US/UK and Sympathy for the Devil (and ne'er the twain shall meet)

[heidi]

No: HPFGUIDX 16462



Amy Z wrote:

> Melinda wrote:
>
> >Would US children have enjoyed the books as
> >much from the start if they had had to puzzle out many unfamiliar
> >words even as they were struggling to read in the first place.
>
> We all speak from our own experience, so all I can say is that this
> process gave me great pleasure as a child.  I clearly recall sorting
> out how Edmund could have a "torch" in his pocket in Prince Caspian
> (what we in the US would call a flashlight).  Perhaps there are others
> onlist, and I'm sure there are children out there, who would have
> found these disparities confusing and off-putting; I found them
> fascinating.  And still do, as you may have noticed . . .

Oh, me too! When I first went to the UK, at 13 on a trip with my parents, I got my set of Enid Blyton Mallory Touwers books - I was already a fan of mid-20th century popular british kiddie-lit, specifically Noel Straetfield (am I the only one
who cried in You've Got Mail along with Meg Ryan, because Skating Shoes is out of print?) and that is what made me an anglophile through high school and college (and obviously, I still retain the vestigaes of it now - without that, I
wouldn't've picked up HP in 1998 like I did)

> I think you can argue either that Draco's a hothouse flower or that
> he's fully aware of Lucius's world and is a secret dissenter from it
> (hence the above statement to "Crabbe" and "Goyle" is an act), but I
> can't see how one can argue both.  The two theories are on a collision
> course.  How can you square the remark to "C&G" with his being
> ignorant of the racism behind his words?

Because, as I said yesterday, the degree of the insult that *he* thinks it is, is what we the readers don't know.

> >4. Professor Snape seems to trust him. In book 4, Snape accepts
> >Malfoy's statement about what happened when he & harry were trying to
> >curse each other.
>
> This is not the best example for convincing people to trust Snape's
> judgment of Draco.  Draco is lying in this incident, and Snape's
> handling of it is completely unfair.  He sends Goyle to the hospital
> wing and insults Hermione; Harry and Ron get detention but Draco
> doesn't.

Yes, Snape's handling is unfair, but Draco isn't lying.
Canon says:
Some of the anger Harry had been feeling for days and days seemed to burst through a dam in his chest.  He had reached for his wand before hed thought what he was doing.
<SNIP>
For a split second, they looked into each others eyes, then, at exactly the same time, both acted.
Funnunculus!  Harry yelled.
  Densaugeo!  screamed Malfoy.
<SNIP>
 And what is all this noise about? said a soft, deadly voice.
  Snape had arrived.  The Slytherins clamored to give their explanations; Snape pointed a long yellow finger at Malfoy and said, Explain.
  Potter attacked me, sir -
  We attacked each other at the same time!  Harry shouted.
  - and he hit Goyle - look -

Harry did start the physical portion of the attack, by reaching for his wand first  - I'm not saying Harry was wrong in going after Draco at that moment, but Draco is not lying when he says that Harry attacked. And I think everyone, no matter
their point of view, would agree that yes, Harry's spell hit Goyle, in the same way that Draco's hit Hermione's.

> All in all, I think (and hope) Draco may be redeemed, but it's a long
> uphill road to that point, IMO.

Oh, absolutely uphill. Maybe even up a little mountain. But not up Everest.

> Heidi wrote:
>
> >2. Kneazles have lion-like tails - FB p. 24.
> >3. Crookshanks has a bottle brush tail - - PoA (don't have a page
> >ref).
>
> As veep of the League of Obsessed Nitpickers, I must agree with your
> point (there's plenty of textual evidence hinting that Crookshanks
> might be part Kneazle) but point out that the above is not evidence
> but counterevidence.  A lion's tail and a bottle-brush are very
> different shapes.  A bottle-brush is the shape of the tail of an angry
> cat.  A lion's tail is long with very short hair until the end, which
> looks like an artist's brush.

A bottle brush isn't something that has a fatter end than the "stem" portion of it? Erk, that's what I always thought a bottle-brush was! I do wish JKR had put a pic of the Kneazle tail in the book, now. Oh well!