McGonagall v Snape, Hermione, adolescents and impatience, polyjuice potion, friendships starting (was Faith) and irony.

[Simon J. Branford]

No: HPFGUIDX 3487

I wrote: "McGonagall maybe a strong character but she, IMO, has too little
involvement in the stories. Dumbledore is ahead of her in the pecking> order
and Snape is roughly level with her."
Storm wrote: "I think that Snape does seem 'equal' (though in the school
heirarchy he is not) because Snape's role brings him into conflict with
Harry we have more of a foucs on him. So I see why, though MacGonagall's
apparent superioity she seems "equal" to Snape."

Storm has said what I meant to say. I was talking about how we see them in
the books and how important their contributions are to the story. Not, as I
guess many understood it to mean, that Snape is level with McGonagall in the
school hierarchy.


I wrote: "She annoys me. Quite a few of the things that people see as being
faults in her (taking her studies far too seriously, especially the PoA too
many subjects incident, and taking the political stuff too far) <snip>"
Storm replied: "hmm, Simon I'm going to be *very* american here - so hold
on - Its not bad to be opinated or policical! we need ppl like that to stir
the pot and make sure we don't sink into a self interested torpor. (soothing
music) accept your adolesant self! learn to love H as an expression of your
adolesance (jangeling bells, wafting scents) right I'm approriately
embarrsess by that little interlude so I'll go back to the post."

I do accept my adolescent self, but I also recognize that something's that I
did were not good. I am especially referring to the case of 'biting off more
than I can chew'. Trying to do too much at school - Hermione thinks she can
do it all but almost loses all that is important too her. Part of the reason
that Ron and Hermione are not talking, in PoA, is that she is hiding a
secret from them and is finding all the work too much to handle. If she had
continued on with this then I think she would eventually have ended up,
simply due to being too tired and stressed, breaking the important rule of
the time-turner. That is not being seen by another version of you.

Peg wrote: "This impatience strikes me as . . . sad.
I think that the things that we complain about, in Ron and Hermione in
particular, are partly a function of the fact that they are entering the
gawky adolescent stage.  When you're an adolescent, everything is larger
than life, and so while some of their extremes make us cringe, I can
simultaneously see the admirable adult in there, barely, struggling to
emerge.  And so I feel very tender and protective of them, rather than
annoyed.
(But then, I don't have to live with them.  Hope I'll be able to say the
same thing when my kids are adolescents.)"

To me it is a natural response, when seeing someone doing something that you
have done wrong in your past, to think about pointing this out to them. And
yes, I know that there is little chance of a teenager taking any notice of
this! Also I know it helps someone, especially a teenager, to do something
wrong as this is the way that they will learn best. I find it really hard to
be patient with teenagers (I think this is due to it being such a short time
since I was myself one), but can be perfectly patient with young children.


Peg wrote: "Well, Ron is the one with him in CoS, but Hermione is the one
who researched the polyjuice potion.  She's with Harry throughout all the
action in PoA.  She's the one who resists when Snape tries to run roughshod
over them all in the Shrieking Shack, and she's got her wand out to knock
Snape unconscious, too. She's the one who, with Harry, rescues Sirius; and
she's right beside him, facing the dementors."

The polyjuice potion is no consequence to CoS. I think that they would have
eventually realised that it was not Malfoy, without this help (I am not
trying to belittle Hermione's contribution). The introduction of the
polyjuice potion was to warn us what could happen with one person disguised
as another - to explain to us what happens in GoF.


Peg wrote (in another superb essay): "Harry probably experienced for the
first time the sensation of standing up for somebody other than himself when
he stuck up for Ron to Draco during the train ride in the first book.
And, with trust and loyalty, he begins to define his inner convictions. He
rejects Draco's overture of friendship, grounded as it is in an implicit
requirement to reject his budding friendship with Ron."

Does Harry reject Draco because he wants the friendship, and ultimately the
family environment, of Ron or because he has already met Draco and disliked
his attitude?


Peg wrote: "See!  I told you there was a trouble with getting gentle irony
across in email!"

Big trouble. We need to invent a 'I am joking' or 'I am being ironic'
smiley! Or is there already one?

Simon (I have been writing this for over an hour now - it is long)