Sunday, August 11, 2013

Harry Potter Read-Along/Discussion [8]

RECAP - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Chapters 14-18 (end of book)

Harry starts hearing the voice in the walls again after four long months without an attack. Hermione think's she's figured something out, and is found shortly after, Petrified, along with a Ravenclaw girl, outside of the library with a mirror beside them. Hogwarts goes on lockdown, with students having curfews and everyone being escorted by a teacher if it is necessary for them to leave their dormitories. Hagrid gets taken away to the wizard prison, Azkaban, by the direction of Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, and Dumbledore is suspended as Headmaster by Lucius Malfoy and the school governors he has blackmailed into signing the order. Hagrid and Dumbledore give Harry and Ron some clues about spiders and loyalty and the boys have to figure out what to do next! Harry and Ron follow some spiders into the Forbidden Forest at Hagrid's direction and almost get killed by the gigantic spider, Aragog, that Hagrid got expelled for having in the castle and "killing a student" 50 years before. The Weasley's wild Ford Anglia saves Harry and Ron's lives from the giant spider family, but not before they find out that the monster from the Chamber of Secrets was not Aragog, and Hagrid wasnt the one to open the Chamber, and they suspect that Moaning Myrtle might be the girl who was killed 50 years before.

Before Harry and Ron can talk to Moaning Myrtle about how she died, Ginny gets taken into the Chamber by the monster, which they soon find out is a Basilisk, a giant snake. The boys force Lockhart into the Chamber with them to save Ginny and when Lockhart tries to erase their memories with Ron's wand, it backfires, he erases his own memory and separates Harry from them, who goes on to save Ginny on his own. He encounters Tom Riddle and Ginny lying almost dead on the floor. Tom reveals that he is 16 year old Lord Voldemort, the heir of Slytherin, who has been using Ginny's body to control the giant snake to try an kill "mud-bloods". Fawkes the phoenix comes to help Harry defeat the Basilisk when Harry shows true loyalty to Dumbledore and Harry destroys the diary which destroys 16 year old Tom Riddle.

All the Petrified students (anc cat and ghost) are restored and Harry and Ron get special services to the school for their heroic feats, Lucius Malfoy gets sacked as a school governor and Harry frees our friend dobby from the servitude to the Malfoys! Harry has escaped the clutches of Voldemort once again and saved some lives in the process! Lucius Malfoy was the one who slipped Ginny the diary in the midst of the melee at Flourish and Blotts, but Dumbledore makes it know that if any more dark objects should make their way back into Hogwarts, who ever is responsible shall pay dearly.

DISCUSSION

Harry and his friends have matured  so much in just the second book of this 7 book series! They all show their bravery once again, and even though Harry and Ron pull that stupid flying to school stunt, they show they've grown smarter too by the end of the story. Rather than asking you all a series of questions today, I just want to know what you thought about the book over all?

I love the innocence the second book still possesses. Yes, Voldemort is trying to kill Harry once again, but Rowling manages to keep it light, and I laughed many times while reading this book. Hermione is still a know it all with her nose always stuck in a book, and it reminds me of... well, me. And you, my fellow bloggers. She is the person I relate to most in the books and has always been my favorite, but one can only hope that if we were ever put in her position, that we would be as smart and brave and loyal as she was. Harry is braver and learning so much about the world he truly belongs in, and for me, Ron gets funnier with each book. He just cracks me the heck up!

Dobby drove me bananas in the first half of the book, the first time I read it and all the other times too. But by the end of the book, we're all rooting for Dobby and cheering for Harry's cleverness in getting him freed. He meant well, though his methods were questionable, he only wanted to save the great Harry Potter. I really start to feel bad for Harry toward the end of this book and into the next, but not so much because of his upbringing anymore which was the source of most of the pity in book one and the beginning of book two. The middle to end of this book is where Harry really starts to suffer from who he is, dealing with Colin Creevey and Professor Lockhart, but also realizing that Voldemort really isnt just going to go away. Harry just wants to live his normal wizard life and be happy for once, but Harry's burden is not an easy one to carry as we see more clearly as the books progress.

I'm super excited to start the next book, partly because I'm realizing that as it stands right now, its my favorite book of the whole series - sort of like the transition book, where things kind of go awry and it isnt all innocence anymore. Its also the book that gave me the name for this blog: "I solemnly swear I am up to no good" say the Weasley twins to the Marauder's Map! We are introduced to so much more of the wizarding world beginning in book three and I cant wait to re-read it and share it with you guys!

Hope to hear from you guys on your thoughts on the book overall! I personally love this one and took the opportunity while reading it to really appreciate the amazing multifaceted world and stories Rowling has crafted.

I'll be posting a standard review for this one, and another book-to-movie review, and next Sunday I'll be starting the third book in the series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban! Hope you'll all join me. :0

A.

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A.