Chapter 15 Quiz: “Aragog”:
Mark True statements with a “T” and False statements with an “F.” Answers tomorrow with responses to discussion point posts (if there are any).
1. _____ Ron and Harry get a clue about the spiders after visiting Hermione in the Hospital Wing.
2. _____ Draco Malfoy urges Professor Snape to apply for the Headmaster’s job, saying, “I’d expect you’d have Father’s vote, sir, if you wanted to apply for the job –.”
3. _____ Ron Weasley wants to fight Malfoy because Draco said he hoped the monster would attack also Purebloods who are friends with Mudbloods.
4. _____ While in Herbology Class, Harry and Ron see spiders scrambling for the Forbidden Forest and decide to investigate using the Invisibility Cloak.
5. _____ Professor Lockhart is delighted Hagrid has been arrested by the Minister of Magic because it means the bad guy has been caught and the monster attacks will stop.
6. _____ The moon is so bright the night Harry and Ron enter the Forbidden Forest that they can follow the spiders on the path easily.
7. _____ Aragog is described as “a spider the size of a small elephant,” “gray in the black of his body and legs,” and “soft-spoken and clear-eyed.”
8. _____ Hagrid hatched Aragog, fed him, and protected him when Riddle accused the monster of being behind the attacks. Hagrid even found the acromantula a mate named Masog!
9. _____ Dumbledore sends the car to save Harry from the acromantula children after Aragog explains to Harry and Ron that “I cannot deny them fresh meat.”
10. _____ Harry and Ron realize that they know who the student killed by the monster fifty years ago was: Moaning Myrtle, the ghost in the girls’ bathroom.
Discussion Points: (a) Tolkien echoes, if any; (b) most interesting element in this chapter when viewed in the Deathly Hallows rear-view mirror; and (c) the importance of Chapter 15 in understanding the meaning of Chamber of Secrets and the series as a whole.
Happy Thanksgiving!
1. F, 2. T, 3. F, 4. T, 5. T
6. T, 7. F, 8. T, 9. F, 10. T
Oops….my “rememberer” didn’t do so well. I missed 1,4, & 6. I plead old age and lack of resource (this was open-book, right?) which I did not bring in deference to our not-a-fan-of-HP daughter-in-law. However, I still had a great time with the questions.
The clue word in #1 was “spiders”….which Ron and Harry did talk about, but in light of their fear of a BASILISK. I just didn’t think the question through. Am I right?
For #4, I was thinking about the movie, rather than the book…I remember Ron and Harry in Hagrid’s hut after he has been escorted away. ARGGHHH…I should read more, watch less!
I just blew #6….the question was too obvious and I second-guessed myself.
I’ve always wondered about the presence of Aragog in HP and the parallel to the spider in LotR. Spiders being what they are; creepy at best in real size and downright horrid as gigantic beings…they seem to be one of the more interesting creatures to confront in a mystical setting. The eyes…the pinchers…and the hairy legs! Yuck. Since I’m more of a face-value kinda gal, I’m anxious to see how this discussion progresses.
Thanks, John, for the quiz! You give us “under-read” folk a reprieve from the eye-popping discussions re: Dante et al.
Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone!
Well this time I missed three again.
I believe that in this book the spider is very informative and is not very loving to the monster in the castle. He knows what it is, but won’t speak of it. We at least get to know that Hagrid is innocent, but it takes Hermione to get the info in the library on the basilisk. But she gets petrified and holds on to the info she finds for a little longer. We also know that the monster is very evil, that Tom lied about Hagrid and the spider, and that the monster is partial to Slytherins. (And Tom is like Percy, setting us up to not like him later as he gets nastier) I also noted in my book that Harry likened the monster to a monster Voldemort. So he did get a clue toward the end. We also get more info on Myrtle. She was the one the monster killed and has info on him and where the entrance to the chamber must be.
Not bad, I only missed #4!