deathtocapslock | Philosopher's Stone Chapter Two

PS Chapter Two

*Petunia sounds like an alarm clock. Here is a stereotypical woman template that is going to be used in two different ways. Petunia is horrible, but Molly and Hermione are supposed to be desirable :s

*Duddy?! Is this a kind of passive aggressive gesture, like all of Molly’s gestures towards Ron?

*I came across a fanbase theory that all the spiders in the cupboard must mean that Dumblesnore has Harry bugged! Whether or not he does, he is perfectly aware of how Harry is being treated and it suits his purposes just fine.

*Harry can be read as either cute or as a non-descript little boy, according to preference.

*JKR evidently considers blond hair to be unsightly. It is usually a sign of ugliness or evil in the Potterverse.

*Dudley can’t count here, apparently, but exactly how dull he is will change according to the context. He is affected by Homer Simpson’s type of dullness.

*Aw isn’t Harry a sweet little thing? He’s glad that that boring old woman is in plaster. He’s even nicer than a little orphan boy named Tom Riddle was once upon a time...

*Vernon and Petunia have a funny turn when it comes to the prospect of having Harry on their hands today. One can’t entirely blame them. Doesn’t Marge live somewhere out in the country?

*Dudley and Piers get compared to beasts a lot, but then, don’t all muggles?

*Harry weighs on Vernon’s mind a great deal...

*Harry identifies with the snake. He obviously feels more affinity for it than for any of the people in his life. It must be the Voldemort in him.

*A pity the poor boa constrictor wouldn’t be able to survive once loose in London

*Bet Harry wishes it had swallowed Piers and Dudley. He is such a beacon of love and hope.

*Dumbledore’s scheme is going swimmingly. Hogwarts will seem like Harry’s only true home and he will be willing to die on the headmaster’s orders. That is the only reason for his internment with the Dursleys. If the Death Eaters were really a threat to him they could easily have grabbed him and disapparated when he was in one of these public places. Perfectly possible if that bald guy could shake his hand and disapparate. In theory he may have just kept hold of his hand and then disapparated, taking Harry with him.

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Ah well, at least JKR did provide Harry an all encompassing excuse for everything with the quasi Horcrux in him. Hermione had no such excuse.

And JKR said she hated traitors; IOW, Marietta deserved everything she got.

I came across a fanbase theory that all the spiders in the cupboard must mean that Dumblesnore has Harry bugged!

Spiders? No, it must have been Hagrid! :D

"Wasn’t part of the point of the series to speak out against stereotyping...?"

Except Slytherin is BAD and Griffindor is GOOD, obviously. That's not stereotyping, it's just... how it is in the wizarding world?

I remember how interesting these chapters were to me on reread because of all this stuff. It's really kind of clever the way it works--Harry's put into a situation that's so extreme with no friends, no family that loves him, stuck in a cupboard, but his personality is like a regular kid who's just bored with everything. So bored that he's kind of glad he doesn't have to hang out with the only person in the world who's nice to him because she makes him look at pictures of her cats. He's truly mistreated by everyone, but he doesn't have the personality of a victim so he's much easier to identify with. You don't feel as manipulated taking his side as you might if he was less snarky and removed from it all.

But yeah, everything going to plan here for Dumbledore. Just imagine how it would have all fallen apart if the Dursleys hadn't just jumped out of a Roald Dahl book.

...

Suddenly I'm wondering if Dumbledore didn't actually get rid of the real Dursleys and substitute them with transfigured toads programmed to act as he told them!

Edited 2010-07-16 15:56 (UTC)

... but he doesn't have the personality of a victim so he's much easier to identify with.

Interesting!

I see what you mean ... if, for example, Harry was something like a thrashed dog - snarling and biting at anyone who got close - then we would never have been on his side?

Right. Or if he was like some overly sweet character in a Victorian novel where even though people were mean to him he just forgave him...he'd be insufferable.

Um - yes. And the person who has the personality of an abused dog, is, of course, Snape. He is so clearly an abuse victim - and Harry is so clearly not - that it's almost funny.

*The spherical little monster in the photos is Dudley. It is strange how much JKR uses stereotypes eg like “fat people are unpleasant or intellectually challenged.” Wasn’t part of the point of the series to speak out against stereotyping...? Ah well, stranger things than this will come up before the end of the series.

*Petunia sounds like an alarm clock. Here is a stereotypical woman template that is going to be used in two different ways. Petunia is horrible, but Molly and Hermione are supposed to be desirable :s

It's either a double standard, or doublethink, or a double bind on the readers, or ... something. For JKR, it seems to be whatever she wants it to be at any given moment to show herself in the best light.

However, sometimes I wonder if Molly and Hermione are supposed to be desirable. I find them, and most wizards, to be monstrous and repellent, nothing to squee over. I'm probably in the minority in that.

I like that these posts keep an eye on Dumbledore's underlying scheme.

Of course Hermione is desirable. Don't you remember all the drunken louts salivating over her in Tottenham Court Road?

“fat people are unpleasant or intellectually challenged.” Wasn’t part of the point of the series to speak out against stereotyping...?

And the reverse, too; Harry doesn't link up with Ginny until she becomes the belle of Hogwarts. Ron only picks up Hermione (who was waiting years for him, we are supposed to believe) when she, too, has become quite pretty. And Harry is 'fanciable'.

A pity the poor boa constrictor wouldn’t be able to survive once loose in London

I'm sure I've read a couple of fanfics where the snake returns to the zoo - and one at least where it is peeved at Harry for not aiding in the 'escape' any further.

JKR evidently considers blond hair to be unsightly. It is usually a sign of ugliness or evil in the Potterverse.

There was an essay once about the Dursleys possessing the true spirit of the series - although JKR scorns them and their right-wing Daily Mail mindset, they're really pretty much on the nose with the wizarding world, from relying on appearances: 'You don't need to tell us he's no good, look at his hair!'; to approving capital punishment, to their traditional gender roles, to 'If there's something wrong with the bitch, there'll be something wrong with the pup.'
Anyways, they pretty much seem to be her representation (wasn't it when the series hit big, she even dyed her hair blonde?), right down to the inability to count, lol.

Furthermore the image of little Dudley was based on photos of a little JKR. And Marge is JKR's maternal grandmother. Perhaps she views the Dursleys as being like her shadows.

Really? Do you have a citation for that info? (is curious)

JKR evidently considers blond hair to be unsightly.

Which is odd, considering that she's blonde herself.

Philosopher's Stone Chapter Two

Harry, the little brute

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JKR and the Dursleys

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