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Narrative
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Sines - Wondering about the page quote. While very appropriate for the first book, the majority of the series is not about Harry being a wizard, but about him and Voldemort. I can't think of any good quote that aren't spoilers though. It just seems that there should be something better that isn't a spoiler. Probably something by Dumbledore. The best I can think of is something from when Harry is concerned he is too much like Voldemort. Dumbledore responds that it's not what you are, but what you do, that is important (Or similar).
Pk Mario: What are you talking about? That quote is great, it captures perfectly the essence of the series. The Dumbledore quote would be good for a trope about choosing good over easy or evil, but not here really.
Sines - Well, the early books are about Harry learning he is a wizard. This eventually doesn't play in any more, but some themes do play in throughout the series. One of those themes would be better used as the page quote. I'm not saying the Your A Wizard quote is bad, it's pretty good. I just have a nagging suspicion theres a better one.
TheDorkLord: I have questions about the inclusion of the following tropes
Random832: I have removed:
Robert: Linking the boarding school genre to The Good Old British Comp is rather misleading. Billy Bunter and Jennings don't fit those tropes very well, and nor does Harry Potter, apart from minor points. Comprehensives have more in common, both in real life and in fiction, with US High schools than with the boarding schools, though they aren't that much like either. The commonalities are because they're all schools. Seth: Most comprehensives are uniformed schools which (allegedly) have higher standard of learning (Students are vetted by 11+ examinations). Which is pretty dissimilar to an American high school. Harry Potter is set in more of a private school anyway not a comprehensive. Robert: You're describing grammar schools. Comprehensives don't select, officially — they're supposed to offer a comprehensive education to everyone within their catchment area. Comps aren't that similar to US high schools, but the pupils go home at the end of the day, and cover the full educational range, unlike boarding schools. On the other hand, school sports are important in Hollywood high schools and boarding schools but not usually in comps. Overall, there are three distinct genres here, all falling within the larger genre of school stories. None of them should be confused with any of the others. Seth: Damn got em mixed up. I went to a normal high school and didnt even bother taking the 11+. You know my school took the track team pretty seriously (Or at least me and my friends did since we were on it). It depends on the area how important sports are. I still say that they are not similar to American schools - not the least because we are 2 years younger and wear uniforms. But as for being linked to on this page i agree that The Good Old British Comp doesn't fit here. (Its a private school - no bike sheds) Silent Hunter: The 11+ isn't actually used in the UK any more (except in Northern Ireland). Seth: Its only been gone a few years its still culturally relevant. Looney Toons: I've recently noticed that some previously British slang terms — such as "snogging" — seem to be showing up in the American vernacular, and I have begun to wonder if perhaps the Potter books are responsible for importing them. Thoughts? Ununnilium: It's quite possible, although it may just be that slang that was fermenting in one area of America has started spreading. Seth: I wont be convinced until you start using Knickers and Wanker. Two of the greatest words we have that you colonials ignore. :D Ununnilium: I've seen 'em, a couple times. `-` Tulling: Regarding the Americanitis example: I would very much like to know the reasoning that led to "sorcerer's stone" being considered easier to understand than "philosophers' stone", considering that philosophers exist in the real world, while sorcerers are found solely in fiction. You'd think "the gold-making stone" or somesuch would be more obvious. Fast Eddie: Ooh! I know this one! In Ye States, philosophers are dead German and French guys who were multisyllabic, given to really long, hard to parse sentences. They are also dead. Sorcerers might never have lived, so could be counted as 'dead', but they don't have a rep for being multisyllabic or hard to parse. Or of being French. Or German. Lale: Call me shallow, but I think "sorcerer" sounds cooler than "philosopher." Sure, we all know the above assumption of philosophers isn't quite right, but consider the first, immediate image the titles evoke before you ponder them. Fast Eddie: Ouch. I've been relegated to "the discussion above". I feel cheap, now. :-) Anyway. Yes, sorcerers are cooler than philosophers. For the reasons I gave. Above. Tabby: Also? Alliteration. Fast Eddie: Dang. Yes. All those 's' sounds in "sorcerer's stone" versus "philosopher's stone". Wait. <busts out laughing> Let me go look at the binding of my edition ... <back now> Yes, "Sorcerer" is clearly the superior term. Else, my edition would be titled in an inferior manner. :-) Morgan Wick: And "sorcerer" is more tightly related to the magic setting. People would wonder what philosophers have to do with wizards. Lale: That brings to mind a question I've always had: why was the actual mythological artifact called "the Philosopher's Stone"? Firvulag: Philosophy used to have a much broader definition than it does now. For instance science is a relatively new term, it used to be called natrual philosophy. It was/is called the Philosopher's Stone because the people who were interested in it, or thought the could figure out how to create or isolate it were philosophers, often alchemists. Basically it's Older Than They Think and was orignally connected with the ideas of science, not magic. Although at the time and place, ancient Egypt, the Middle East and ancient Greece, the distinction between the two wasn't as hard as it is for us. Seth: The Alchemical Philosophers Stone was the great Mac Guffin for the alchemists. They all wanted to make it and create mounds of gold and infinite life and make their flatus smell like an evening breeze - they thought it would solve everything. The item in the book was based directly on their interpretation. The way the BBC reported it was that when polled a large (And i mean really large) percentage of the American population had never heard of it or plain didn't know what a philosopher was so they changed it to a word they would understand. Everyone i know found that very amusing. Looney Toons: Basically, if you poll a large percantage of Americans and ask them about any word with more than two syllables, you'll get the same results. <sigh> Americans Are Ignorant Boobs seems like such an attractive trope subject at times. And I'm an American. Seth: If you do use homer simpson as the picture. Kilyle: Anyone who wants more info on the concept of the Philosopher's Stone should read John Granger's books (The Hidden Key to Harry Potter is the first, I think). I haven't yet read the last book, so I don't yet know how well his theories hold up, but he does include a lot of information about classical literature and about the science of alchemy. For starters, alchemy wasn't the hocus-pocus voodoo start to science that some people think it was, and secondly, it was used even in conjunction with major religions, including Christianity. The search for the Stone was more about purifying your soul, so says Granger — and there's a ton of symbolism that shows up in Harry Potter that's related to alchemy, including the colors of certain characters (Albus = white, Black = black, Rubeus = red, and so forth). Anyway, check out the books — they're well worth reading, highly informative (even if his theories don't match up with the end product, but even more if they do). Kizor: Everything my tech-geek, Potter-geek and novice book-geek skills tell me points to one conclusion: Deathly Hallows has leaked. After the onrush of idiots the last time around, there's going to be an avalanche of assholes posting spoilers in the next few days. TV tropes should be obscure enough to fly under the radar, but we should nevertheless be more vigilant. Jordan: A question- what is an example of Schrodingers Cat for the series? Looney Toons: That's a very good question indeed. Wracking my brains, I can't think of who the submitter might have meant. Zeta: I think they were just mistaking being alive when one adaptation is released and being dead in the source material (which is ahead of the movies) as a Shrodingers Cat situation. Andyroid: No, I think someone added it without realizing the Harry Potter entry that used to be on Schrodingers Cat was something of a joke (it mentioned people who weren't sure Sirius Black had been Killed Off For Real because they Never Found The Body referring to him as "Schrodinger's Dog"). Harpie Siren: Removed...
Shay Guy: Xanatos Gambit or Xanatos Roulette? One or the other's been going on... Kizor: I'd say gambit. It's established, repeatedly, that DD's not omniscient, and some of his schemes backfire. His gift to Ron is "useful item with special qualities that he's likely to need" more than "item that will come in handy on the 15th of May, right after Harry strips naked." He's closer to "Firefly's gang bets on Saffron's inevitable betrayal" than to "Robbers depend on FBI happening to lock down the exact sector they're in, with a lot to choose from and no particular reason to choose this one." None of it depends on stuff that he couldn't possibly have known. Be: Although technically there'd be no reason for the FBI to lock down any sector other than the one the robbers were in...unless you're not talking about Die Hard at all. Jefepato: After having read book 7, I'm thinking that quite a few of the side characters deserve a Crouching Moron Hidden Badass entry, especially Neville. DomaDoma: I'd call that character development, myself, and that particular case has been going on for a while now. Lale: Wormtail's death was more You Have Failed Me — he was killed by a contingency plan of Voldemort's built into his replacement hand as punishment for showing Harry mercy. Deus Ex Biotica: So... what is Anyone Can Die doing here? The last book makes it very, very clear that, no matter how narratively appropos it is, some characters (by which I mean, Harry, Ron, and Hermione) simply cannot kick the can. Barring someone defending this, I'll delete it soon. Oh, and there is no defense for changing the name of the Philosopher's Stone. Lale: "Philosopher" brings to mind some wise old professor good at quoting proverbs. "Sorcerer" brings to mind a wizard. "Sorcerer" just sounds cooler. Anyone Can Die is definitely in the atmosphere. Hedwig is killed, when as The Hero's pet, she should have Infant Immortality. Fred is killed, his twin survives — that has got to be painful. And Harry dying was a very real possibility. Ophicius: Yes, but the "Philosopher's Stone" is a real thing (or as real as a legend can be). You can't say the same about a "Sorcerer's Stone". And it doesn't even make sense in story - there's no evidence that anyone in Harry Potter is referred to as a "sorcerer", and these people have some weird names. Mugwump anyone? Seven-of-diamonds: Every fan I know felt like no one was safe after book 5, especially the Trio. They may not have been on the death list, but Anyone Can Die is more about the reader thinking they -might- be on the death list, thus creating suspense. Rowling even said that she considered everyone a possibility while she was writing. Ununnilium:
Ophicius: Why is Chekhovs Invisible Gun here? From the article; "Chekhovs Invisible Gun is less convincing because the producers don't even bother to refer to or show it beforehand." The item in question was shown beforehand, several times. Lale: Since the deluminator is a "device... that is introduced conspicuously and will become very, very important later on," it is a straight Chekhovs Gun. Ophicius: Yes, that's what I thought. Pk Mario: "When an Ass Pull tries to become Chekhovs Gun through a hastily applied Hand Wave. The key word here is tries, because what makes Chekhovs Gun work is foreshadowing of the Applied Phlebotinum's importance before it is used." If you ask me, the Deluminator as device for Ron to get back to Harry was very Asspulley, that function was Never foreshadowed and just appeared out of nothing, it was almost a Deus Ex Machina x_X. Lale: That's what makes it a twist. Now, if it turned out to be a Horcrux or deathly hallow, or had a completely unrelated power like Super Strength or allowing a non-Animagus to shapeshift, that would be stretching it. To call this an Ass Pull, I think, would be to say she had no intention of giving the deluminator its purpose in Book 7 when she introduced it in Book 1 and got the idea at the last minute. I doubt that. Pk Mario: It HAD a completely unrelated power >_> It wasn't that Asspull, but come on...it went from being a device that just shuts lights off to a device that helps find people, whenever they are, and that power appeared just when Ron had run and needed to get back to the group, that part didn't had any foreshadowing...that's why I think it was an invisible Chekhovs gun, that part at least. Seven-of-diamonds: I kind of figured the unrelated power was an explanation for how Dumbledore always knew what was going on with Harry because he could listen in on whoever said his name but it still didn't have anything to do with turning off lights. The Kakapo: I never thought of Ginny as a Mary Sue until I read a very well-documented livejournal post about her- the perfection of the character, her kickass powers, her speshal beauty, her ability to be rude and never called on it because she is Destined For The Hero... I think whether or not everybody agrees, Mary Sue deserves to be on there. If not for Ginny than for Hermione, whom JK has said is based off her her. Lale: Hermione? Bushy-haired, buck-teethed, bossy, arrogant, annoying, "insufferable know-it-all" Hermione a Mary Sue? Lol — good one. Rinny: I think Hermione's got as many moments as Ginny does, especially in Goblet of Fire. Remember the Yule Ball. Be: In Hermione's case, those are the exception rather than the rule. I can think of five or six cases where Hermione gets punished, put down or whatever; I can't think of any for Ginny. Morgan Wick: And talking of Mary Sues, then there's the people who would bring up Harry himself  ...
gs68: HAHAHA DISREGARD THIS DELETED EDIT, I SUCK COCKS:
TK: "Technicolor Eyes (Harry Potter)" - What? Last I checked, green is a perfectly normal eye color, in fact my blue-green are odder. Granted the color is said to be "significant" but looking at the description for the Technicolor Eyes entry, I still don't think Harry's green eyes fit? Sines: Some eye trope must fit the bill here. Considering how Harry is repeatedly said to look like his father, but that he has his mother's eyes. This grows in importance as we find out that Harry is far more like his mother than his father, combined with all other sorts of symbolism it should show up somewhere, but I'm not sure which trope fits. Looney Toons: Deleted this addition by Nev
Be: I have a query - I was always under the impression that a half-blooded person was the offspring of a magical person and a Muggle. If I remember rightly, Seamus comes right out and says that in the first book. From then on, however, people refer to Harry as being a half-blood, where he should be a pure-blood for having two magical parents. It's possible I'm missing something or I'm misremembering, but what's with this? Rogue 7: Wizarding prejudice means that since Harry's mother was muggle-born, she still "counts" as a muggle, making Harry half-blooded. Pk Mario: Three fourths-blooded would sound just silly anyway. Tenebrais: Half-Blood seems to refer to any mix of pure and impure blood. Or a half-blood and anything else. Maybe wizards are Lumpers. Taeraresh: As far as the pure-blood fanatics are concerned, a non-pure-blood anywhere in one's ancestry 'pollutes' the blood, making one a half-blood. Realistically, the vast majority of wizarding family trees have non-pureblood members, as magical ability is so rare that they would have died out otherwise.
Chuckg: Removed this entry under Poor Communication Kills:
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