Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Chamber of Secrets/Chapter 6
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Chapter 6 of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Gilderoy Lockhart
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[edit] Synopsis
The next day begins less appealingly. Ron receives a Howler during breakfast in the Great Hall. Mrs. Weasley's voice loudly scolds him for taking the car. Ron is utterly humiliated in front of his classmates.
Professor McGonagall hands out timetables; first class is double Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. Professor Sprout arrives late; she has been bandaging the Whomping Willow, "assisted" by Professor Lockhart who gave "valuable pointers." A disgruntled Professor Sprout directs the class to Greenhouse Three, which contains more interesting and dangerous plants like the Venomous Tentacula.
Professor Lockhart draws Harry aside and says he understands why he and Ron took the flying car—for fame and recognition. Lockhart blames himself for giving Harry a taste of fame at Flourish & Blotts and ignores Harry's protest that he and Ron only did it to get to school.
As Harry returns to the greenhouse, he finds that the class is preparing to transplant Mandrakes. The trio is joined by Justin Finch-Fletchley, a Hufflepuff, who casually mentions that he is Muggle-born and was headed for Eton before he got his Hogwarts letter.
Next class is Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. Harry seems to have forgotten all he learned last year and is unable to Transfigure his beetle into a coat button. Ron is having problems with his wand. Although he repaired it with magical tape, it is producing grey smokey clouds and unexpected noises.
After lunch, Harry is cornered by little Colin Creevey, who wants to take Harry's picture to show his parents that he has actually met "Harry Potter." Overhearing this, Draco begin badgering Harry about signing photos. Lockhart comes over and forces Harry to pose for a photo, then hauls him away for some "fatherly advice" on handling fame. They enter Defence Against the Dark Arts class together, although Harry hides in the back.
Lockhart sets a test to see how much the students knows about him. Predictably, Hermione, who apparently thinks Lockhart is wonderful, gets a perfect score. Next, Lockhart releases Cornish Pixies into the classroom, but he is unable to control them. At the bell, he flees, leaving it to Harry, Ron, and Hermione to get the remaining pixies back into their cage. Ron and Harry are now suspicious about how truthful Lockhart's books really are, though Hermione still seems to have a bad case of hero worship.
[edit] Analysis
In this chapter, we see one of Harry's great dislikes reinforced. As in Flourish and Blotts, Harry finds himself very uncomfortable with his fame, particularly as expressed by Colin, who is quite a rabid fan. Colin Creevey, in his enthusiasm at meeting Harry, easily forgets that Harry may not wish to be photographed and that he could, perhaps, not desire fame. Of course, other people take it out of context: Draco Malfoy starts to noise it about, in his usual way, that Harry is signing autographs, while Lockhart, quite plainly still believing that Harry is as motivated by fame as he is himself, lectures Harry on going too fast with his career as a famous person. In Lockhart's self-centeredness, he cannot see that anyone would deliberately shun the limelight, and so disregards Harry's attempts to say that he didn't want to be photographed.
Also, it seems that Ron and Harry are starting to have doubts about their Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. If Gilderoy Lockhart has done so many wonderful things, why wasn't he able to stop the Cornish pixies? Hermione, who seems to have a crush on him, dismisses the possibility that Lockhart didn't have an idea about the pixies, saying that he has done many things, although Ron subtly remarks that he can't offer any real proof that he has done them apart from his word. One must wonder why Hermione is so blind to what Lockhart's abilities actually are, even at this early stage.
[edit] Questions
[edit] Review
- What is the spell Professor Lockhart uses to control the pixies? Does it work? Is there anything strange about it?
[edit] Further Study
- Is Gilderoy Lockhart's teaching likely to be useful to Harry, Ron and Hermione? If not, why?
[edit] Greater Picture
Hermione's trust in Lockhart's abilities will continue throughout much of the book, despite significant evidence that he is a sham. He will never again try to demonstrate Defence Against the Dark Arts, the Dueling Club he starts up will prove to be a travesty, and his attempt to heal Harry's broken arm will result in Harry's arm being de-boned, among other less-than-stellar accomplishments. Faced with all of this, why will Hermione persist in believing in his abilities? The author does not provide many clues, but Ron, in later years, will indicate that he believes that it was Lockhart's good looks that kept Hermione in thrall, and that certainly seems to be what's happening at this stage. Possibly, also, Hermione has a subconscious trust in books, and a belief that if it is in a book, it must be true. In this chapter, she does say "Look at all the things he's done!" Ron, more skeptical, does not seem to agree with her trust that what's in the books actually happened. We will see this blind faith in published works again as late as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, where Hermione sticks to the published text in her copy of Advanced Potion-Making, despite the fact that the marginal notes in Harry's copy seem to produce much better results.
