[HPforGrownups] Re: Muggle Parents/long separation... Snape and Roald Dahl Connection

[Herald Talia]

No: HPFGUIDX 25121

<snipped some stuff about the boarding schools of GB>

on the autobiography of Roald 
> Dahl
> which is titled BOY.  As a bit of background, since I shouldn't 
> assume that
> everyone here is familiar with his works (I've been told never to 
> ASSume
> anything because it could backfire and make a donkey's end of you), 
> Roald
> Dahl (RD) wrote the deliciously funny children's books Matilda, 
> James and
> the Giant Peach, The BFG, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, etc.
> 
> His autobiography encompasses a time in his life from 1925-1929, 
> which is
> when he went to (I'm thinking) a typical English boarding school 
> called St.
> Peters which was just across the Bristol Channel from his home.  RD 
> goes
> there at the tender age of nine and is expected to stay there from 
> September
> until Christmas break.  They then have to go back after Christmas 
> for the
> second term until the summer holiday.  I don't know if it has 
> changed since
> RD's school days, but what JKR writes is surprisingly similar to 
> what RD
> experienced.
> 
> In fact, someone wrote in an earlier post that Snape is probably 
> just a
> caricature and couldn't be a real teacher but RD has a very 
> Snape-like
> character that he made up for the book _Matilda_ (the headmistress 
> by the
> name of Trunchbull) and even experienced one in real life through a 
> really
> horrible teacher called Captain Hardcastle.
> 
> Consider this exchange between Captain Hardcastle and Roald Dahl, 
> who was 9
> 1/2, after RD had broken the nib (point) on his pen and was 
> attempting to
> ask another student for a spare :
> 
> (Please excuse the length, but it really is fascinating)
> 
> "...I put a hand in front of my mouth and whispered, 'Dobson...Could 
> you
> lend me a nib?'
> 
> Suddenly there was an explosion up on the dais.  Captain Hardcastle 
> had
> leapt to his feet and was pointing at me and shouting, 'You're 
> talking!  I
> saw you talking!  Don't try to deny it!  I distinctly saw you 
> talking behind
> your hand!'
> 
> I sat there frozen with terror.
> 
> 'Do you deny you were talking?' he shouted.
> 
> 'No sir, b-but...'
> 
> 'And do you deny you were trying to cheat?'
> 
> 'N-no sir, I wasn't.  I wasn't cheating.'
> 
> 'Of course you were cheating!  Why else, may I ask, would you be 
> speaking to
> Dobson?  I take it you were not inquiring after his health?'
> 
> 'I have broken my nib, sir,' I whispered. 'I...I was asking Dobson 
> if he
> c-could lend me one, sir.'
> 
> 'You are lying!' cried Captain Hardcastle, and there was triumph in 
> his
> voice.  'I always knew you were a liar!  AND a cheat as well!'"
> 
> Believe it or not, as a result of this nib incident, Roald Dahl was 
> "caned"
> (spanked on the bare buttocks with a cane) six times.   The reason: 
> "Talking
> in class, trying to cheat and lying."
> 
> Compare it with what Snape says to Harry when he says:
> 
>  "How extraordinarily like your father you are, Potter.  He too was
> exceedingly arrogant.  A small amount of talent on the Quidditch 
> field made
> him think he was a cut above the rest of us too.  Strutting around 
> the place
> with his friends and admireres...The resemblance between you is 
> uncanny."
> 
>   Hate to say it, but Captain Hardcastle makes Snape seem very 
> wholesome
> indeed.
> 
> 
> --Beverly (who had her own run-in with over-the-top teachers and is 
> probably
> why she so favors homeschooling)
 
There's been some discussion about the influence of many authors on JKR.
Dahl is one of the obvious ones. However, JKR takes all the (few) good
points about Roald Dahl and turns them into good ones. 
1) the GB boarding school as a positive, healing, place. It's a home away
from home for Harry, not a place for sadistic teachers out solely for the
torture of students. Even Snape, whom we all love to hate, demonstrates a
clear love for his subject matter in PS/SS. 
2) Dahl's work has an unpleasant, dark edge to it that JKR's works do
not. The Dark Lord is evil, the magical world is not perfect, and there
is a courageous take on a lot of dark subjects BUT the characters don't
seem locked in hopeless morass the way Dahl's characters do. His books
are just depressing. 
3) Contrast Dahl's "Witches" - they hate little boys because all little
boys smell to them like fresh, hot dog excrement. with Voldemort's
attempt to rise to power. Dahl's characters live in a senselessly cruel
and malicious world, have no powers, and eventually sort of triumph.
Harry at least lives in a world free of red hot dog excrement. There are
unreasonable prejudices in the wizarding world, but we are clear that JKR
is sending a strong message about the nature of prejudice. Dahl, on the
other hand, was quite unapologetically anti everyone. Let's not discuss
the famous literary analysis of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - a
celebration of Naziism, according to some. The only Jewish character in
the book is loathsome, the slaves are "woolly headed creatures" and there
are strong overtones of "wicked lesbianism" - witches, Trunchbulls, etc
in many of his books. 
Adults shove Dahl at kids because the Charlie books are so sugar coated -
there's that whole chocolate factory. Contrast that to Honedukes. JKR has
just as much fun with her treats, she invents great ones. But in
Honeydukes, no one dies. We don't have anyone drowning in vats of
chocolate, etc. The worst that  happens is Fred once burned Ron's tongue
with an Acid Pop. 
	Personally, I think all these adults who are banning Harry because it
might cause their children to be evil ought to rethink their Christmas
movie - the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory tradition. IMHO, JKR really
uses the whole GB boarding school/ magic themes in a much better and more
psychologically healthy way than Dahl does. 

Robyn, who has been lurking for a while. Let's just say my toddler could
have used Madam Pomfrey recently. Sorry to turn my first post back into a
rant :-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Donald heard a mermaid sing, Suzy spied an elf.
But all the magic I have known,
I've had to make myself- Shel Silverstein
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