Comments on: Episode #68: Patterns in Potter, Book 1 – The Desire for Power

By: revgeorge

revgeorge — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:09:10 +0000

Aaron,

Good comments above on power corrupting & the desire for it being the motivating factor in increasing that corruption. Voldemort always desired power & ways to make himself more special than other people. Harry always desired friendship, family, & a place in society, but not necessarily a hero’s role. So, the old saying may be true, power corrupts, but perhaps power tempered with other desires is not as corrupting or perhaps not even corrupting at all.

Just a side note on something you said about Harry being upset that his role as savior infringed on his relationship with Ginny. Would Ginny have ever been attracted to Harry if he hadn’t been the great Harry Potter? I guess that’s a question we can’t answer.

By: Sara.

Sara. — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 04:34:16 +0000

thank you greg and penny i will work on getting a mp3 file up soon..

By: Aaron

Aaron — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 23:52:47 +0000

That’s odd it worked on mine.

By: austin

austin — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 22:59:44 +0000

its not working on itunes

By: Aaron

Aaron — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 20:03:22 +0000

I still get hung up on the Spiderman quote from Uncle Ben when he sauid with great power coms great responsibility. They go hand in hand as Greg said nuclear power in itself is not evil as is any power. It is people that make the choice on how to use it. Problem is I have another quote that rings true in my head about how power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
How Harry used his power is directly related to the title. The Desire for Power. He did not desire it. He did not want it and mostly resented the role of savior he found himself in. Many examples are in the books especially when it comes to his relationship with Ginny and how it could not be normal because of his role.
Voldemort desired power because it was all he could relate too. I’m not sure why though as to me it is way overated but then he’s Voldemort. I am intriged with the word desire and how it seems tied to evil. Is it like the word covet?
What ever the case I am tring to link up my thoughts into something rational to add for the next show. The next chapter is on book 2 part 1. What was the title of book 2 anyways?
I would like to wrap up on something Penny said about how it would be funny if someone didn’t realize that erised spelled desire backwords. Greg also said something about how the 1st time he read The Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe that he didn’t make the connection to a Christian theme. I am reminded of how someone here blogged on the reason Snape’s last words were look at me because he wanted Lily’s eyes to be the last thing he saw. I missed that completely. I still think the whole Potter series is Star Wars with Elves instead of Ewoks.

By: dsiedell

dsiedell — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:17:27 +0000

It was interesting to talk about channeling power one way or another and how it shapes you. But there was a comment about Harry going with the Dursleys to keep his power hidden until he was old enough to deal with it. I think they kept it down but not out.

Since the 6th book I thought another reason Harry went with the Dursleys was because of the alternative environment — Harry going to an orphanage. Did you ever see the movie The Boys from Brazil. In it these old Nazis are cloning Hitler and trying to recreate the circumstances of his childhood — all the way down to the type of dog he had a a boy.

Especially with Vodemort’s soul in him the orphanage would have been an identical way for Harry’s power to channel toward bad. Voldemort became aware of his power and could actually use it. Harry had power too (hair growth, climbing his school roof, the glass at the zoo) but the Dursleys kept his exploration of his powers in check.

Maybe the Dursleys helped show Harry (although there HAD to have been a better way) that keeping your power in check made you find other ways to deal with a situation.

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:25:08 +0000

This is Penny. Sara- if you need any more instructions, let us know, we’ll be glad to help.

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 03:03:50 +0000

You can use a windows program called Sound Recorder to make one in WAV, which we can use as well.

By: Sara.

Sara. — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 02:39:06 +0000

How do you make an mp3 comment? I never figued that out.

By: MAK

MAK — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:08:14 +0000

Hey, I don’t really know how to make an mp3 of my comment, so I wanted to leave it here. I started going through the second book again and one of the immediate themes that struck me was the idea of following rules/laws vs. doing what is morally and ethically right. I think this follows what Travis said about book one and that it is an arch that goes all the way through the series.

One of the first incidents that occurs in book two is Dobby warning Harry to stay away from Hogwarts. Dobby is breaking the rules of being a house elf to keep Harry from harm. Immediately after that the Weasly boys break rules to rescue Harry from an abusive situation. This trend was started in book one and culminates in book seven with Harry and friends not just breaking rules but being actual fugitives from the government (which in turn mirrors the state of Germany/Europe in WWII). I think Rowling is making a clear statement about human flaws and the difference between human law and higher standars of moral and ethical behavior. I’m sure I’ll have more to contribute later, but wanted to get that out there.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 23:31:41 +0000

Pretend this is my head and you can clearly see that Travis’s comment is over it.

By: Sword of Gryffindor :: Hog’s Head Pubcast - A Harry Potter Blog! » Blog Archive » Two Items

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 21:43:54 +0000

[...] HP Progs episode 68 is up. I sent in a short audio clip about rule-breaking in the HP series. You should listen to the whole episode, of course, but my part starts around minute 21 and is only about 2 minutes long (with a few minutes’ commentary by Greg and Penny afterwards). Hog’s Head PubCast Episode #44 to come Thursday. [...]