PS Chapter One
Sep. 14th, 2010 10:06 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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deathtocapslock- I've been a lurker here for a long time, but this is supposed to be the last time I'm reading the books before putting them into a box in the corner and giving their shelf space to Maurice Leblanc, so I figured I'd share my thoughts on this last reread here.
- I'm reading a translated version of the first four books and the translations is a little goofy in some places. Any factual errors are probably my mistake for not checking the English text.
- From the first paragraph, the Dursleys are presented as completely mundane and unwhimsical. Still, the initial description is not really negative, we only find out that Petunia is nosy, probably to distance her from terminally uncurious Harry. Dudley is also presented as being a wonderful child only in his parents' opinion, even before we properly see him.
- The completely ordinary weather is supposedly showing that mysterious things are about to happen. Emphatic weather does not work like that.
- When vernon commutes to work, we see him rationalising the unusual things he sees, like people dressed in strange clothes. It is probably the only instance in the series where we see Muggle reaction to Wizard business, so it is worth mentioning.
- That said, it is probably intended to show Vernon as unsympathetic and thinking only in mundane manner.
- Vernon's behavior at work makes him look like a horrible boss who screams at his employees. We don't know his reasons, we're just supposed to assume he does it without any reason.
- When Vernon considers phoning Petunia to ask her about the Potters' son's name, he shows concern about her and he does not want to disturb her.
- Dudley is constantly portrayed as a spoiled child that's hard to control.
- Dumbledore finally appears and thanks to the Czech language being unspecific in this area, I'm seeing him wearing stilleto heels.
- The conversation between Dumbledore and McGonagall is mostly an infodump, but McGonagall casually remarks that Muggles may not be completely stupid. Remember kids, prejudice is wrong, unless the good guys show it.
- Dumbledore and McGonagall are actually contrasting quite well here with Dumbledore being all whimsy and McGonagall being all serious.
- Dumbledore says that he does not know why Voldemort wasn't able to kill Harry. I could say he's lying and witholding information, but he probably did not have time to do any research into the matter.
- Dumbledore's watch begins the theme of wizarding tools being more complicated than the Muggle equivalent without any sign of being better.
- Dumledore's arguments for giving Harry into the Dursleys' care are not all that convincing. Sirius is still around at the moment and he could be able to take care of Harry. Especially if we assume that Dumbledore does not yet know about the blood protection.
- Strangely, the first impression we get of Hagrid is not very pleasant.
- Don't the wizards have any charms for removing scars? Though Dumbledore not even considering removing Harry's scar and just saying it's unremovable is a minor nitpick, even if he just saw the kid for the first time since Voldermort's attack. He's Gryffindor, they probably think scars are cool, even if they are earned by complete accident.
- And Hagrid's goodbye with Harry shows that he's gruff, but with a heart of gold.
- Even Dumbledore seems a little sad when he has to give up Harry. Since the chapter probably has an omniscient narrator, it is a genuine emotion, but he's still the least emotional of the three people present.
- Hagrid makes a mistake in the declension of Sirius. Is it because the translator wanted to show that he is poorly educated or because the translator does not know that clearly Latin names are an exception to the rules of declension? Only Prisoner of Azkaban will tell.
- And Harry is left alone. It is decently written though Rowling tries a bit too hard to show how he is a special boy, given up to the ordinary world.
- I'm reading a translated version of the first four books and the translations is a little goofy in some places. Any factual errors are probably my mistake for not checking the English text.
- From the first paragraph, the Dursleys are presented as completely mundane and unwhimsical. Still, the initial description is not really negative, we only find out that Petunia is nosy, probably to distance her from terminally uncurious Harry. Dudley is also presented as being a wonderful child only in his parents' opinion, even before we properly see him.
- The completely ordinary weather is supposedly showing that mysterious things are about to happen. Emphatic weather does not work like that.
- When vernon commutes to work, we see him rationalising the unusual things he sees, like people dressed in strange clothes. It is probably the only instance in the series where we see Muggle reaction to Wizard business, so it is worth mentioning.
- That said, it is probably intended to show Vernon as unsympathetic and thinking only in mundane manner.
- Vernon's behavior at work makes him look like a horrible boss who screams at his employees. We don't know his reasons, we're just supposed to assume he does it without any reason.
- When Vernon considers phoning Petunia to ask her about the Potters' son's name, he shows concern about her and he does not want to disturb her.
- Dudley is constantly portrayed as a spoiled child that's hard to control.
- Dumbledore finally appears and thanks to the Czech language being unspecific in this area, I'm seeing him wearing stilleto heels.
- The conversation between Dumbledore and McGonagall is mostly an infodump, but McGonagall casually remarks that Muggles may not be completely stupid. Remember kids, prejudice is wrong, unless the good guys show it.
- Dumbledore and McGonagall are actually contrasting quite well here with Dumbledore being all whimsy and McGonagall being all serious.
- Dumbledore says that he does not know why Voldemort wasn't able to kill Harry. I could say he's lying and witholding information, but he probably did not have time to do any research into the matter.
- Dumbledore's watch begins the theme of wizarding tools being more complicated than the Muggle equivalent without any sign of being better.
- Dumledore's arguments for giving Harry into the Dursleys' care are not all that convincing. Sirius is still around at the moment and he could be able to take care of Harry. Especially if we assume that Dumbledore does not yet know about the blood protection.
- Strangely, the first impression we get of Hagrid is not very pleasant.
- Don't the wizards have any charms for removing scars? Though Dumbledore not even considering removing Harry's scar and just saying it's unremovable is a minor nitpick, even if he just saw the kid for the first time since Voldermort's attack. He's Gryffindor, they probably think scars are cool, even if they are earned by complete accident.
- And Hagrid's goodbye with Harry shows that he's gruff, but with a heart of gold.
- Even Dumbledore seems a little sad when he has to give up Harry. Since the chapter probably has an omniscient narrator, it is a genuine emotion, but he's still the least emotional of the three people present.
- Hagrid makes a mistake in the declension of Sirius. Is it because the translator wanted to show that he is poorly educated or because the translator does not know that clearly Latin names are an exception to the rules of declension? Only Prisoner of Azkaban will tell.
- And Harry is left alone. It is decently written though Rowling tries a bit too hard to show how he is a special boy, given up to the ordinary world.
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no subject
Date: 2010-09-14 10:41 pm (UTC)Because, that really is the question. Why would *anyone* think the fact that the child survived was due to anything that the *child* did -- or was. It almost reads like a deliberate distraction. Why would they think that the child had even been under attack when the Dark Lord bought it? No one knew what was in the prophecy but Albus and Snape (and Tom) Rookwood, in the DoM knew there *was* a prophecy, but not what it said. No more did any of the DEs, let alone the wizarding public.
And who leaked the information about the kid's so highly distinctive scar? Admittedly, all it would have taken was for someone to get Hagrid drunk, but who knew that he was the one to ask?
Rowling consistently fumbles the ball over who knew what, when, or how.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-14 11:25 pm (UTC)Possibly because he survived while his parents didn't. The whole 'Boy Who Lived' moniker is created by the fact that Harry is the only person to survive Voldemort's wrath, the only person who has survived the Killing Curse (as Moody tells us in GoF). I mean, yes, it sounds silly - how could a baby do anything? - but the fact that he survived *and* somehow was the cause of Voldemort's demise gave rise to the idea that he must have been special in some way.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-14 11:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-15 03:04 am (UTC)We know it because Albus tells us so, but he wasn't telling the wider wizarding public. Or was he?
no subject
Date: 2010-09-15 03:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-15 03:13 am (UTC)Either by soothing him by telling him it was his mother who did it, or as a way to convince him he is *special*, and has a high destiny to meet.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-15 05:36 am (UTC)Heck, even when Harry made that wand spout its last spells we did not see anything between Lily's death and Bertha Jorkins'. Because the AK (or whatever it was) disembodied Voldie, so there was nothing for the echo to show.