Anonus's Thoughts on Harry Potter

Anonus

Centie suggested that I liveblog the books as I am one of the handful of people I know who have not read the whole series by now. I am up to Chapter Twenty-Eight of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but here's some thoughts on the books I've read so far (note: I started reading all the way back in October and was pretty bad about keeping up with it for a while, so my memories of some parts may be flawed), and some of the main characters.

BOOKS:

Sorcerer's Stone: Fun book, albeit a bit repetitive (what with all the suspicion about Snape being drummed up then quashed). Harry himself also felt a tad Mary Sue-ish with the whole being-a-natural-at-Quidditch thing.

Chamber of Secrets: The flying car was cool, though at the outset I didn't really share Harry's annoyances with Gilderoy Lockhart and Colin Creevey. Hermione seems to suffer a lot in this book, what with Draco going from being a stereotypical one-dimensional cartoon bully to openly stating that she should be killed along with the rest of the "Mudbloods," and then having to spend a portion of the book in the hospital wing due to a potion gone awry.

Prisoner of Azkaban: Harry ran away from the Dursleys, which was kinda nice to see. The dementors are scary, Draco and Snape are now more insufferable than they were before, and Ron's sickly pet rat Scabbers turns out to be a servant of You-Know-Who's.

Goblet of Fire: Was sick of Quidditch by the time I got to the parts of the last book that revolved around it, so it was good to see it gotten out of the way early here. Funny to see Hufflepuff fed up with their usual insignificance, Snape is starting to frighten me more, and I'm wondering why the Death Eaters weren't mentioned in the last book.

CHARACTERS:

Harry Potter: Star of the Gryffindor House in Hogwarts. Strikes me as a fairly bland surrogate for the readers. Had to put up with a lot of shit in his life, such as losing his parents, James and Lily, as a baby, then having to live with abusive relatives of Lily's. As of Goblet of Fire, he seems to be a little more on edge, though (though this is probably more due to the Triwizard Tournament than anything).

Ron Weasley: Harry's best friend, and a fellow Gryffindor student. Another fairly bland character. Routinely teases Hermione, regularly needs to be restrained from pummeling Draco, and has a feud with Harry in Goblet of Fire and seems a bit pissier there than he was before.

Hermione Granger: Another Gryffindor, and the most interesting of the three main protagonists, if only because she has a defining personality trait in being almost-unhealthily obsessed with her studies. Loves to read textbooks. Seems to lack a sense of humor, but is easily the most likable of the three main protagonists.

Vernon Dursley: Harry's uncle, at whose hands he has spent most of his life as the victim of calculated abuse because he was born to magical parents. Reads the Daily Mail, which seems to suit him.

Petunia Dursley: Not quite as awful as her husband. Probably afraid of him.

Dudley Dursley: The Dursleys' son. Seems to get fatter with each passing book. Takes after his father in bullying Harry, though he seems to interact with him less and less as the series goes on.

Rubeus Hagrid: The closest thing Harry has to a bona fide parental figure. Harry would probably be better off living with him, despite his poor cooking skills and fondness for keeping and taming dangerous animals.

Draco Malfoy: Star of the Slytherin House. Insufferable fantastic racist who torments the main characters at every opportunity. Ever since Hagrid assumed the Care of Magical Creatures teaching job in Prisoner of Azkaban, he has played up an injury he sustained in the class out of negligence in an effort to get Hagrid fired. Born to Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy; J.K. Rowling is not very subtle when it comes to names, as Lucius is obviously derived from "Lucifer" (he is suspected of being a Death Eater well before the name is mentioned) and Narcissa from "Narcissus."

Severus Snape: Head of Slytherin House, and the teacher of the Potions class. Hates Gryffindor, and especially Harry Potter, with a passion, and singles out its students for bullying (he will take any opportunity he can to take points from Gryffindor and find other ways of punishing its students). Seems to get crueler with each passing book and is even implied to be a secret Death Eater in Goblet of Fire.

Percy Weasley: One of Ron's many brothers, a prefect and the Head Boy of Gryffindor House. Seems to be sycophantic to me.

Neville Longbottom: Gryffindor boy. Forgetful, kind of a klutz, easily scared, and generally suffers a lot. No one seems to consider him a friend, though the protagonists certainly aren't ashamed to associate with him. They seem to feel sorry for him, more than anything.

Cho Chang: Ravenclaw girl, and the object of Harry's affections as of Goblet of Fire. Popular amongst her peers, but otherwise not well-defined.

Princess Alice

Anonus said:

Centie suggested that I liveblog the books as I am one of the handful of people I know who have not read the whole series by now.

You keep saying I said this. What I actually said is that you should liveblog the books because it would be interesting to see a newcomer's perspective on the series.

Anyway, it's neat to see your thoughts and stuff. I'm glad I'm not alone in finding Hermione the most likable of the protagonists. I remember as a kid thinking it seemed like I was supposed to want to be Harry but really I wanted to be Hermione instead. (This might be a stupid thing to say, I don't know.)

Also, I notice you didn't mention Fred and George. Didn't make much of an impression on you?

Justice4243

I've read none of these books and probably never well, but it's nice to learn about them and how they might be kinda flawed and not really God's gift to the literary world.

Anonus

^^I would have mentioned them, but honestly they seem kinda one-dimensional too. They're the comic relief, aren't they?

^You think so?

Miss Miko Mayonegg

I don't think of Harry Potter as 'high literature' or anything like that, just good books for children and very fun.

Miss Miko Mayonegg

I notice Dumbledore isn't mentioned. He does not appear that much at first, but I think he commands a presence when he does appear.

Anonus

He does

Also nobody told me that Goblet of Fire was when things got serious

Tanya

Anonus said:

He does

Also nobody told me that Goblet of Fire was when things got serious

Through the Goblets and the flames is what they really should've called it.

Anonus

why?

Anonus

Also, Scabbers cut off his hand to bring back Voldemort, Cedric Diggory died (poor Hufflepuff), it turned out Mad-Eye Moody was an impostor and the real Moody was restored, basically it's like the worst has happened

Tanya

Anonus said:

Also, Scabbers cut off his hand to bring back Voldemort, Cedric Diggory died (poor Hufflepuff), it turned out Mad-Eye Moody was an impostor and the real Moody was restored, basically it's like the worst has happened

Because the Goblet was a portkey, and it's a reference to a song "Through the fire and the flames" and we all know statements don't need to make sense so long as they're referential.

Princess Alice

Anonus said:

He does

Also nobody told me that Goblet of Fire was when things got serious

That's because I didn't want to spoil it for you, silly boy.

I mean, I could have said "Goblet of Fire is where Voldemort returns" but then your enjoyment would be lessened, no?

Anonus

But

It was scary

Tanya

That's because I didn't want to spoil it for you, silly boy.

I read this in River Song's voice, YNTKT

Sredni Vashtar

^^ It is a surprisingly effective scene, but there are scenes in The Order of the Phoenix and especially The Half-Blood Prince that outdo it in the creepy department.

Anonus

I'd just started Order of the Phoenix

No idea how Vernon hasn't died of being too hateful, what with that quip about wanting all the Spanish baggage-handlers to die

Also I think the Voldemort summoning scene worked because a lot of the rest of that book was so tame

Rowling can do red herrings pretty well, too

Hexartes

Justice42 said:I've read none of these books and probably never well, but it's nice to learn about them and how they might be kinda flawed and not really God's gift to the literary world.

It's really good for a children's series, though.

Obā-san

i thought they were pretty average really.

Anonus

Honestly, for the most part so do I, but I'm wondering if Rowling takes the gloves off after Voldemort's return. Sure is a way to end it on a note of urgency, anyway.

Hexartes

When I first started reading them, when I was seven, it blew my mind. It was the first legitimately rewarding book series I'd read. And I'm not the only one. I assume that's where a lot of the hype comes from.

Justice4243

I've often thought I'd appreciate them more if I wasn't already an adult by the time Harry Potter came out.

Anonus

Kexruct said:

When I first started reading them, when I was seven, it blew my mind. It was the first legitimately rewarding book series I'd read. And I'm not the only one. I assume that's where a lot of the hype comes from.

So do I.

I was not very into Harry Potter as a kid (which is bizarre for my generation as it was at the height of its popularity then), so reading it with my teenage mind is kind of weird.

Justice4243

My issue with it is it's sort of blatant wish fulfillment. Possibly decently written blatant wish fulfillment, but still...

Hexartes

That, and it's a legitimately creative and interesting series. Granted, it's not the best thing ever, but as far as children's literature is concerned it definitely raised the bar.

Hexartes

Justice42 said:

My issue with it is it's sort of blatant wish fulfillment. Possibly decently written blatant wish fulfillment, but still...

Not necessarily. At no point does Harry like being THE CHOSEN ONE.

Also, Matilda (and much of Roald Dahl's stuff) was much more transparent wish fulfillment and that's a children's classic.

Obā-san

?

Hexartes

What are you confused about exactly?

Sredni Vashtar

Kexruct said:

That, and it's a legitimately creative and interesting series. Granted, it's not the best thing ever, but as far as children's literature is concerned it definitely raised the bar.

Despite full well recognising the gaping flaws of the series, I generally agree with this sentiment. Plus, one can indirectly thank Rowling's success for introducing Cornelia Funke to the English-speaking world, which was definitely a force for good.

Obā-san

like pretty much all of that

At no point does Harry like being THE CHOSEN ONE.

doesn't really have any bearing on whether it's wish fulfillment or not

Also, Matilda (and much of Roald Dahl's stuff) was much more transparent wish fulfillment and that's a children's classic.

and also this whole thing is kinda ???????

Obā-san

you know i did not like Inkheart or The Thief Lord all that much

Hexartes

Also, Matilda (and much of Roald Dahl's stuff) was much more transparent wish fulfillment and that's a children's classic.

and also this whole thing is kinda ???????

Well, Matilda involved a girl who develops psychic powers because she was smarter than everyone else and thwarts and evil headmistress.

And you're not seeing any wish fulfillment there? I'm not saying wish fulfillment is a flaw, either. It's just a trait. It in no way lessens Matilda's quality.

Sredni Vashtar

Kexruct said:

Justice42 said:

My issue with it is it's sort of blatant wish fulfillment. Possibly decently written blatant wish fulfillment, but still...

Not necessarily. At no point does Harry like being THE CHOSEN ONE.

Also, Matilda (and much of Roald Dahl's stuff) was much more transparent wish fulfillment and that's a children's classic.

I would say that Dahl's form of wish fulfilment is a little more balanced than Rowling's. Why is hard to explain, but I think that it has to do with the running theme of poetic justice in a cruel and baffling world in Dahl's work that is mostly absent in Rowling's.

Hexartes

I guess, but wish fulfillment isn't inherently wrong.

Especially not in children's literature.

Obā-san

i dunno, i mean i read both of his autobiographies and at no point i can think of did he go "man i wish i could go all Carrie-lite on this awful headmistress"

though there was that one evil headmaster, but that one did not really remind me of Miss Trunchbull

Obā-san

(*Shrug*)

Tre

Naney said:

you know i did not like Inkheart or The Thief Lord all that much

I found Dragon Rider better than the Inkworld books. Never read The Thief Lord.

I didn't think Inkworld was bad though. It was just one of my many childhood doorstoppers.

Sredni Vashtar

Naney said:you know i did not like Inkheart or The Thief Lord all that much

To each his own. I really liked Inkheart. It was strange in a fun way.

Odradek

Roald Dahl hated everyone, not just bullies.

Hexartes

Naney said:i dunno, i mean i read both of his autobiographies and at no point i can think of did he go "man i wish i could go all Carrie-lite on this awful headmistress"

though there was that one evil headmaster, but that one did not really remind me of Miss Trunchbull

Wish fulfillment on the part of the reader, not the author.

Obā-san

Odradek said:

Roald Dahl hated everyone

?????

Obā-san

Wish fulfillment on the part of the reader

man at this rate imma use up all my question marks

Sredni Vashtar

Naney said:

Odradek said:

Roald Dahl hated everyone

?????

I think he means that his work is misanthropic. Which it definitely can be, now and then. But that's not a bad thing in my mind...

Obā-san

Sredni Vashtar said:

Naney said:

Odradek said:

Roald Dahl hated everyone

?????

I think he means that his work is misanthropic. Which it definitely can be, now and then. But that's not a bad thing in my mind...

yeah same

Hexartes

Naney said:

Wish fulfillment on the part of the reader

man at this rate imma use up all my question marks

I don't understand how this is confusing?

Kids like to read things that make them feel empowered. Matilda does that. Therefore it is wish fulfillment.

Odradek

Dahl without misanthropy is Poe without dead beautiful women, or Beckett without despair, or Sparks without sucking.

Sredni Vashtar

Odradek said:

Dahl without misanthropy is Poe without dead beautiful women, or Beckett without despair, or Sparks without sucking.

So much truth in this sentence.

Obā-san

what is Sparks?

Obā-san

you know what

Danny, the Champion of the World

it was rad

Sredni Vashtar

Nicholas Sparks is the author of The Notebook, among other terrible sappy romance novels.

Obā-san

oh

i assumed Sparks must be a shitty indie pop band because that sounds like the name of a shitty indie pop band and i thought it was weird that it was on a list with authors

my brain is not really doing it's thing today >.<

Justice4243

like pretty much all of that

At no point does Harry like being THE CHOSEN ONE.

doesn't really have any bearing on whether it's wish fulfillment or not

Yes quote.

I guess, but wish fulfillment isn't inherently wrong.

Especially not in children's literature.

I can agree with this, but wish fulfillment does tend to bug me personally.