OVERANALYZING THE TEXT

Neville as a literary double to Harry, and its ramifications for the series' thematic emphases on memory, history, legacy and power. Also touches on Voldemort's, Snape's, and Crouch Jr's roles within this schematic and on the leit-motifs of burial, exhumation and parricide in GoF.

More on Neville and Harry, and on the significance of themes of renunciation, memory and forgetfulness for the series as a whole.

Analysis of the Graveyard Scene of GoF. Argues that the scene is written to inspire a sense of revulsion in the reader by deliberately twisting or perverting institutions (religion, sexuality, the family, treatment of the dead) that we hold sacred.

Calvinism in HP: the extent to which Harry is portrayed not only as a member of the "elite," but even perhaps as a member of the *Elect,* and the extent to which this aspect of the books may stand at the epicenter of reader anxiety with the series as a whole.

Defense of the (now canonically-established) theory that MWPP really *did* bully Snape back in their school days, followed by a thematic analysis of Snape's Grudge, the Train Stomp, and the end game of PoA.

Harry balks at killing Sirius in the Shrieking Shack, thus demonstrating that he has already made an inchoate and unconscious decision to reject the ethos of vengeance at the end of PoA.

Thematic analysis of series structure and my prediction for Book Five.

Some thoughts about the possibility of a Weasley vulnerability to mental domination (To what extent would it violate the series' thematic emphasis on choice? Could it have been the reason that Lucius Malfoy targetted Ginny as the victim of Riddle's Diary? Could it have been the reason that Crouch/Moody did not think that Ron would make a good Auror?) Also, speculation that Harry was actually the intended recipient of Riddle's Diary, and some commentary on Crouch Jr. and Sr's respective degrees of Imperius-resistance (as well as on their physical dissimilarities).

Part seven of nine. Crouch's mirror relationship with his son, his redemption scene, and his thematic function within the context of the series as a bildungsroman. Also, some discussion of the relevance of mirrors not only to the Crouch subplot, but also to the series as a whole and to reading practice itself. Includes a rather snarky Lacan reference.

Why does Ron react more strongly to the Veela than Harry does?

Discussion of whether people noticed SHIPping "evidence" in the early volumes on first read, or only through hindsight. Evidence for Draco having a "nasty twisted little crush" on Hermione. Suggests that the Malfoy family has been established as both Ron's and Hermione's nemesis, and that this may indicate that Hermione will have some role to play in Draco's future development in canon.

Ways in which Harry does not really seem to take after his father at all (but might more strongly resemble his mother) and evidence that Lily was the dominant partner in the marriage.

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.

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.

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.