OVERANALYZING THE TEXT

Harry's lack of intellectual curiousity, and the question of whether he is really characteristically prone to procrasination, or whether his procrastinating in GoF was merely a natural response to the extraordinary circumstances surrounding his participation in the Triwizard Tournament.

An utterly trivial post with an inaccurate subject line: Snape's weighty pause before the delivery of the "I see no difference" line.

Reader response to the series in the context of various genre expectations

Suggests that by presenting events filtered through an ever-maturing moral perspective, the series is structured to actively encourage revisionist readings of the earlier volumes. Uses as example the "triumph over Slytherin enemies" scenes at the end of PS/SS ("Dissing the Slyths") and GoF ("Train Stomp").

Argues that JKR portrays characters who evidence signs of RL mental illness in a relatively non-defamatory manner.

House Slytherin and Reader Response. Draws a distinction between Sympathy For the Devil and the sort of 'rooting for the underdog' that leads people to identify with or like minion characters like Pettigrew, Avery and Gollum (SYCOPHANTS). Suggests that the built-in personality test of the Sorting Hat (practically an invitation to reader self-insertion!) might have contributed to the HP books' mass appeal.

Argues that talk of a "redemption plotline" for Draco Malfoy is a bit premature, as Draco has yet to actually do anything all that terribly wicked.

More on Draco's need for redemption, now quickly shifting into conflicting definitions of what constitutes "evil."

Points out that Draco Malfoy has never once obeyed his father's wishes in the canon and in fact, often seems to go out of his way to do the opposite of whatever Lucius tells him. Also cites evidence for a reading of Draco as both profoundly weak and somewhat mentally unstable

Analysis of the popularity of Evil!Cho in the fandom.

The role of vengeance in the series as a whole.

Satiric look at Neville's "narrative invisibility."

Question of who has invisibility cloaks and whether James Potter's possession of one might indicate that he had been a member of the DMLE. Contains a truly egregious canon error, which was cleared up in the next post.

Evaluation of the canonical plausibility of a sequence of Longbottom Incident theories, followed by a discussion of the possibility that Crouch's invisibility cloak was left behind at the scene there, thus leading Crouch himself to feel convinced of his son's guilt. Also contains a canon correction to an error made upthread, and an attack on the MAGICDISHWASHER theory with the claim that scenarios in which people screw up royally are actually far more in keeping with the spirit of canon than those in which they are being very clever and planning everything from the very start.

What Crouch's measures actually entailed and what they allowed Aurors to do. Canonical evidence to support the claim that what the Aurors under Crouch were guilty of was NOT merely "killing in self-defense."

Examines GoF's focus on the reciprocal nature of fealty, loyalty and patronage - a reciprocal nature ignored or dismissed by the novel's villains, Voldemort and the Crouches - and suggests that the rift between Ron and Harry might serve as a kind of early warning sign to Harry, a reminder of his duties and obligations to those who have shown loyalty to him.

The title says it all. Barty Junior's self-sabotaging incompetence.

Defends the idea that Invisibility Cloaks belong to wizarding aristocrats, not to members of the DMLE.

More on the question of possible evidence implicating Crouch Jr. in the Longbottom Incident, discussion of the reaction of the wizarding world as a whole to Crouch Sr. after Voldemort's fall, and a question about reader response to Barty Jr's performance in the Pensieve scene of GoF.

Analysis of Crouch Sr's behavior at the drawing of names from the Goblet as evidence that (a) he knew who "Moody" really was, and (b) he was attempting to fight off the Imperius Curse.

Argues against the notion that wizards can identify other wizards by sensing their magical power

Motives people may have had for joining the Death Eaters, and the question of whether JKR will ever address the issue of legitimate (and sane) idealists among their ranks.

Discussion of how veritaserum works. Quotes at length from an earlier post to argue that those under the influence of veritaserum are not utterly stripped of personality or volition.

Argues that eros first really makes a major appearance in GoF because the Potterverse is a mirror which reflects Harry's own developmental concerns, and then predicts that we will see more of Ginny in Book Five.

Blackmail subplots in GoF, and pride-in-knowledge as Hermione's own particular spiritual temptation.

Yes, of course Fred and George are "really" engaging in blackmail! And it would seem to be illegal in Wizarding Britain, too. But more to the point, why all that emphasis on blackmail in GoF? (A question no one ever answered, alas.)