GOF Chapter 3: The Invitation
Jan. 17th, 2011 09:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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deathtocapslockThis is the obligatory Dursley chapter, in which we are treated to the home life of this family and learn how inferior they are to wizard families.
Dudley takes up a whole side of the square kitchen table. Ahem, I doubt a square kitchen table (as opposed to a dining room table) was designed to seat 8 people, 2 on a side. His parents excuse away his teachers' accusations of bullying. As opposed to the Weasleys who never receive reports making such heinous accusations against the twins (we'll see the school does occasionally owl their parents, but I don't see any awareness that some of what the twins do is bullying behavior). (This starts the theme of parents dealing with wayward sons in this book.) Dudley is forced into a diet of fruit and vegetables rather than his favorites. From the descriptions we get of the food Harry eats at Hogwarts I get the feeling Harry's favorites are closer to Dudley's than to the health foods, nor does he limit his intake. But somehow Harry remains thin, regardless of whether he gets starved by Petunia or stuffed by Molly or the House-elves.
Changing the food choices of the entire family is a good thing! However adjusting Harry's serving size to Dudley's (perceived?) emotional needs isn't. I don't begrudge Harry for working around a diet he doesn't need, but then I also sympathize with Dudley who does. Changing eating habits of years is hard.
This is also the place to say Dudley must have grown up as an emotional wreck. Knowing that his parents were capable of such physical and emotional deprivation of someone in their care - what if he ever failed to please them? I think a big part of his misbehavior is both making sure his parents know he *isn't* Harry as well as wanting the reassurance that they still love him, no matter what anyone else thinks.
Of Harry's 4 sources of help only one sends food he appreciates. Odd that even Hagrid managed to send an edible birthday cake. But how edible is it (or any of the others) 3 weeks later?
Harry is surprised that the Weasleys wrote directly to the Dursleys. Vernon is embarrassed that they didn't know how many stamps to use. But really, how hard is it to find out? Didn't they go to the post office to buy the stamps? What does it say about the exchange rate between Galleons and pounds that a family so poor finds it reasonable to spend on so many stamps for one letter? Molly's letter sounds as if she is trying too hard to make the Quidditch World Cup sound special and to make Arthur sound important. And of course she doesn't have enough imagination to realize that sending a letter by owl isn't normal for the Dursleys.
Harry is offended on Molly's behalf when Vernon calls her 'dumpy'. Since Molly likes Harry nobody is allowed to notice she is overweight.
I must say that the scene where Harry threatens Vernon with Sirius looks a lot less humorous now that I have seen Harry enjoy torturing a man for punishment, and Sirius engaging in Muggle-baiting.
If I am correct in my understanding that Ron is claiming that he and Molly wrote their respective letters at about the same time, then I am impressed with the UK post. Molly's letter arrived on Saturday morning. Pig arrived the same morning. Considering the speed of owls elsewhere, it looks as though Ron's letter was sent earlier that morning. So a letter got delivered the morning it was sent?
I am less impressed with the Weasleys. They plan on taking Harry regardless of the Dursleys' consent. One could argue that eventually Molly and Arthur realized their sons were not exaggerating when they said Harry had been imprisoned and starved, but seeing how Arthur views the treatment of Muggles, both in this book and in COS, I doubt this made a difference.
Harry is happy specifically because Dudley is suffering and he isn't. The seeds of the bully of HBP and war criminal of DH.
Dudley takes up a whole side of the square kitchen table. Ahem, I doubt a square kitchen table (as opposed to a dining room table) was designed to seat 8 people, 2 on a side. His parents excuse away his teachers' accusations of bullying. As opposed to the Weasleys who never receive reports making such heinous accusations against the twins (we'll see the school does occasionally owl their parents, but I don't see any awareness that some of what the twins do is bullying behavior). (This starts the theme of parents dealing with wayward sons in this book.) Dudley is forced into a diet of fruit and vegetables rather than his favorites. From the descriptions we get of the food Harry eats at Hogwarts I get the feeling Harry's favorites are closer to Dudley's than to the health foods, nor does he limit his intake. But somehow Harry remains thin, regardless of whether he gets starved by Petunia or stuffed by Molly or the House-elves.
Changing the food choices of the entire family is a good thing! However adjusting Harry's serving size to Dudley's (perceived?) emotional needs isn't. I don't begrudge Harry for working around a diet he doesn't need, but then I also sympathize with Dudley who does. Changing eating habits of years is hard.
This is also the place to say Dudley must have grown up as an emotional wreck. Knowing that his parents were capable of such physical and emotional deprivation of someone in their care - what if he ever failed to please them? I think a big part of his misbehavior is both making sure his parents know he *isn't* Harry as well as wanting the reassurance that they still love him, no matter what anyone else thinks.
Of Harry's 4 sources of help only one sends food he appreciates. Odd that even Hagrid managed to send an edible birthday cake. But how edible is it (or any of the others) 3 weeks later?
Harry is surprised that the Weasleys wrote directly to the Dursleys. Vernon is embarrassed that they didn't know how many stamps to use. But really, how hard is it to find out? Didn't they go to the post office to buy the stamps? What does it say about the exchange rate between Galleons and pounds that a family so poor finds it reasonable to spend on so many stamps for one letter? Molly's letter sounds as if she is trying too hard to make the Quidditch World Cup sound special and to make Arthur sound important. And of course she doesn't have enough imagination to realize that sending a letter by owl isn't normal for the Dursleys.
Harry is offended on Molly's behalf when Vernon calls her 'dumpy'. Since Molly likes Harry nobody is allowed to notice she is overweight.
I must say that the scene where Harry threatens Vernon with Sirius looks a lot less humorous now that I have seen Harry enjoy torturing a man for punishment, and Sirius engaging in Muggle-baiting.
If I am correct in my understanding that Ron is claiming that he and Molly wrote their respective letters at about the same time, then I am impressed with the UK post. Molly's letter arrived on Saturday morning. Pig arrived the same morning. Considering the speed of owls elsewhere, it looks as though Ron's letter was sent earlier that morning. So a letter got delivered the morning it was sent?
I am less impressed with the Weasleys. They plan on taking Harry regardless of the Dursleys' consent. One could argue that eventually Molly and Arthur realized their sons were not exaggerating when they said Harry had been imprisoned and starved, but seeing how Arthur views the treatment of Muggles, both in this book and in COS, I doubt this made a difference.
Harry is happy specifically because Dudley is suffering and he isn't. The seeds of the bully of HBP and war criminal of DH.
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no subject
Date: 2011-01-23 01:34 am (UTC)We're also thick in "Hermione's OOC here because Rowling needed her to be" territory. When Hermione didn't want to look at the Prince's notes, I pulled up short. Hermione? Not want to see improvements on the lessons? I could take (was it Karen's or June's?) idea that Hermione was just bent out of shape for a minute, then couldn't go back without "losing face" but it's still so OOC - I expected her any minute to break down and either ask to see the notes, since she saw the results, or be caught taking a sneak peek in the book.
...we know there are other avenues where students are graded on their understanding of the theory.
Yes, but it's the same teacher who assigns theory as well as practice. Did Slughorn remove all his memories of the potions when he graded the essays or did he remove all memories of the essays when he went into the lab classes? Or, did he simply not assign theory work at all? He couldn't be that dense not to see a disconnect between the brewing and the essays. He's a veteran teacher. He might have excused it away as Harry not being too good a writer but you'd think he would have talked to Harry about improvements in that area or had McGonagall, as Harry's HoH, do it.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-23 01:36 am (UTC)Or, he could have been routinely memory-wiped every time he brought the subject up to Dumbledore. That's something I wouldn't put past His Microcontrolingness.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-23 01:56 am (UTC)'t wasn't me, I haven't given Hermione a single thought in this whole discussion! :-)
Talking to oneself is one way to assure oneself of having an intelligent conversation! LOL
no subject
Date: 2011-01-24 03:44 am (UTC)'t wasn't me, I haven't given Hermione a single thought in this whole discussion! :-)
I've been gone for the weekend and am just getting back online tonight to read up.
I can't remember if/what I wrote about Hermione, If I did it didn't make enough of an impression on me, for me to remember it. Thats bad when you can't remember what you wrote or if you did. If I did I think I would have been responding to someone else's comments about her maybe?
I am not 100% sure what I think of Hermione's utter contempt of the book or the shock she has about it. I'm more apt to agree that she'd want to look at it at least, especially after she saw that the spells were an improvement.
I'd think IF anyone of Harry's friends could be trusted to tell him if Septem Sempra was a bad spell it would have been Hermione. So she would have been the ideal person to look over the book to let him know what was good or bad. Plus I'd think if she saw they were an improvement, I don't get the Ministry approved deal, especially after the going through dealing with the Ministry and Umbridge in OOTP. Hermione would have been less inclined to follow their lead I would have thought after that whole book.
And maybe thats the OOC that JKR threw in for a reason. If Hermione had been so willing to look at the Prince's book, She would have been able to warned Harry about what each spell did, becuase if anyone could have picked up on certain unknown spells she should have been able to.
So maybe the whole reason Hermione is not willing to look, because the authro having her look would have spoiled the moment of Harry slashing up Draco in the bathroom, or all the little wow discovery moments harry found by using those spells.
Hermione would have figured it all out in one reading. JKR couldn't give hermione the book in story because she would have solved and actually Understood all the spells and improvements.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-23 03:17 am (UTC)Sadly that was nothing compared with what was to come in book 6 ... :-(
He couldn't be that dense not to see a disconnect between the brewing and the essays. He's a veteran teacher.
Good point! And it stands regardless of whether or not Harry was 'cheating'.
So do we assume that almost all of the Potions classes were 'practicals'? Or maybe the Prince had advice scribbled in the margins regarding potions theory? As well as the mechanics of potions brewing, dark magic ...
no subject
Date: 2011-01-23 03:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-23 08:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-23 12:48 pm (UTC)So do we assume that almost all of the Potions classes were 'practicals'?
Or Hermione still wrote his essays.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-23 01:10 pm (UTC)Plus she'd lost half her brain in her silly games of jealousy with Won Won. :-(
(See, that's something we missed in year 7; Hermione blaming Ron for losing her position at the top of their year.)