I don't remember which book it was, but Snape does tell Harry at some point that Dumbledore would not let him teach DADA because of his past history with Voldemort
I thought that the reason he wanted the job was so that he could help sort of buffer the students, teaching them things that he knew, from personal experience, would help them more practically than any of the other teachers had, once they were in the real world and once Voldemort returned. So as much as he loved potions, he probably thought his expertise would be more helpful in DADA. But Dumbledore also knew that it would break Snape because of the legilimancy, once Voldemort became powerful enough.
It does beg the question of whether or not both Snape and Dumbledore knew that Voldemort would return sooner or later (even Hagrid said that he was probably still out there somewhere, biding his time), since in SS the twins say that Snape has been after Quirrell's job "for ages." Like, as in, way before Quirrell brought Voldy back from eastern Europe, or before the Triwizard Tournament.
1) Do you have a favorite scene or line in Chamber? I've always liked the Deathday scene. Good quotes: Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain. - Mr. Weasley It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. - Dumbledore “But why’s she got to go to the library?” “Because that’s what Hermione does,” said Ron, shrugging. “When in doubt, go to the library.”
2) If you're rereading, what stuck out to you this time? I do not remember the extent of Lucius Malfoy's involvement in the school - getting Dumbledore kicked out by threatening others to rally behind him, and later on getting kicked off the Board. Nor do I remember Draco's reaction to his father getting kicked off the Board.
3) ***Please hide your answer in a SPOILER tag*** The visit to Knockturn Alley and Mr. Borgin’s shop also sets up scenes in future books. Can you think of some examples? What other themes and items are introduced in Chamber that resurface in later books?
Vanishing cabinet, cursed necklace, Voldemort's past, when Dumbledore says that there is a piece of Voldemort in Harry.
4) Were Harry and Ron justified in flying the car to school? No. They showed their age by not thinking things through.
5) Colin Creevey accuses Malfoy of being jealous of Harry. Do you think Draco is jealous of Harry? I think he is still slighted that Harry doesn't want him as a friend. He is jealous that Harry is more famous and gets more attention than him, and he is jealous of Harry's Quidditch skills which make him popular (to an extent) and well-known among his peers.
6) What is the significance of Harry’s fears that he should have been in Slytherin? Why is this so important? Slytherins are always described as evil, cunning, cruel, stupid and ugly. They are never portrayed in a positive light. Why would anyone want to be a Slytherin given those characteristics? Harry also wants to distance himself as much as possible from Voldemort.
7) There are a number of occurrences of socks in the books. Can you think of some of them? Is this significant or just coincidence? I think it is coincidence.
8) Dumbledore tells Harry, “Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled [the sword] out of the [Sorting] Hat.”. What does it mean to be a true Gryffindor, or Slytherin, or Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw? The books try to distill the essence of a person down to a few qualities that are the hallmark of each house. I'm not sure I necessarily agree with what they are saying though. However, I do buy into the whole Myers-Briggs personality test...so maybe I really do.
9) If you could make polyjuice potion, who would you want to turn into for an hour? Shoot, I don't know. I'd rather just be transported somewhere awesome - if even for an hour.
10) What is Snape thinking when he realizes Harry is a parselmouth? That there is a connection between Harry and Voldemort.
6) What is the significance of Harry’s fears that he should have been in Slytherin? Why is this so important? Slytherins are always described as evil, cunning, cruel, stupid and ugly. They are never portrayed in a positive light. Why would anyone want to be a Slytherin given those characteristics? Harry also wants to distance himself as much as possible from Voldemort.
I don't think it's true that Slytherin's are never described in a positive light.
Slughorn is a good man who fights against Voldemort.
And obviously Snape. Though, of course we don't know that at this point.
There ARE good Slytherins. It's just that most of the bad wizards come from Slytherin, and since Voldy was a slytherin, it goes without saying that there's bad juju there.
I forgot to mention in my first reply, but how did Justin Finch-Fletchly manage to pass year 2? He was petrified the entire time! Given that Hermione was able to brew the polyjuice potion just from the book with no lecture, it seems kind of reasonable that she'd be able to make up the work she missed during her much shorter petrification, but Justin basically missed the entire year.
Also, are the only mandrakes in all the world really at Hogwarts? They couldn't have gotten the mandrake draught from St. Mungos or something? I find that really hard to believe, when the mandrake lesson was for second years.
Okay, I'm dying that the french translation has his middle name be Elvis.
I was always amused at Poudlards for Hogwarts. I can't quite figure out why they translated proper nouns.
(for the record - I probably made it 4 chapters into Sorcerer's Stone before giving up - my high school french class didn't cover the words for werewolf, poltergeist, transfiguration, etc)
Slughorn lied to protect himself (and his Slug Club where only the most well-connected students are invited to join isn't exactly a positive thing), Voldemort is evil, the Malfoy family are bigots (as was Salazar Slytherin himself), Crabbe and Goyle are dumb, Millicent Bullstrode is described as ugly, Pansy Parkinson is a bully, Bellatrix Lestrange is evil - as were the Carrows, Dolores Umbridge was abusive, on and on and on. We are also led to believe throughout the entire series that Snape is a bad guy.
I forgot to mention in my first reply, but how did Justin Finch-Fletchly manage to pass year 2? He was petrified the entire time! Given that Hermione was able to brew the polyjuice potion just from the book with no lecture, it seems kind of reasonable that she'd be able to make up the work she missed during her much shorter petrification, but Justin basically missed the entire year.
Also, are the only mandrakes in all the world really at Hogwarts? They couldn't have gotten the mandrake draught from St. Mungos or something? I find that really hard to believe, when the mandrake lesson was for second years.
Ha, I never thought about Justin much. Maybe he was given make up work to do over the summer?
I got the impression that mandrakes needed to be harvested fresh. Do they have a specific growing season? In the first and second books, the plants they need are what they're currently learning about in herbology.
I think both of these things are Rowling getting into her groove as a writer. IMO the writing and storytelling gets heaps better in the third book. Plus, if they would have woken Hermione up right away, she would have told Dumbledore what was happening, and then Harry and Ron wouldn't have had the adventure in the Chamber and the end of the book would not have been nearly as exciting
Slughorn lied to protect himself (and his Slug Club where only the most well-connected students are invited to join isn't exactly a positive thing), Voldemort is evil, the Malfoy family are bigots (as was Salazar Slytherin himself), Crabbe and Goyle are dumb, Millicent Bullstrode is described as ugly, Pansy Parkinson is a bully, Bellatrix Lestrange is evil - as were the Carrows, Dolores Umbridge was abusive, on and on and on. We are also led to believe throughout the entire series that Snape is a bad guy.
Slughorn lied to protect himself (and his Slug Club where only the most well-connected students are invited to join isn't exactly a positive thing), Voldemort is evil, the Malfoy family are bigots (as was Salazar Slytherin himself), Crabbe and Goyle are dumb, Millicent Bullstrode is described as ugly, Pansy Parkinson is a bully, Bellatrix Lestrange is evil - as were the Carrows, Dolores Umbridge was abusive, on and on and on. We are also led to believe throughout the entire series that Snape is a bad guy.
Like others have said, Slytherin is described as evil because that's how Harry sees it. His experience with the Slytherins he encounters is negative, but that doesn't mean all are.
Merlin was a Slytherin, and he was an advocate for Muggle rights (Pottermore).
Regulus Black was in Slytherin, and he ended up fighting against Voldemort, and giving his life to destroy a Horcrux. We're led to believe Snape is bad because again, that's Harry's perspective. But obviously we learn that he's not evil, and is one of the bravest heros of the series.
Slughorn lied to protect himself (and his Slug Club where only the most well-connected students are invited to join isn't exactly a positive thing), Voldemort is evil, the Malfoy family are bigots (as was Salazar Slytherin himself), Crabbe and Goyle are dumb, Millicent Bullstrode is described as ugly, Pansy Parkinson is a bully, Bellatrix Lestrange is evil - as were the Carrows, Dolores Umbridge was abusive, on and on and on. We are also led to believe throughout the entire series that Snape is a bad guy.
Like others have said, Slytherin is described as evil because that's how Harry sees it. His experience with the Slytherins he encounters is negative, but that doesn't mean all are.
Merlin was a Slytherin, and he was an advocate for Muggle rights (Pottermore).
Regulus Black was in Slytherin, and he ended up fighting against Voldemort, and giving his life to destroy a Horcrux. We're led to believe Snape is bad because again, that's Harry's perspective. But obviously we learn that he's not evil, and is one of the bravest heros of the series.
I legit don't know how to argue if someone actually comes away from reading all seven books believing Snape to be a bad character. Sure, he made some bad choices. But most of our opinion of him is formed through Harry, who has no idea what Snape is actually doing and working toward. The fact that Harry names his son after him should be a lightbulb.