The "first" chapter summary PoA 1-2

[meboriqua at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 17933

Very nice summary!  I'm looking forward to discussing my favorite HP 
book in the upcoming weeks.  :-) 
 
> 1)	Shouldn't most wizards be more self-disciplined than to let 
somebody get    
>   under them and then blow them up?

Others have mentioned this before, but Harry is only 13 years old.  
Self-control is, IMO, a learned thing that Harry still grapples with.  
However, calling someone's mother a bitch, even indirectly, is often 
the catalyst for some pretty nasty outbursts.  A few weeks ago in my 
school, a female student fairly violently attacked a boy because he 
referred to (I can't remember) her or her mother as a bitch - and they 
are both over 18 years old.  That's a pretty personal attack - and in 
Harry's case, Aunt Marge is insulting someone who is not even alive.  
That's low.

I think there are certain topics where we all draw the line.  I love 
to laugh at the outrageous things my students say, but I don't allow 
jokes about rape, abuse or the Holocaust in my classroom.  Believe me, 
my students know to take those subjects seriously, especially when I 
am around.  I can completely understand why Harry gets so upset.  The 
memory of his parents is one of the few things he can call his own 
when he is with the Dreadful Dursleys.   

> 3)	What does Marge think? Will the Dursleys ever learn? (They do 
better in     
>  Book 4, but will they ever do more than tolerate Harry?)
> 4)	What did Harry think he was doing, running out into the street? 
He can't    
>   apparate


Remember, unlike when we were 13, Harry actually does have somewhere 
to go, as well as a way to get there.  He exists in two worlds, and 
whether or not the Knight Bus or Cornelius Fudge were there to save 
him, someone else would have risen to the occasion.  In the wizarding 
world, Harry is well taken care of.  He also thought briefly about 
bewtiching his trunk to make it light, putting his invisibility cloak 
on, and flying to Diagon Alley.  He has options that we don't.

I also agree with what other people said that Harry was more 
interested in getting the hell out of there than he was in where he 
might go.  His decision was reckless, but brave.  Harry is a risk 
taker (which may really hurt him in upcoming books, BTW).


BTW, Morag Traynor, I loved your image of Aunt Marge deflating like a 
balloon flying around the room - LOL!

--jenny from ravenclaw*****************