Late bloomer, tragi-comedy, sidekicks, character change, Dumbledore's policy

[Tabouli]

No: HPFGUIDX 32311

Katze on who starts wizarding late in life:

Ahhh, this discussion.  The Petunia blossoms late?  Possible, but my inkling is to revive a long-forgotten rant o' mine, which is that I'm certain I read a JKR interview where she said Mrs Figg is a Squib.  Filch went bitter and nasty, Mrs Figg decided to make the best of things and became a sort of Muggle-Wizard mediator figure, whose jobs included looking after Harry, spying on the Muggle world and helping wizards with disguising themselves and their things to infiltrate and interact with the Muggle world.  Maybe after a long long life of dedicated service under a cloud of contempt and ridicule, Mrs Figg bears fruit!

The bloodthirsty Cindy:
> As one of the more bloodthirsty fans, I'm not sure I'm the 
best one to help out here, but here goes.  I don't think the books 
(even GoF) were really all that depressing, as there was plenty of 
humor and lightheartedness.  If future books strive for that same mix 
of seriousness mixed with levity, I think they will be much better 
for it, and we'll be able to tolerate the more emotionally difficult 
passages.<

Yeah, tragi-comedy, that's the stuff.  There's one JKR/Tolkien comparison even the most rabid Tolkien fans would have to concede - JKR is much lighter and funnier, which takes the edge off her grimness.  There are very few light moments in LOTR (more in The Hobbit), and as the story progresses it just get darker and darker.  Thank Gandalf for Tom Bombadil and Treebeard!  I personally agree with Cindy here... all comedy gets too fluffy, all tragedy gets too bleak.  I can happily read fluff or bleakness (provided the fluff is genuinely funny and the bleakness is powerful and moving), but I like an author that can successfully combine the two.

Amy Z:
> The death that touched me the most, by far, was Gollum's.

As I once mentioned, I think Gollum is the most interesting Rings character by far.  Though by the time he dies I see it more or less as euthanasia... poor guy's already been twisted and mutated and tortured by withdrawal symptoms; at least he gets reunited with his precious at the very end and indirectly saves the world because of it.  Nope, the Gollum scene I found most touching was the scene when he comes back to camp and gazes dotingly at Frodo ("Nice master") and almost turns into a sad, weary hobbit lived long past his years when Sam wakes and snarls and destroys his very last chance of redemption.  I know Sam means well, but his stodgily humble loyalty gets on my nerves.  Wasn't it Ursula Le Guin who commented that Sam's servile "Sir"-ing and "Master"-ing of Frodo is enough to make one want to start a Hobbit Socialist Party?

Now, Hagrid is of the same ilk as Sam in some ways (bumbling loyalty, great man Dumbledore, etc.), but he's *funny*, and that makes all the difference.  And at least Ron (who also has an element of the hero's loyal but inferior sidekick syndrome) has a bit of pride.  I didn't go off Ron in GoF... I think his jealousy is entirely understandable.  There isn't meant to be any difference in status between Harry and Ron, and it must be incredibly galling for him to be overshadowed yet again.

A barkeep in Diagon Alley:
> So, excepting this time of year when the themes from "A Christmas 
Carol" dominate our minds, the idea of main characters having sudden 
epiphanies and turning their life around seems awfully cliche. 

Well yes, melodramatic change for the good (repent and be redeemed) can be a bit hackneyed.  But character change doesn't have to be that.  Subtle changes such as those we see in Hermione are convincing and effective.  And hey, a melodramatic change for the bad, a la Tom Riddle, can be effective as well.  Actually, come to think of it, this "redemption" bit is one of the reasons I think Snape is so interesting... he evidently had a sudden epiphany and turned his life around (on current evidence), but he retained his surly character and a large chip on his shoulder and scars and so on, which makes the whole situation much more believable, IMO.  If he'd become all warm and caring and sharing when he ditched the Death-Eaters it would have been revolting.

Barb:
> Dumbledore is a laissez-faire headmaster, and I think he believes 
that the coping mechanisms the students are learning when confronted 
by a variety of teachers is as valuable as any spells they might 
learn in school<

Definitely.  He's a staunch advocate of taking responsibility for one's own destiny, choices and actions not birth, etc., which means that he probably sees character building as the most important function of a school.
Students need to develop the strength and initiative moral fibre to make the right choices, and this can be done by them learning how to cope with hostile Snape and smarmy Lockhart and incompetent Hagrid (or even getting steered into taking on the tasks which led to the Philosopher's Stone!).  As Hermione amply demonstrates, you can learn almost all your lessons out of books if you really want, particularly in the first few years of secondary school.

boyblue:
> Neville takes on Crappe and Golye

Heh heh.  Sounds like a spoof out of  Mad magazine (Crappe and Boyle...)


Jon:
> HP as children's book -> A direct quote from JKR's own letter - "Dear 
Mr. Little, I have written a book intended for 9-12 year olds". 
Pretty conclusive, no?

(Tabouli, who has long insisted that the HP books *ARE* children's books, treads heavily on the little sprite in her head singing "I told you so, I told you so!")

Barry:
> I don't know any if of you (outside of the UK) have heard of "Dr.
Who"? It's about the adventures of a time-traveller, whose appearance
can change due to near-death experiences.<

Gahhh, Doctor Who!  He *terrified* me as a child!  At the age of 6 I'd run out of the room at the sound of his theme music!

whirdy:
> I thought I was up on things by having one set of HP from each of the major 
English-speaking nations (US, Uk, AU, Canada)

Tabouli (who is chuffed to hear that Australia is considered to count as a "major English-speaking nation"!)


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