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Post by Violent BUN Fortuna on Jul 19, 2017 20:04:38 GMT -5
Yep, definitely!
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Post by soufflé on Jul 20, 2017 10:43:43 GMT -5
wooooooo!
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Post by soufflé on Jul 20, 2017 10:43:54 GMT -5
this one is my favorite of the books :'-)
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Post by Isadora Is a Door on Jul 21, 2017 2:38:38 GMT -5
its probably my second favourite after order. it is also after order... if you read them in order...
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Post by Violent BUN Fortuna on Jul 21, 2017 4:43:47 GMT -5
I can never pick my favourite HP book -- it's always whichever I'm reading at the time! But HBP is just such a beautiful novel; so dark and evocative. There's something new and wonderful to consider every time one reads it.
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Post by soufflé on Jul 21, 2017 22:55:43 GMT -5
its probably my second favourite after order. it is also after order... if you read them in order... didnt u used to salsa on #6? or was it #3?
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Post by Isadora Is a Door on Jul 22, 2017 2:40:50 GMT -5
not either? I don't think 3 is as good as its reputation but they are all good. I used to salsa on the 5th movie a lot.
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Post by Songbird on Jul 22, 2017 6:06:09 GMT -5
Cool beans, schedule is up!!!
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Post by Violent BUN Fortuna on Jul 22, 2017 9:43:38 GMT -5
I won't be here for all of this -- I'm away for a week in August (13th-20th) but I'll be around for everything else!
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Post by Songbird on Aug 5, 2017 13:03:50 GMT -5
So let's get this started. The first chapter- where they have the new minister. What parallels can you draw with current society?
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Post by Violent BUN Fortuna on Aug 5, 2017 15:21:24 GMT -5
I might write a longer and more considered answer when I have more time, but I'll start by mentioning three lines which have always amused me and which I can definitely draw parallels to current society with: 1. 'He [the Prime Minister] had been standing alone in this very office, savouring the triumph that was his after so many years of dreaming and scheming ... ' I always laugh at this line, as of course we are meant to. I don't really have to draw any parallels here: it's a very clear nod to career politicians and public perceptions of politicians in general. I do rather like the Prime Minister in HBP -- not that we get to see any of his policies, but the little we see of his character is fairly endearing, in his own way -- but this line certainly brings to mind Theresa May's very obvious love of power, which I deplore, and how desperate she seems to be to cling on to it. 2. 'The Prime Minister did not know what to say to this, but a persistent habit of wishing to appear well-informed on any subject that came up made him cast around for any details he could remember of their previous conversations.' This reminds me of too many people to count. In the Prime Minister's defense, at least he only draws on the little he has actually been told, but worse offenders of this 'habit' simply make up complete lies and are quite happy doing so, making it very difficult to argue with them as they have no regard for the truth (I am thinking in particular of Trump & his White House team, and of the Leave campaigners in the Brexit referendum: both groups have run campaigns on denouncing the truth as elitist and 'fake'). So I think that line is very relevant to many politicians nowadays. 3. 'The Prime Minister sank, weak-kneed, into the nearest chair. The idea of invisible creatures swooping through the towns and countryside, spreading despair and hopelessness in his voters, made him feel quite faint.' Again, this line is very amusing. I hadn't really thought of it this way before, but this can easily be seen as an allegory for the way the media hypes up the panic over terror threats and the like (something which JKR has condemned quite recently, as it happens). Obviously everyone knows that the Dementors are a metaphor for depression, but in this particular case I think they can also be seen as representing the pervasive fear conjured up by biased and exaggerated news coverage. Also, on another note, the fact that the Prime Minister's first concern is not for the people, but for himself/how the people affect him ('his voters', not 'the public') is quite telling & very familiar... Incidentally, I think it's very interesting that the three quotes which I immediately thought of when I saw your question are all humorous; I've always felt that this is one of the many things which makes Harry Potter so wonderful -- JKR perfectly balances humour with gravitas, light with dark. The presence of the one is not only fantastic on its own, but always serves to heighten the impact of the other. Oh -- another thing I've just thought of: ' ' My dear Prime Minister, you can't honestly think I'm still Minister for Magic after all this? I was sacked three days ago! The whole wizarding community has been screaming for my resignation for a fortnight. I've never known them so united in my whole term of office!' said Fudge, with a brave attempt at a smile.' I can't help but be reminded of David Cameron's spectacular error of judgement in calling the Brexit referendum -- an error he paid for with his job, just like Fudge. After all this, I thought I'd share a fun fact about this chapter, or rather about one of the characters in it, because memorising insanely tiny bits of HP trivia is one of my favourite pastimes and I like getting the opportunity to share what I've memorised: the oil painting of the froglike wizard is actually a painting of Ulick Gamp, the first ever Minister for Magic, who also has a beer (Gamp's Old Gregarious) named after him at the Leaky Cauldron because he decreed that the Leaky Cauldron should remain in operation after the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy was passed (so long as it was concealed from Muggles and its patrons behaved well). Gamp's Old Gregarious is absolutely disgusting, though, and no one has yet managed to drink a pint of it, despite there being a 100 Galleon prize incentive to do so. (Sorry if you already knew that -- just thought I'd share it because it's fun to know things like this, I think.)
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Post by Reba on Aug 5, 2017 17:24:41 GMT -5
So let's get this started. The first chapter- where they have the new minister. What parallels can you draw with current society? the new minister in the movie is played by bill 'nighy' and in the real life bill 'nye' is an opponent of president trump
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Post by Violent BUN Fortuna on Aug 5, 2017 17:56:20 GMT -5
So let's get this started. The first chapter- where they have the new minister. What parallels can you draw with current society? the new minister in the movie is played by bill 'nighy' and in the real life bill 'nye' is an opponent of president trump This is the high-quality discussion I'm here for. 10/10 excellent literary analysis.
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