Earnestness: The Lightning-Struck Tower (Book 6, Chapter 27)
Harry Potter and the Sacred Text
Vanessa Zoltan, Casper ter Kuile & Ariana Nedelman
4.7 • 6.8K Ratings
🗓️ 27 February 2020
⏱️ 36 minutes
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Summary
Vanessa and Casper explore the theme of Earnestness in the much-dreaded chapter twenty-seven of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. This week we celebrate Dumbledore's humanity, sympathize with Draco's impossible situation, and discuss why Vanessa doesn't like death bed confessions. Throughout the episode we consider the question: When is earnestness actually naiveté?
Thanks to Diana for this week's voicemail! Next week we’re reading chapter twenty-eight, Flight of the Prince, through the theme of Perfection with our friend Dr. Matt Potts.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi everybody, before we start today's episode, we want to let you know about a Harry Potter-themed pilgrimage |
| 0:06.0 | that we are going to be doing in the north of England and Matt. Can I tell you the most exciting thing about this pilgrimage in my opinion? |
| 0:13.0 | That it's a Harry Potter pilgrimage in the north of England? I can't imagine what more exciting thing there could be than the things you've already said. |
| 0:19.0 | Well, there's going to be a hike where we hike all day, and at the end of the hike, we will take a steam engine train back to our hotel. |
| 0:29.0 | Oh my gosh, you're taking the Hogwarts Express? Yes, we are going to be boarding it in a place that looks a lot like Scotland, near Hogwarts. |
| 0:36.0 | It's going to look more, I think, like Hogsmeade station than it is going to look like Platform 93-quarters. |
| 0:42.0 | Okay. |
| 0:43.0 | But it is going to be great fun. We are going to be talking about Deathly Hallows, carrying the book around in our backpacks, as we go on these amazing hikes and talk about what it means to be a person who wanders around the world. |
| 0:55.0 | My co-faculty on this trip is the incredible Colette Pots, you might have heard of her, Matt. |
| 1:00.0 | Everyone, this pilgrimage is August 31st through September 3rd. Go to reading and walkingwith.com to learn more. |
| 1:13.0 | Chapter 27. The Lightning Struck Tower |
| 1:17.0 | Once back under the starry sky, Harry heaved Dumbledore onto the top of the nearest boulder, and then to his feet. |
| 1:26.0 | Sautton and Shivering, Dumbledore's weight still upon him. |
| 1:30.0 | Harry, concentrate. |
| 1:31.0 | I'm Vanessa Zoltan. |
| 1:33.0 | And I'm Caspar Tacyle. |
| 1:34.0 | And this is Harry Potter in the Sacred Text. |
| 1:38.0 | Portland, Oregon is famous for many things, including the fact that its fans of its basketball team, the Portland Trailblazers, |
| 1:46.0 | are the loudest fans of any sports team in America. |
| 1:51.0 | Really? |
| 1:52.0 | Some people would call that joyful as someone who hates the blazers. |
| 1:58.0 | I call it obnoxious. |
... |
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