OOTP Chapter One: "Dudley Demented"

[for-diddled.livejournal.com]

* So, having done COS, I thought I’d have a bash at Harry Potter and the Capslock Button of Doom, or Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix it's sometimes called.

 

* OOTP was where the series started to jump the shark for me. Prior to it, Harry had been a fairly bland but basically nice boy; after JKR discovered the capslock button, though, he went rapidly downhill. IIRC, this is the first book where I started actually disliking Harry.

* No, Harry, I don’t think the neighbours avoid you because of your scruffiness. More likely, it’s due to your egoism, recklessness, unfriendliness and general lack of empathy.

* Well done, Harry! Truly, thinking to hide somewhere where your relatives can’t see you is a masterstroke of genius, indicative of a brilliant mind.

* Is it possible to grind your teeth loud enough to drown out the sound of a TV? Anyway, I shudder to think of what the Dursleys’ teeth must be like. Wouldn’t all that grinding wear them down something terrible?

* For all that JK Rowling seems to link Dudley’s lack of interest in the news to a general lack of moral virtue, it should perhaps be pointed out that Harry only follows the news because he thinks it might involve him, rather than out of any general desire to find out what’s happening in the wider would.

* Given that Harry’s apparently ignored and maltreated at home, you might expect him to be glad of Mrs. Figg inviting him to tea. This seems to be one of the occasions when JKR’s desire to make Harry into a normal everyman character clashes with what a real person in his situation would be like.

* According to Harry, the Dursleys are “astonishingly stupid”. I’ll just pause there to let the irony of that description sink in.

* Dudley and his gang go around vandalising, smoking and throwing stones at people. Yep, it’s a jungle out there on the mean streets of middle-class, suburban Surrey.

* “‘Give ’em a lifelong siesta, I would,’ snarled Uncle Vernon.” Just to remind us all that he’s racist, and therefore evil. Unlike Rubeus “There’s not a single witch or wizard who went bad that wasn’t in Slytherin” Hagrid, Albus “Good Slytherins really belong in Gryffindor” Dumbledore, or indeed Harry “Squib-hexer” Potter.

* A helicopter’s almost crashed in Surrey. Wiltshire’s the next county but one. Just thought I’d point that out… :p

* “Look,” said the neighbours, “that Potter boy’s grubbing around in the dirt again. Better stay away from him, he might turn violent if we come too near.”

* Uncle Vernon is trying to strangle Harry, just like Homer does in The Simpsons, providing yet more evidence that the Dursleys’ treatment of Harry is just cartoon violence, not meant to be taken seriously.

* Harry’s already using outraged italics on the Dursleys. Fortunately, though, we’ve so far been spared the ANGRY CAPSLOCK OF RAGE!

* How does Harry know that the sound was made by someone apparating? It may have sounded like it; but, given that Harry’s been thinking about magic a lot recently, he’d be quite likely to think that about any loud noise.

* Harry does eventually conclude that he’s mistaken, which is impressive given that Hermione isn’t here to tell him what to think.

* Does it not occur to Harry that Voldemort’s rise might appear in the wizard papers as it would in the Muggle ones – i.e., a series of unexplained disappearances, the significance of which has not yet been realised? Why assume that the front page will be the only place to find information? Although I suppose that NewspaperReading!Harry wouldn’t give Hermione the chance to make a long expository speech in a later chapter, so on second thoughts it’s no wonder that idea was dumped.

* These next four paragraphs really encapsulate all the problems with LaterBooks!Harry. We have the inability to come to the most obvious conclusions (hey, Harry, do you think that the reason Ron and Hermione aren’t telling you anything is that they’re worried their owls might be intercepted, just like they say in their letters?), the angriness and lack of proportion (yeah, Harry, throw those chocolates away! That’ll show ’em!), and the unjustifiable sense of entitlement (I saw Voldemort come back, therefore I deserve a key role in the war!).

* “Nevertheless, it was quite galling to be told not to be rash by a man who had served twelve years in the wizard prison, Azkaban, escaped, attempted to commit the murder he had been convicted for in the first place, then gone on the run with a stolen Hippogriff.” All this, of course, proves that Sirius is not in fact rash: a truly rash person wouldn’t have been able to plan ahead enough to escape Azkaban in the first place; and, even if he did so, would almost certainly not be able to avoid the largest manhunt in recent wizarding history for almost a year.

* “How could Dumbledore have forgotten him so easily?” Thus commences Harry’s “jilted lover” act, which will last right up until the end of the book.

* I quite like the word “wending”. It adds a certain old-fashioned charm which seems to fit well with the quasi-Victorian wizarding world.

* Nice to see JK Rowling equating becoming a boxing champion, with all the self-discipline and hard work that implies, with juvenile delinquency.

* Come to think of it, why’s learning to box inherently more likely to lead to petty crime than, say, attending the Hogwarts duelling club? Both teach skills that could be turned towards negative ends, after all.

* Harry’s longing to vent his frustration on Dudley’s gang. As Jesus once said, “If your enemy slaps you on the face, just turn the other cheek. Unless you’re feeling irritated and you want to vent a bit of anger, of course, in which case you can use your magical powers to provoke him into a fight which you’re guaranteed to win, and proceed to seriously kick arse.”

* All the houses of Privet Drive have “perfectly manicured lawns”. Clearly mowing your lawn is a sign of great inner evil.

* Actually, magically replicating the effects of a Dementor attack on his cousin would be totally IC for Harry. His behaviour often reminds me of that quote from Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series: “Bullying is wrong. But destroying someone’s mind with magic is A-OK.”

* Do Dementors normally make you go blind? I don’t remember that from other books; or, at least, I don’t remember it being emphasised as much as it is here.

* Erm Harry, what’s so unbelievable about Dementors in Little Whingeing? The wizarding and Muggle worlds are one and the same, after all, so there’s nothing to stop them from gliding over to your place – it’s not like Lucy Pevensie suddenly finding a talking beaver in her home in England, for example. And you know that Voldemort is back, you know that he’s been obsessed with killing you for the past fourteen years, you know that the Dementors used to work for him and might well go over to his side again. Is it really so difficult to put two and two together and work out that Voldemort might have turned some Dementors and sent them to try and kill you? That would be wrong, but still a reasonable conclusion to reach.

 

Comments

[charlottehywd.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to see you've decided to do this one next- OoTP was the book that really made me start questioning some of the things I disliked about the series. Also, as you pointed out, it was the book in which Harry suddenly turned from a fairly nice kid to an annoying, selfish jerk.

[snapes-witch.livejournal.com]

And the book that might have been better with at least 1/4 (perhaps more) cut out.

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

/* OOTP was where the series started to jump the shark for me. Prior to it, Harry had been a fairly bland but basically nice boy; after JKR discovered the capslock button, though, he went rapidly downhill. IIRC, this is the first book where I started actually disliking Harry./

I agree. I *hated* Harry in this book. OotP will always be my least favorite book in the series because I couldn't stand Capslock!Harry, many of the characters were ruined, the book was so depressing and rage-inducing, and it single-handedly destroyed the "great, moral, uplifting universe" of the previous Harry Potter books. I mean, I know that JKR said that the later books would be darker, but good grief.

/All this, of course, proves that Sirius is not in fact rash: a truly rash person wouldn’t have been able to plan ahead enough to escape Azkaban in the first place; and, even if he did so, would almost certainly not be able to avoid the largest manhunt in recent wizarding history for almost a year./

Yet in this book, Sirius is nothing more than a restless, angry, and immature plot device who's relegated to the background. *sighs*

/* “How could Dumbledore have forgotten him so easily?” Thus commences Harry’s “jilted lover” act, which will last right up until the end of the book./

Well, to be fair, Dumbledore does ignore Harry and generally act passive-aggressively towards him, for stupid reasons, no less.

/* Nice to see JK Rowling equating becoming a boxing champion, with all the self-discipline and hard work that implies, with juvenile delinquency./

Maybe she was thinking of the bully in "The Karate Kid," who used his martial arts skills to beat up the protagonist, rather than learning self-discipline.

/* Harry’s longing to vent his frustration on Dudley’s gang./

So, he tries to bait them in one of the most obnoxious ways possible. Oh, Harry, we barely knew ye. :(

/His behaviour often reminds me of that quote from Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series: “Bullying is wrong. But destroying someone’s mind with magic is A-OK.”/

YGO:TAS reference for the win! XD

[lynn-waterfall.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you're doing another of these!

[condwiramurs.livejournal.com]

* Well done, Harry! Truly, thinking to hide somewhere where your relatives can’t see you is a masterstroke of genius, indicative of a brilliant mind.

ROFL. Though for him, it *is* a stroke of genius, sadly. Hermione usually does indeed do all the thinking for him. And later the laundry too.


and the unjustifiable sense of entitlement (I saw Voldemort come back, therefore I deserve a key role in the war!).

Entitled? Harry? Naw. Never. How could you say that?

(Also, Harry supposedly hates having to be the BWL and have to be this symbol, to lead, or having to put effort into difficult things, yet he's furious that he's not the most important person in the Order with a main role, being a leader and rallying symbol, making all the tough decisions....Which is it? At this point it just seems like another reason for him to get irrationally angry.)

I too like the word 'wending.' Good word. ;)

And note that Harry's desire to "vent his frustration" upon Dudley and co., who repeatedly attack him physically upon no or merely verbal provocation, is entirely unlike Draco's desire to "vent his frustration" upon the gang of bullies who repeatedly attack him magically upon no or merely verbal provocation. Totally different, got that?

The Dementors weren't actually with Voldemort in VoldWar I, IIRC; that's a new development (and it would be too idiotic even for the WW to go back to entrusting the prison full of Death Eaters to them afterward had they been with Voldie then). But Harry really doesn't have much cause to disbelieve the possibility of Dementors there anyway.

Thanks for all the sporkage. One needs a dose of sanity in one's diet. ;)

[madderbrad.livejournal.com]

OOTP was where the series started to jump the shark for me.

I've commented on another forum just recently on how OotP was perhaps the best book of the series - whatever that means ;-) - until HBP was published and we discover that anything of importance in the fifth novel is dropped and forgotten. The D.A. - gone. The prophecy - emasculated. Occlumency - forget it. An alliance with the giants? Never happens, doesn't matter. The Order of the Phoenix? Superfluous. And so forth.

I still like OotP; it's the D.A. that drives the book for me, Harry & Co. *doing something*. And it's a good source of H/Hr scenery, so be careful how you go in the your sporking! :-)

[merrymelody.livejournal.com]

Harry’s longing to vent his frustration on Dudley’s gang.

I love how Dudley's supposed to be such a prick because he beats up younger kids with unfair odds.
Like how Fred and George hiss the new Slytherins (who are, what, four years below them?)
Or more like how they pick on Dudley himself, who's also a Muggle?
Or how George and Harry go for Malfoy, with Fred being held back from making it three-to-one?
Or like how the six DA kids and the Trio practise their new jinxes on the Slytherin Trio (who, hilariously, at the same time deserve it because...well, they were totally planning to outnumber Harry, but not in a heroic 'Everyone rose up in defense' sort of way. The bad, Dudley way. Except the Slytherins are the anti-Muggle ones. Really!)

[aasaylva.livejournal.com]

OOTP was where the series started to jump the shark for me
Happy to see you tackle another HP book although this one was (and still is when I ignore the rubbish that came after it) my favourite which certainly will show as I'm prepared to play devil's advocate (whereever possible).

No, Harry, I don’t think the neighbours avoid you because of your scruffiness. More likely, it’s due to your egoism, recklessness, unfriendliness and general lack of empathy.
I doubt that for two reasons:
Harry certainly IS scruffy (I'll never know why JKR insisted on making her hero into some smelly sort of Hippie when even his mum advised Severus on washing his pants...) which - in suburban middle-class IS reason to avoid somebody.
And if we accept how Harry's life at the Dursleys is depicted, then how would the neighbours know him enough to find him unfriendly, egotistical and without empathy?

Yes to the double-standard where Dudley's and Harry's interest in the news is concerned. That, along with several other things, I took as a rather convincing portrayal of a self-righteous teenager - something that had to develop - lead to bad results - make him reconsider and then, eventually, grow up. So, the set-up was done well, but as of DH epilogue, Harry (and his author) seem to be stuck in this mindset of a fifteen year old...

Dto. to the Dursleys being the same mindset as Harry's beloved wizarding mentors Hagrid, Dumbledore and the Weasleys. Cue to elkin's (?) excellent comparison between Aunt Marge and JKR as being practically the same person.

So much yes to mulish Harry - in fact, I thought it rather clever to show that one cannot just be stupid due to an objective lack of brain power but because of not USING your intelligence which certainly is the case here. In fact, I strongly believe Harry's animagus form would be a mule or a donkey...

...would almost certainly not be able to avoid the largest manhunt in recent wizarding history for almost a year.
Not to mention he didn't have any female to wash his pants and do his thinking and warding for him!

Nice to see JK Rowling equating becoming a boxing champion, with all the self-discipline and hard work that implies, with juvenile delinquency.
I'd say that's just something else (apart from maths, biology, history, and politics) where the author doesn't have a clue. If flying requires to have the blood of a flyer and a first-class broom, it stands to reason boxing requires to have a bully's nature and a pair of gloves.

To be fair, Rowling's idea seems to be that Dudley had shown his inclination to use violence with no provocation before - whereas the members of the Duelling Club had not. While I would recommend someone to train in self-defence that doesn't mean I'd be happy to send people there who like using their fists already, just to make them even more dangerous.

Harry’s longing to vent his frustration on Dudley’s gang.
I actually welcomed this, along with Harry provoking Dudley on their way home:
Of course, this is not the approved way a saint is meant to behave (noraChristfigureeither, cough)- but it's realistic. Harry has had four people in whom he emotionally trusted. One of them has recently been killed and the other three seem to have let him down (at least in his slightly over the top conception - cue teenage weltschmerz). He is (understandably!)still furious with Dumbledore, yet doesn't want to acknowledge this and thus tries to take it out on someone else. And here is his cousin who's been more than nasty to him ever since he can remember. IMO, it's healthy to develop the ability to be aggressive - and the way he acts on it is perfectly within reason.

Harry's incredulity re Dementors in Little Whinging (along with him being baffled at realzing Aunt Petunia knew something about the WW) is typical for teenagers who have a hard time to connets the different "worlds" they live in - e.g. their family + surroundigs and college and what's going on there. They play vastly different roles in each of these worlds and thus find it difficult to conceive people from one world to fit into the other.

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

The bits about the perfectly manicured lawns and the teeth grinding made me giggle. :3