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For the Greater Good, Revisited, a reading group look back at DH and its Dumbledore revelations
twiddlethosedial...
post Jul 20 2008, 08:49 AM
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For the Greater Good, Revisited:

Dumbledore through the Ages

Dumbledore takes us on quite the roller-coaster ride through Deathly Hallows -- and he's not even alive! But it's obvious from the earliest chapters when we see his obituaries that while Dumbledore is gone, he's certainly not forgotten.

Here are some things we learn about Dumbledore in this book:
  • His father died in prison
  • He may have accidentally killed his sister during a fight with his brother and Gellert Grindelwald
  • Dumbledore defeated, but did not kill, Grindelwald
  • Dumbledore had known for a long time that Harry would probably have to die to defeat Voldemort
Many of us have seen Dumbledore from the very beginning as Harry's protector and mentor. But we've learned here that his role in Harry's life may have been much more like that of a chess master. We see him make some arguably unethical moves -- using legilimency and veritaserum without authorization, for example. Were his choices truly for the greater good? We know the whole Seven Potters plan was Dumbledore's idea. Was Moody's death for the greater good? What about the curse to George's ear? Certainly Harry's escape was. Harry, Snape, and to a certain extent even Harry's friends and the Order of the Phoenix, are all players in a larger game of chess, designed to defeat Voldemort. And as Ron observed back in Philosopher's Stone, sometimes you have to make sacrifices in order to win the game.

With all that said, here are a few points to ponder to get us started:

How did you feel about Dumbledore, once you'd learned about his past? Did it change your perception of him?

Did Dumbledore see Harry as a chess pawn, to be discarded in order to win the match?

To what extent was he pulling the strings all along?

Did he continue to work "for the greater good" even after his own death?

Do you think Dumbledore's own ambitions and aims changed over time? If so, how?

Most importantly... now that you've had time to chew on what you thought you knew and what you learned about Dumbledore - has your opinion changed in the year since you first got the book in your hands?

*with appreciation to The Rooftop Garden's DH read for this thread*


This post has been edited by twiddlethosedials: Jul 20 2008, 08:58 AM


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