OotP Chapter 1
Jun. 24th, 2003 09:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jlhThanks, Marysia; what a great idea. And I need someone holding my hand as I reread, absolutely.
Interesting that every time Harry goes home for the summer his ability to believe in the wizarding world and his place in it wanes. It's as though he already had no faith in them, already felt abandoned every summer, already felt that Hogwarts was some dream even before the events of this book. Ron and Hermione really were writing him terrible letters, essentially, "I know something but I'm not telling you." I would imagine that Ron enjoyed being in that position just the tiniest bit, and Hermione is so used to never telling them what she knows (as Ron later notes) that she thought nothing of it. Only Sirius was understanding of or sympathetic to how Harry was feeling, and this is a theme carried and built upon throughout the book.
Is this the first time we've really seen Vernon physically abusing Harry? Personally I think the endless psychological abuse is more damaging in the long run, but I think this goes to Vernon's fear that he has lost control of Harry completely, will not be able to fit him into their comfortable, socially sanctioned middle class lifestyle. (I also wonder, is this a trait of the English middle class to feel so tenuous a grip on their status? To this American, it has a whiff of Vernon having lifted himself up from working or lower-class origins.) I wonder what that shock was that led him to let go of Harry? Could he actually feel the magic within Harry? Will this be important later?
Fantastic how angry and itching for a fight Harry is. Someone made a connection between him and Marlon Brando/James Dean and I totally see it:
"What are you rebelling against?"
"Whadya got?"
When he's sitting in the swing? "Come and have a go." Also, he notes that while everyone wants him to remain calm, his stepfather certainly did not in the same situation. It's unfortunate that Harry cannot see that the mistake Sirius made was likely less being cute with the secret-keeper than tearing off half-cocked to find Peter himself when James and Lily died; the more I think about that rash act, the more crazy it becomes. Really, who would leave a baby with Hagrid? If only, if only.
Dudley, typical bully, equal parts scared and stupid. Harry, in retrospect behaving somewhat like his father in his arrogant taunting of Dudley because he knows Dudley won't fight back. Perhaps now that Harry has an upper hand he's decided to let out his frustrations on Dudley. I can't say as I blame him. But Dudley knows a soft underbelly when he sees it, and is rightly pleased with himself when his strike hits home with Harry. But when the real danger comes it's very clear that Harry doesn't really want to see Dudley hurt. VERY interesting to see that even though he is absolutely furious with Ron and Hermione, the thought of them is what allows him to conjure a strong Patronus. Also, even though Figg was exaggerating in her testimony, it's very clear from her words at the end of the chapter that she wasn't entirely lying; even if she hadn't seen the Dementors themselves, she knew they were there.
At the end of this chapter? Furious with Dumbledore is what I am.
Interesting that every time Harry goes home for the summer his ability to believe in the wizarding world and his place in it wanes. It's as though he already had no faith in them, already felt abandoned every summer, already felt that Hogwarts was some dream even before the events of this book. Ron and Hermione really were writing him terrible letters, essentially, "I know something but I'm not telling you." I would imagine that Ron enjoyed being in that position just the tiniest bit, and Hermione is so used to never telling them what she knows (as Ron later notes) that she thought nothing of it. Only Sirius was understanding of or sympathetic to how Harry was feeling, and this is a theme carried and built upon throughout the book.
Is this the first time we've really seen Vernon physically abusing Harry? Personally I think the endless psychological abuse is more damaging in the long run, but I think this goes to Vernon's fear that he has lost control of Harry completely, will not be able to fit him into their comfortable, socially sanctioned middle class lifestyle. (I also wonder, is this a trait of the English middle class to feel so tenuous a grip on their status? To this American, it has a whiff of Vernon having lifted himself up from working or lower-class origins.) I wonder what that shock was that led him to let go of Harry? Could he actually feel the magic within Harry? Will this be important later?
Fantastic how angry and itching for a fight Harry is. Someone made a connection between him and Marlon Brando/James Dean and I totally see it:
"What are you rebelling against?"
"Whadya got?"
When he's sitting in the swing? "Come and have a go." Also, he notes that while everyone wants him to remain calm, his stepfather certainly did not in the same situation. It's unfortunate that Harry cannot see that the mistake Sirius made was likely less being cute with the secret-keeper than tearing off half-cocked to find Peter himself when James and Lily died; the more I think about that rash act, the more crazy it becomes. Really, who would leave a baby with Hagrid? If only, if only.
Dudley, typical bully, equal parts scared and stupid. Harry, in retrospect behaving somewhat like his father in his arrogant taunting of Dudley because he knows Dudley won't fight back. Perhaps now that Harry has an upper hand he's decided to let out his frustrations on Dudley. I can't say as I blame him. But Dudley knows a soft underbelly when he sees it, and is rightly pleased with himself when his strike hits home with Harry. But when the real danger comes it's very clear that Harry doesn't really want to see Dudley hurt. VERY interesting to see that even though he is absolutely furious with Ron and Hermione, the thought of them is what allows him to conjure a strong Patronus. Also, even though Figg was exaggerating in her testimony, it's very clear from her words at the end of the chapter that she wasn't entirely lying; even if she hadn't seen the Dementors themselves, she knew they were there.
At the end of this chapter? Furious with Dumbledore is what I am.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-06-24 06:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-24 06:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-24 07:13 am (UTC)Yeah, me too.
VERY interesting to see that even though he is absolutely furious with Ron and Hermione, the thought of them is what allows him to conjure a strong Patronus.
I think it's part of being a teenager, really. I also think it has something to do with his lack of family. Harry's more dependent on his friends to provide his emotional world than most kids his age are. So on the one hand, he's really angry at them, but on the other hand, if he lets go of them, he'll find himself more or less entirely emotionally adrift.
Also, even though Figg was exaggerating in her testimony, it's very clear from her words at the end of the chapter that she wasn't entirely lying; even if she hadn't seen the Dementors themselves, she knew they were there.
This basically made sense to me-- didn't JKR say, either in one of the other books or in an interview, that Muggles can sense when a Dementor is near? They can feel it, even if they don't know what's causing the feelings. So Arabella Figg, who knows about Dementors, would be able to identify the cause of those feelings, even if she couldn't see it.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-24 08:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-24 08:47 am (UTC)