PS/SS Chapter 8 Summary and Discussion Q's

[L. Inman]

No: HPFGUIDX 28072

Sara wrote:
>  
> "Issues" sounds like a very American thing to say (to me anyway). 
It's just 
> not the done thing in the UK to sound like a counsellor. And Hagrid 
sounds 
> about as English as they come, he's got a very northern accent 
> (Yorkshire/lancashire perhaps...) and it's really not concievable 
that he'd 
> say such a thing. 

Oh, dear. I should know better than to mix a joke into a serious 
question.  Psychology may be our national pastime, but even we 
Americans never say "He's got Issues" without our tongues firmly in 
cheek, even if we mean it.  It's such a silly, hackneyed phrase and 
we're well aware of it over here.  What I meant was that Hagrid could 
have passed Snape's behavior over a little bit more casually than he 
did, by implying that he (as some teachers do) pick on certain 
students precisely for the reason that he is expected to like them -- 
or something, anything other than looking guilty and 
saying "Rubbish!"  However, I do take Amber's point that no matter 
what Hagrid's spin, Harry's going to pounce on it like a Capitol Hill 
reporter smelling blood.  I also suppose that Hagrid's nature just 
doesn't admit of anything other than pure candor or bad lying.

Lisa