Neville, Voldemort, and a LOT of gum

[furryfreakferret]

Sorry if I should have put this somewhere else. I checked but found nothing pertaining wholly to the case of the mysterious gum wrappers. Anyway....

So we all know that Christmas of book 5, Neville recieved a gum wrapper from his mother in the closed ward. But Neville's gran says, "she must have given [him] enough of them to paper [his] bedroom." So what's with all the gum wrappers? Why so many?

First, on a cheerful note, it seems Dumbledore was wrong and Mrs. Longbottom at least does recognize her son. Anyway, my subject as under Educational Decree something or other that's all I'm allowed to discuss. Someone somewhere (sorry can't remember who or where; maybe Neville's parents, Malfoy, and Neville's memory??) brought up the fact that if the Longbottoms knew where Voldemort was that they might know more. How to defeat him perhaps? This would be a good reason for Bellatrix and company to want them out of the way. So what if the gum wrappers are supposed to be some sort of clue to Neville? Something he's missing while being ashamed, or guilty, or angry, or something else he shouldn't be?

I was giving this some thought this morning and thought I'd see if any of you guys were thinking along similar lines. So what do we know about the gum wrappers? We know Neville has lots of them so his mother probably gave him one per visit. We also know that they were for Drooble's Best Blowing Gum and were always empty. Given Rowling's style I'm almost positive all of this has a signifigance other than to gain sympathy for Neville; she did that in GoF VERY well already. Poor Nev. So.... like some popsicle sticks have jokes or little known facts, could the gum wrappers have something similar? Something that when looked at right spells out the secret to Voldemort's dowfall? Or a picture with a similar purpose? Wasn't there some trick with some number dollar bill that if you folded it right you could make it look like the Towers collapsing on 9/11? Or could Mrs. Longbottom maybe be saying that Drooble knows how to do it? There are so many possibilties. Maybe Nev's mum feels uncomfortable talking in front of his gran and it's some kind of form of communication that only she and her son can comprehend? I don't know. What do you all think? Any chances? :angry: We have to wait another couple of years to find out now. We just can't win.

[HPviolinist85]

I sort of agree with the "not wanting to talk about it in front of the gran" thing. His gran does seem a little weird and maybe abusive or something. (maybe she put "crucio" on him once and a while to show him what his parents went through...... hmmmmmm) Maybe she is saner than her husband.



haha...... maybe gum deflects the crucious curse.

[Evilrabbit]

Wow, that's an interesting theory. I think because of the time they've been spending at St. mungo's the longbottoms could be regaining their sanities and remembering the information about Voldemort. I mean, if they are starting to remember who Neville is (because of the gum wrappers), it could be an indication fo their regaining their memories, like Lockhart did. I'm not really sure how giving Nev the wrappers could explain this to him, tho. I think they're just a way of showing Neville that they care about him. I don't think there's a secret message already printed on ALL DBBG, because if there was, any idiot smart enough to walk and chew gum at the same time could figure out the secret information. Maybe a future gum wrapper Neville receives will have info on it, but I doubt all of them will.

[familiar]

I kind of associate the condition of Neville's parents with alzheimers. They can get around and communicate somewhat, but they don't really have much mental capacity. I know one old woman with alzheimers who stopped recognizing her daughter and started calling her by a different name and no one knows where she got that name from. But I would like to think that even if Mrs. Longbottom doesn't consciously recognize Neville, she at least may hav a subconscious need to give him things. You notice she gave the wrapper to Neville, not Harry, Hermione, Ginny or Ron so on some level she does know him but may not understand why she knows him.

Droobles Best Blowing gum comes with the gum in a wrapper. You chew the gum and throw away the wrapper, then you throw away the gum. Maybe the gum represents the human - the gum is the soul, the wrapper the flesh. Or perhaps the other way around - the gum is the flesh and the wrapper the soul (since the gum gets chewed and eventualy decomposes, the wrapper still stays around forever because Neville is placing them on his wall to collect).

Rambling, I know. But the gum thing is going to drive me crazy. :banghead:

[Lestrange]

That makes a pretty good point, I suppose. You're still at the logical part, you only need the unrealistic second part to the theory to complete it. But really, this is a good theory, and we can only wonder now about what that meaning of the wrappers could be.

edit: I think may have an idea about this. Maybe they are indicating that they want to write something down. About Voldemort, maybe.

[amy460]

I think Neville's gram is upset that he is not as good of a wizard as his parents although he says in this book "gram will be upset about the broken wand because it was my dads" In the first book we were told that the wand chooses the wizard so perhaps Neville's incompetencies at magic were because he was using a wand that didn't pick him (but picked his dad) Maybe now he will have to get his own wand and will suddenly be very good.

I think that Neville will be the one to get Beatrix or at least help Harry in the end. I was a little shocked to find out that the prophecy could have been about Neville as well as Harry.

[furryfreakferret]

Wow! Everyone's on and apparently thinks I'm as mad as Lockhart. Oh well. It was a theory. Hi rabbie!

Violinist, I thought about that for a while. Actually I had almost convinced myself that Neville's family was beyond weird and to abusive. But having met his gran now I don't think so somehow. I think she's just stuck on the past and Neville's the overlooked future. "Gran's gonna kill me. That was Dad's wand." Though gum deflecting the Curse... interesting thought. Was Neville chewing gum when Bellatrix... you know, was being a evil little witch, I wonder? Rowling probably would have mentioned it. Mind you, Mrs. Longbottom definatly seemed proud of herself after giving him the wrapper.

Now souls and flesh and bodies?? Wow, familiar. And I thought I was confusing myself. Kinda thing you'd find in books like this though isn't it? hmmmm.... Oh I don't know! Like I said I was basically drawing straws so to say. And rambling. I'm good at rambling. Anyone else?

I did wonder about that amy. Whether now he'll have to get his own wand he'll suddenly show his magical apptitude? That's wipe the confident smile from his gran's face! It'd be HER fault that he was such a poor wizard. I hope he does get to knock of Bella though. If she doesn't die by the end of the series Rowling will have to keep going till she gets what she deserves. Which is something far worse than death. Insanity perhaps? But Neville, I don't think, could ever use the Cruciatus Curse for any reason let alone to drive people over the edge.

[Cat]

I don't think there's any reason WHY she wants to give him gum wrappers, just that she wants to give him them. She doesn't have anything else to give him. Perhaps she thinks 'Oh, there's a little boy here. Little boys like sweets. I'll give him one!' without actually taking in that she'd already had the gum. Perhaps she gave him a wrapper with no reasoning at all one time, and he seemed so pleased that now she gives him gum wrappers regularly to try to please him.

I don't think it has to be either a spectacular 'clue' or just a symptathy inspiring moment for Neville. That's a bit of a black and white way of interpreting at the scene.

[DWeasley]

Ok, well, just one little question...where did they get all that gum from in the first place. Since the grandmother said his walls were covered in wrappers, then he must really have a bunch, and I doubt whe would bring them more gum. Hmmm.

[Cat]

There's no reason why Alice Longbottom shouldn't be given gum. She can't harm anybody with it, can she? She could choke on it, but the sanest of us can do that. Alice must have the art of chewing gum down perfectly.

[Kendra]

Ah, the art of chewing gum...now that shows she must not be completely insane (no I wasn't being sarcastic).

I think it was neville's mum's way of showing she reconised Neville. She couldn't do a lot else really....gah I loathe Bellatrix...and she gave him the wrapper because that's all she could do.

It interests me why his dad wasn't in it though, maybe he's not recovering so well.

It would be wonderful if his parents gained Sanity, but somehow I don't think they will completely, maybe improve.

[rotsiepots]

I'm sure Neville doesn't have the opportunity to visit his mother very often -- during term time he's at Hogwarts, so perhaps he only visits on special occasions like Christmas. If this is the case, perhaps Alice Longbottom still understands that Christmas is a time for gift-giving and the wrappers of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum is the best she can offer? I'm sure there aren't too many things she can give her son -- if she likes gum a lot, perhaps the wrappers are her tokens of appreciation for his visit?

Sad really.

[Evilrabbit]

Ooooh, me likes the idea of gum deflecting the cruciatus curse. Of course there's absolutely no proof whatsoever, but hey. I don't think the 'Oh, there's a little boy here. Little boys like sweets. I'll give him one' thing is quite right because she never gives Harry, Ron, or Hermione gum wrappers. I think she recognises that Neville comes to visit her often and she appreciates it, even if she's not totally aware that he's her son. I hope Nev gets a new wand! I think it'll make him a slightly better wizard, though not that much, because he's really bad at potions, and you don't really need a wand for that. Then again, maybe Neville's just bad at potions because he's so nervous because of Snape. I mean, he is really good at Herbology, and I don't think you need a wand for that, do you? Wow, Neville could be like a really talented wizard and we don't even know about it. Here's hoping. Kinda sad that he lost something of his father's, though. Wow, this post really rambles.

[vickygirl4]

I think the gum wrappers are just a sentimental thing. It's a present from Neville's mom and I think he just keeps it for that reason.

However, I think Neville will avenge, or try to avenge, his parents in later books.

[rls]

I haven't seen this discussed anywhere yet...when Neville is visiting his parents at St. Mungo's, his mother wants to give him something, a piece of paper/wrapper that the grandmother thinks is trash--"Again?!" But Neville puts it in his pocket and quietly thanks her. My feeling is is that Alice is NOT mentally gone, but is faking it and has been slipping Neville notes. Maybe Neville really has more magical ability than he lets on, but is hiding it for some reason. Comments anyone?

[jimmy06]

About Neville's mom faking her insanity--i highly doubt it. But good thought though. I guess that Neville never has recieved as much as a hello from him parents, so I think that he must really cherish the "pieces of trash" that she gives him. I mean, heck, if my parents were like that, I'm sure I would hold the most miniscule sign that they know me as treasure.

And second, about Neville not really showing us all he knows, I'm sure this one is true. It said that Neville was really progressing in the DA meetings, and his actions and bravery he showed at the Department of Mysteries really made me appreciate Neville more then just the dumb confused boy in Harry's grade. I say watch out for Neville!

[KeLiSiTing]

Hmm. My opinion is Alice Longbottom is insane. There isn't any reason for her to pretend that she isnt. I think Neville pocketing the gumwrapper is signifigant to Neville's love for his parents in spite of their situation.

But I think the Longbottoms have something up their sleeves that we are all missing. Just an inkling.

[lilbit]

I hadn't thought of that. It's possible. I just thought it was poingant moment. Neville unwilling to throw away anything his mother gives him drives home the fact that she can't give him the one thing he really needs from her, a mother.

[Phionex]

Interesting. Like many others I think the Longbottoms condition is being kept as is. But I dont thats going to last much longer for at least Alice. I wonder instead of notes she giving clues. Maybe in the next book we will see more of them. But it appears shes trying to come out of it.

Now uncle Algie is a bit worrisome for me. I mean he DID nearly kill Nevillie trying to "force" him to do magic. Something tells me that the Potters were not the only ones with a close traitor in their mist.

[Oddfellow]

I do not believe that Neville is faking his blundering dunderheaded attempt at magic. But he is poorly guided. Under Harry's D.A. he improved. Teachers like Snape do not try to nurture him as Harry did, because they do not have a longing to see him succeed.

Also I think he may be a little scatterbrained. Being that, as all signs point, his parents died, life was taken away from them in some way, as Harry's did. Harry is popular and he is not.

The wrapper thing I can understand. Neville longs to have a normal relationship with his parents. He is going to keep any "gift" they give to him. Just put yourself in his cloak for a second.