FP vs. HA, Harry FP & Beer (was: Hello too!)

abigailnus abigailnus at yahoo.com
Tue Jun 3 09:25:56 UTC 2003


--- In HP4GU-FAQ at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C." <cindysphynx at c...> wrote:
> Abigail wrote:
> 
> > 1. I'm a bit fuzzy about the difference between a Fantastic Posts 
> >essay and a Hypothetic Alley essay.  How exactly do you determine 
> >whether a discussion will be covered by a FP or HA?  For example, 
> >if we were writing a Harry FP, where would Stoned!Harry go?  
> 
> Ah, OK.  Good question.
> 
> HA is supposed to refer to TBAY discussion and theories.  An HA 
> entry should just summarize the theory briefly (and hopefully in a 
> mildly entertaining fashion) and include links to the applicable 
> TBAY posts.

OK, time to display my great ignorance.  When you say TBAY 
discussions and theories, you mean messages in TBAY style, right?  
If so, then most of the theories in HA are not TBAY theories.  The 
Snape theories were all thought up outside of TBAY proper - even 
George - and so were most of the Florence and Mrs. Norris theories.  
Even MAGIC DISHWASHER started out non-TBAY.  The only theory 
I can think of, off the top of my head, that started on TBAY is 
Assassin!Snape.

Or are you saying that any acronym or Attribute!Character theory 
is summed up on HA and can be referenced on a relevent (or 
several relevant) FP?

I've been thinking about the Harry FP, and I've had a few thoughts 
on subject that might go in it.  I think by the time I'm ready to do 
some serious work on this group I'll probably forget what I wanted 
to say, so I'll just post them now and anyone interested can offer 
suggestions for improvement.

I think that when it comes to Harry discussions on the group, there 
are two seperate categories.

1. Harry's character, development and relationships
2. Harry's purpose, abilities and destiny

In the first category, topics might include:
* Harry as an abused child, including the theory that the entire series 
is his protective halucination, or that the series will end up being a 
dream.
* The differing views on Harry's personality - is he a take-charge 
hero or an arrogant kid?  How justified is Harry's incessant 
rule-breaking?
* Harry's inability/unwillingness to ask for help
* Harry's relationships with adults - maybe something about how 
each male figure in Harry's life is a different aspect of the father 
figure.  
* Harry's relationships with his contemporaries (I don't think there's 
any reason to talk about SHIPs here as they've been rather well 
covered in their own FP).  The Rift in GoF, and maybe Harry's 
treatment of Neville.
* Harry's reactions to fame.
* Harry failing - I'm thinking specifically about the most recent 
discussion, but I know that several times Harry has been criticized 
for being too perfect.

In the second category, topics might include:
* Why did Harry survive?  There have been a few explorations of 
Lily's sacrifice that might belong here - the straight up love 
protection, Love as a Spell Component and Ancient Magic.
* Is Harry special, and how? Stoned!Harry should be here, as well 
as the various theories that Harry's conception was engineered, as 
well as Trelawney's First Prediction and Heir of Gryffindor.
* Harry's abilities - is Harry simply a talented wizard, or a 
preternaturally powerful one?  I once suggested that Harry's power 
comes from Voldemort, but it wasn't a very good post, and I'm almost 
certain I saw someone else say it better.
* Was the Philosopher's Stone ordeal rigged?  I know this is usually a 
MAGIC DISHWASHER argument, but I think it stands on its own, and 
raises the possibility that Dumbledore is grooming Harry for great 
things.
* Will Harry die?  Will defeating Voldemort cost him his magical 
powers?  Will he be forced to leave the wizarding world?

I'm sure there's stuff here that I missed, so fire away!  

> > Well, I have to go - today is Student Day, a 36-hour-long 
> >extravaganza, the origins of which are lost in the mists of time.  
> >Mostly it's an excuse for corporate sponsors to harangue a captive 
> >audience, but they're bringing in some good bands.
> 
> Is there, um, beer involved?  ;-)

That depends.  If you mean, are students sneaking beer kegs on 
campus where the cops can't see them, then no.  If you mean, is there 
a bar where, depending on how good a deal the student association 
struck with this year's sponsors, drinks are either free or extremely 
overpriced, then yes.  And before you have a seizure, the drinking age 
in Israel is 18, and besides, the lifecycle of the Israeli post-teen is: 
graduation, army (2-4 years, depending on gender and whether one 
becomes an officer), working dead-end jobs for six months to pay for 
a trip, taking the trip (destinations in order of preference: India and 
the Far East, South America, Australia and New Zealand, and, for 
cowards like myself, Europe and/or North America), six months to a 
year of improving high-school grades and/or taking SATs, university.  
So 21 is a relatively young age for a freshman.

Abigail





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