Harry
Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban
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Book
| Movie
| Discussion
questions
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Book:
Year 3
For twelve long years, the dread fortress of Azkaban
held an infamous prisoner named Sirius Black.
Convicted of killing thirteen people with a single
curse, he was said to be the heir apparent to the Dark
Lord, Voldemort. Now he has escaped, leaving only two
clues as to where he might be headed: Harry Potter's
defeat of You-Know-Who was Black's downfall as well.
And the Azkaban guards heard Black muttering in his
sleep, "He's at Hogwarts... he's at
Hogwarts." Harry Potter isn't safe, not even within the walls of his
magical school, surrounded by his friends. Because on
top of it all, there may well be a traitor in their
midst.
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Movie:
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Discussion
questions:
1.
First question is a very "open" question and for those
of us who have read (at least) the first two books
also. Where does this third book differs from the first two;
story-wise, character-wise, etc.?
2. All Harry Potter movies follow the book by the word. Alfonso Cuaron
has interpreted the third book (HP and the prisoner of
Azkaban) a bit more freely. Do you think Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban is easy to
follow for someone who hasn't read the book? Do you think Cuaron had
an audience in mind which had all read to book when he made the
movie? How about Chris Colombus - the director of the previous two
Harry Potter movies?
3. In the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry is not only growing up, he also
learns more about his secret and even discovers he has a releative,
his godfather Sirius Black. How important is it for Harry to find out he has other relatives
besides the Dursleys? Why do you think J.K. Rowling introduced
Sirius Black only in the third book? What does Sirius Black teach
Harry?
4. There are more themes in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban: there is for instance the injustice of the legal system.
What do you think about the trial and the execution of Buckbeak? Or
the way everybody thinks Sirius Black is guilty and Crookshanks
killed Scabbers?
5. Another theme is the duality of life: there can be more sides to
something in life. How is this reflected in the movie?
(Hint: Professor Lupin is a werewolf, but there are more things that
are different than they appear to be...)
6. Things are not what they appear to be in Harry Potter and the
Prisoner of Azkaban, as we discussed in questions 4 and 5. Even the
names have a meaning. Why do you think Sirius Black, Remius Lupin and Peter Pettigrew have
their names? What do you think of the way these characters were portrayed in the
movie?
7.
Please find below a quote from the book about the
Dementors: "A dementor rose slowly from the box, its hooded face turned toward
Harry, one glistening, scabbed hand gripping its cloak. The lamps
around the classroom flickered and went out. The dementor stepped
from the box and started to sweep silently toward Harry, drawing a
deep, rattling breath. A wave of piercing cold broke over him—
"Expecto patromun!" Harry yelled.
"Expecto patronum! Expecto—" But
the classroom and the dementor were dissolving; Harry was falling
again through thick white fog, and his mother's voice was louder
than ever, echoing inside his head—"Not Harry! Not Harry! Please—
I'll do anything—" What do you think the Dementors stand for and what influence do they
have over people? Do they appear in our daily lives as well or are
they mythical creatures? Why can Harry, Sirius Black and Professor Lupin fight them?
8.
Harry, Ron and Hermione have a new class in their third year of
Hogwarts: Divination with professor Sybill
Trewlaney. What do you think J.K. Rowling and Alfonso Cuaron want us to think
about Divination or predicting the future?
Which characters like Divination and which ones are hesitant about
it? Why? What do you think about Professor Trewlaney and the way she was
played by Emma Thompson?
9.
There is a discussion that Daniel Ratcliffe is getting to old to
play Harry Potter. Do you agree? Should he be replaced by a new
actor for the fourth Harry Potter movie? Who'd you like to see as HP
instead?
Do
you want to discuss this book or
others? Join
the group.
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