Philosopher's Stone Chapter Three
Jul. 17th, 2010 11:05 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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deathtocapslockWell here it is everyone - a prolonged pause in the action
PS Chapter Three
*Dudley has flattened Ms Figg. I bet Harry was pleased.
*So Harry’s longest ever imprisonment in the cupboard took from Dud’s birthday to shortly before his own? So about a month. But then, given JKR’s maths, it could really be any length of time.
*Following on from the discussion about the previous chapter, it really is the case that Harry does not have a victim’s personality. If he really found Dudley intimidating he wouldn’t be able to answer him back like this.
*Hmm the cake was stale though... bet Harry wishes Dud had killed the old squib outright.
*Smeltings boys wear ridiculous uniforms and have sticks of wood for attacking each other which is supposed to be good training for later life. Sound like an all boys version of Hogwarts much?
*I presume Harry was just being a smart alec when he goes “I didn’t realise it had to be so wet.” Otherwise he would seem dumber than Dudley.
*Harry could have read the letter quickly when he was in the hall, but no – he had to ensure that this chapter is really drawn out and the plot suspended for its duration.
*It is evident that the Dursleys have received no communication from the magical world since the letter that Dumblesnore dropped off with Harry on their doorstep. Evidently they infer from McGonagall’s letter that somebody from the magical community – they don’t know who - might now have them under surveillance and it changes their whole approach towards Harry completely. Not only do they move him into a bedroom, but they don’t even attempt to favour Dudley anymore. So the merest hint of magical intervention is sufficient to prevent them from keeping Harry downtrodden. It is highly likely that Dumblesnore’s first letter gave them permission, perhaps even recommended, that they keep Harry downtrodden. If he didn’t want them to do that it would have been very easy to check up on Harry on a regular basis in a way that Vernon and Petunia would notice. This letter’s defining feature is that it is from someone magical besides Dumbledore.
*Dudley’s a right little slob :p Nothing like Harry of course. Oh wait... *remembers later in the series* Well Dud never reads anything, unlike Harry... *remembers all the rest of the series again* I’ll stop trying to compare Harry favourably to Dudley.
*Animals have a harrowing time around Dudley. But I recall agreeing with another member of deathtocapslocks who pointed out that JKR wasted an opportunity to make Harry more likeable than Dudley by making him kind to animals.
*The Smeltings stick certainly gets put to good use here.
*It’s just as well Vernon is referring to Hagrid *although he doesn’t know it* with his ironic remark about the delivery person’s mind working in strange ways. Hagrid really is dumber than Vernon and bizarre to say the best of it.
*Dudley becomes a lot sharper in this chapter, asking Harry the question which is perplexing us all; “who on Earth wants to talk to you this badly?” Compare to chapter two, when he could not count.
*A minimum of intervention from the magical community also prevents Dudley from being indulged or spoiled in any way. Vernon doesn’t even put up with his unconventional packing methods anymore.
*A generic seedy hotel!
*Hagrid’s line of thinking dictates that if Harry doesn’t receive a letter by one delivery, then the solution is to send twice as many by the following delivery. If a character with even rudimentary intelligence had been in charge of delivering the letter then this chapter would have been very short indeed.
*Dud is now the one supplying the spontaneous witticisms.
*Dud only remembers the days of the week because of TV, but Harry can’t keep track of them at all.
*So nothing has progressed in the way of plot during this chapter, but the location has shifted from Privet Drive to a hut on the rock in what seems like a different genre...
*Again, if Dudley were a successful bully, or if Harry had a victim’s mentality, Harry would not be prepared to wake Dud up simply to annoy him.
*Hagrid’s here! Brace yourselves everyone...
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That frikkin Harry filter
Date: 2010-07-22 02:27 pm (UTC)Sometimes too much is made of the damn Harry filter, IMO. Yeah, it puts a limited perspective on the narrative, no doubt about that, and Harry isn't always the most imaginative person in this universe, but the Harry-centric perspective also enables the author to conceal her big reveals.
Plus, are we supposed to find the Harry filter suspect when he names his second son after Snape and says that Snape was "probably the bravest man he ever knew" ---???
Just sayin'.
Re: That frikkin Harry filter
Date: 2010-07-22 02:48 pm (UTC)As for Snape....only after seeing Snapes memories did he do a token gesture. However while the man was alive Harry never once looked at things from a neutral perspective nor felt guilt over anything he himself did.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-22 03:01 pm (UTC)If I were a 14 year old tied to a tombstone with the prospect of being tortured and killed, while Lucius Malfoy stood there laughing, I think I might have a few issues with Lucius too. ;)
As for Snape....only after seeing Snapes memories did he do a token gesture. However while the man was alive Harry never once looked at things from a neutral perspective nor felt guilt over anything he himself did.
Yes, well, Snape kind of made that pretty damned difficult for Harry, IMO.
And Snape is my favourite character, btw.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-22 04:17 pm (UTC)Snape wasn't that hard on Harry. And in fact Harry knew by the end of his first year Snape saved his life. Much of the problems with Snape were of Harry's own doing or his skewed perception. Snape happens to be my favorite as well.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-22 04:59 pm (UTC)Most of Harry's problems with people seem to be of his own doing, TBH. He takes an instant dislike to Draco Malfoy for no apparent reason, he takes an instant dislike to the whole of Slytherin based on what Hagrid and Ron have told him, he takes an instant dislike to Snape, he's shockingly rude to Umbridge during their first lesson...
(And Snape's my favourite character too, BTW, even after the appalling mess that is "The Prince's Tale".)
The Prince's Tale
Date: 2010-07-22 05:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-22 05:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-22 09:56 pm (UTC)Off the top of my head, Malfoy casually insulted Hagrid, sneered when Harry stood up for him, casually mentioned how he thought the 'other sort' shouldn't even be allowed at Hogwarts and showed no sympathy at all when Harry mentioned his parents were dead.
'shockingly rude to Umbridge during their first lesson'
She was trying to tell people that the murder he witnessed was an accident. I'd be a mite miffed in his position, wouldn't you?
no subject
Date: 2010-07-23 08:29 am (UTC)Looking back, I think I'd mis-remembered that episode, because I'd thought that Harry had taken a dislike to Malfoy before he said anything.
Still, Malfoy's comments about "the other sort" or insulting Hagrid aren't really much worse than Hagrid's behaviour towards the Dursleys, so there's no real reason why Harry should dislike Malfoy and not Hagrid (unless it's the fact that Hagrid only bullies people Harry doesn't like, of course).
"She was trying to tell people that the murder he witnessed was an accident. I'd be a mite miffed in his position, wouldn't you?"
I would be a bit miffed, yes, but I hope I'd be smart enough not to get into a shouting match with my teacher, especially a new one who would therefore need to assert her authority.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-23 10:16 am (UTC)'I hope I'd be smart enough not to get in a shouting match'
Harry watches Peter murder Cedric, is tortured and humiliated by Voldemort, risks his life to get Cedric's body back and warn everyone, and then he has to listen to someone who wasn't there insist that Cedric's death was an accident and there's nothing to worry about, don't be silly. And he's 15. How much self-control do you honestly expect?
no subject
Date: 2010-07-23 11:05 am (UTC)*nods* I'm with you, night train. :)
Off the top of my head, Malfoy casually insulted Hagrid, sneered when Harry stood up for him, casually mentioned how he thought the 'other sort' shouldn't even be allowed at Hogwarts and showed no sympathy at all when Harry mentioned his parents were dead."
Yes, it was Draco's condescending attitude towards Hagrid, whom he described as a 'servant', that instantly got Harry's back up.
But I do cut Draco some slack about Harry's dead parents! I mean, I wouldn't expect any eleven-year-old to necessarily show huge empathy for another eleven-year-old who is an orphan. Of course no decent kid would make a nasty remark about it either! -- and Draco doesn't. I think that Harry is feeling defensive because of Draco's sneery remarks about Hagrid, and so Draco's apparent indifference to Harry's orphan state comes over to Harry as snootiness. But, you know, even if Draco were a much nicer kid, I still wouldn't expect him to fall on Harry's neck weeping.
At any rate, this is one thing I don't feel inclined to castigate Draco for, on that first meeting between them.
I was wondering, though ... do the Slytherins ever get sporked, on this comm? ;)
no subject
Date: 2010-07-23 01:59 pm (UTC)He's some sort of school teacher.
He's the Potions Master!
Exactly. I heard he's a homely, bitter ex-student who hates his life and has to feel powerful by bullying students.
Probably would have been more juicy than insulting! The one thing Draco says that marks him to the reader as a bad sort is his talk about how he doesn't think Muggleborns should be at school. Which to me reads as Draco trying to sound cool by parrotting his dad, but it's still a big red flag about him.
I was wondering, though ... do the Slytherins ever get sporked, on this comm? ;)
Not if I can help it!
No, just kidding. I love the Slytherins. But I don't think they're always misunderstood or mistreated, by Harry or the author, even if I have issues with their stories. (I have actually occasionally gotten accused of bashing characters on this comm when I was feeling kind of affectionate towards them!)
no subject
Date: 2010-07-23 02:55 pm (UTC)Yup, you and I are on the same page here.
Personally, I think there is more that JKR could have done with Slytherin. Especially giving the House a bigger redemptive arc ... would that have been so hard? Did ALL the Slytherins have to be seen as siding with Pansy, for example??? Sigh.
(I have actually occasionally gotten accused of bashing characters on this comm when I was feeling kind of affectionate towards them!)
LOL.
As a Snape fan who loves Snape even when he's being a complete bastard, I sympathise. ;)
no subject
Date: 2010-07-29 06:16 pm (UTC)Did they side with her? We don't even know how they reacted. Members of the 3 other Houses faced the Slytherin table and Minerva sent them all out, without asking further questions. The Slytherins are voiceless. In any case, Pansy's suggestion of handing Harry in was sensible and could have saved lives (though Hermione and Ron would have had to manage the diadem somehow, I'm not sure they would have figured it out).
no subject
Date: 2010-09-05 02:16 pm (UTC)Also, isn't it funny that Pansy's idea ("Give him Potter!") bears a slight resemblence to Slumberbore's plan ("Give him Potter!") ?
no subject
Date: 2010-07-24 08:19 am (UTC)Perhaps; but then, it sounds as if most other people disbelieve him, and as a teenager wouldn't Harry be more interested in his fellow-pupils' views rather than his teachers'? I suppose you could argue that Umbridge was just the straw that broke the camel's back, although one could still argue that that was at least party Harry's fault (as more people might believe him if he didn't start shouting at them whenever they asked him what happened).
"Yes, it was Draco's condescending attitude towards Hagrid, whom he described as a 'servant', that instantly got Harry's back up."
I'm not sure about that; Harry didn't seem to mind Hagrid's or the Weasleys' condescending attitude towards Muggles (and yes, I know the Dursleys had mistreated him, but Harry had spent his whole life being raised as a Muggle, so you'd have thought that he might be at least a little bit annoyed). Thinking back on the passage, doesn't it say near the beginning that Draco reminded Harry of Dudley? I suspect that that might be the main reason for Harry's dislike.
Draco/Dud
Date: 2010-07-24 08:23 am (UTC)That is ironic, since as a type, Draco most resembles James Potter, but suited to Slytherin rather than Gryffindor. What would Harry have made of an eleven year old James if they were to have met in that shop I wonder.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-24 05:45 pm (UTC)LOL, that's canon's job! ;p
Seriously, though, there's plenty to mock with the Slytherins (Draco's my favourite character, and ridiculousness is sort of his forte) but it does seem like pointing out when they're being assholes would be redundant when the narrative voice, the author, and practically all the characters almost hold up flashing signs saying 'Slytherins/Giggly Girls/Fat Person/Muggle are assholes, audience!'
I mean, this comm sort of pokes at the faultlines of the series; with the Slytherins you're sort of left with 'Well, they're prejudiced' (the plot itself!) or else baiting fen ('Snape is described as greasy, take that fangirls!')
Not to say that if anyone feels there's a new point to be made or a funny joke to crack, that it wouldn't be acceptable! But there's a jillion places for basically rehashing the viewpoint of the books.
As for the robe shop, just to add my tuppence to the debate, Draco does come off as rude, but then we're coming from Harry's POV (from Draco's POV, Harry's probably equally obnoxious - the inexplicably sullen, snotty kid.)
I agree with you, the dead parent reaction is not really something awful (then again, I work with kids, most of our lot would probably say 'Oh, how did they die?' rather than 'Sorry', whether or not a stranger's sorrow that some other strangers died at some point was appropriately sincere enough for Harry.); it's the prejudice (to be expected from a kid raised that way, but since Harry's 11 himself, I wouldn't expect him to forgive/understand that.)
I mean, Ron asks to see Harry's scar right off the bat, which is something I could easily imagine Harry taking offense to it if it came from someone who he wasn't already comfortable with - the nerve of that person, wanting to get all the details about the event that killed my parents! I never wanted to be famous for a scar!
I also think that for Harry to be friends with someone, he needs to see them as vulnerable first in a way he personally relates to (Ron is poor; Hermione initially has no friends; Luna and Neville and Ginny all start off as awkward outcasts.) , otherwise he has a sort of defensive, envious/bitter reaction to them. (Presumably brought on by being brought up deprived while Dudley was spoiled.)
See, Cedric, for example.
With Draco, while Draco himself makes plenty of mistakes if he wants a friend (then again, perhaps that approach would have worked with a child brought up in the WW?), Harry does take against him instantly and not only in a saintly 'I'm instantly outraged by prejudice!' way that I've seen it described as (not in this discussion, just generally.) but because he knows more about the WW, and not showing himself as being vulnerable in a way Harry can relate to causes Harry to feel insecure - he feels stupid, and he dislikes Draco for it.
Ironically, he and Draco probably could relate to each other rather well if they could get past the enmity since their circumstances end up mirroring each other, but they both share this arrogance and defensiveness that lead them to over-react.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-29 06:08 pm (UTC)However, it turned out that Draco's description of Hagrid was pretty accurate. He indeed was a 'kind of a servant' (groundskeeper - before becoming a teacher Hagrid had the same status as Filch), he indeed was a drunk, he truly was quite useless with magic, etc. It is Harry who has a skewed view of Hagrid because he humiliated the Dursleys.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-23 02:07 pm (UTC)It just always cracked me up that later on McGonagall is telling him to be more wise about these things like Hermione when Hermione didn't keep her head down any more than Harry did.
Re: That frikkin Harry filter
Date: 2010-09-05 12:36 pm (UTC)It does when it's the good guys being racist, like when harry thinks Flint has "troll blood", Hagrid says the Malfoys have "bad blood", Ron says giants are "just savages" (perhaps they are, but Malfoy would be correct in saying that elves are "born to serve" - even Dobby loves a good massa) etc.