Abstemiousness with truth - the careful fantasy world of Potter

[doffy99]

No: HPFGUIDX 43363

darkthirty wrote:

> Let me try to demonstrate my reading of Rowling like this - The so-
> called magical world of Harry Potter is, on one level, on perhaps 
the 
> most fundamental level, unequivocally nothing more than the 
extended 
> fantasy-world of an abused boy stuck in a closet. I cannot state 
this 
> strongly enough. Whether the boy is in fact adopted, or is 
imagining 
> that he is adopted, taken from his so-called real parents, whether 
he 
> attends a regular school or isn't even allowed to do that, it is 
his 
> fantasy world to which we are exposed. And the abstemiousness with 
> truth characteristic of that world is the signal, the flashing 
> lights, as it were, of the guard towers, of the circumference of 
> Hogwarts' famous ancient magical protection - read, the constricted 
> limits of the abused boy's knowing. That protection, I submit, is 
> directed inwards as much as it is directed outwards. Even the  
> widespread anti-muggle charms appear to me to be defenses against 
the 
> reality of sustained punishment. There is also mention of some 
> similar sort of ancient magical protection regarding the Dursley's 
> residence. This too, in my reading, seems as much an inwards 
pressure 
> as an outwards one.
> 
> Do we agree with Dumbledore's assessment that Harry should grow up 
> away from what we are supposed to believe are the horrifying and 
> dangerous consequences of fame, and be, rather, reared by people 
who 
> hate what he represents, mistrust and abuse him? Of course not. So 
we 
> must accept that Dumbledore's assurance about the safety of the 
> Dursley's house is true - otherwise, he's just being a stupid old 
man 
> who assumes family is more important than human rights. This so-
> called safety certainly looks like the rationalization of someone 
in 
> a hopeless and helpless situation to me. And for someone deprived 
of 
> information, of ways of obtaining it, someone for whom the paths to 
> knowledge are closed, ignorance might seem strength. In a real way, 
> however, for such a person, ignorance would surely be some measure 
of 
> protection. Ignorance about one's actual hopeless and helpless 
> situation, the extent of it, or rather, intensity of it.
> 
> I'm not sure how much of this line Rowling is conscious of when she 
> writes. I have no intention in this post of addressing that 
> particular moot area. Rather, this is my reading, and as it seems 
> both a general response to the digests I've been getting, on one 
> hand, and an idea that has been an acute difficulty for me since I 
> first read the books, I thought I'd post it in a new thread, see if 
> perhaps this one gets past the Ministry of Moderators.


What a downer!! Not the post but the idea that you may be right is a 
downer. That this entire story, all seven books, are not, in fact, 
telling us a story of a boy growing into manhood in an odd situation. 
But instead is telling us about a boy in a horrid situation who is 
having a fantastic, magical, wonderful, happy fantasy to explain his 
depressing reality. Namely, Why is he living with the Dursley's? 
These people who HATE him so much that they lock him in a cupboard 
under the stairs. The truth of his life, so terrible, that he has 
created this world, this fantasy, to explain it all. 

Why his parents died, most likely in a car accident. A little fantasy 
and all of a sudden, they died tragically, heros in the ultimate 
fight of good and evil. His mother died to protect him giving him 
some protection against this evil. His father died valiantly in a 
fight to protect his home, his wife and his adored child. 

Why is he stuck at the Dursleys? Why doesn't he have a "Fairy" God-
Father who will come in and whisk him away from this terrible life 
and take him somewhere where he would be happy and loved.  It also 
begs the question, if Harry is being sent off to school (Probably Not 
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry) Why does he allow himself 
to be brought back to this place at the end of every school year? In 
the fantasy, it's because of some magical protection that has been 
cast over the house or the people. Unable to explain it, it's kept a 
secret by a wise, gentle elderly man who Harry trusts implicitly. 
Assured that he is in no danger at all. While in real life, Harry 
simply lacks the courage and/or resources to make his get-a-way. 

The magic gives him courage. Not yet enough to run from his 
nightmarish life but enough to begin to fight back. Against his mean 
uncle. Against his naggish Aunt and of course, his bully-ing 
overweight cousin. 

The friends in his dream life have qualities that make up those 
qualities and life that he is missing. Hermione is strong willed and 
intelligent. Ron is a member of a large, supportive, loving family. 
Fred and George keep him entertained. Some of them, possibly taken 
from people Harry actually knows in reality. Draco Malfoy, Crabbe and 
Goyle represent those of his own age who abuse him. Dudley and the 
bullies Harry has run into at school. The pint sized evil. 

Meanwhile Voldemort represents the GREATEST evil. A man obsessed with 
killing a boy for something he had done before he could walk, talk or 
even remember. The Survivors guilt coming out. To young, unable to 
save his parents after the car crash, Harry blames himself. Possibly 
suicidal tendancies coming through. He searches for WHY his parents 
died. Why he couldn't save them yet, he saved himself with only a 
minor scar left as proof. 

I honestly, don't think this is where JKR is going with the story. I 
think, in the end, we will be left with questions, but "Did it 
happen?" "Was it real or fantasy?" won't be the questions. Instead it 
will be "What happened to Harry, Ron, Hermione and others after they 
left Hogwarts?" "Did Draco Malfoy grow up to be good or bad?" Did 
Voldemort ever come back?" I beleive it would be a huge upset if JKR 
did do it the other way. I think she would receive hate mail. People 
may choose to never buy another one of her books. This is a kids 
book. It's supposed to offer hope and teach values like friendship, 
loyalty and courage. Making this a fantasy of an abused boy would 
ruin whatever the story had taught. It would leave me, and others, 
with a bad taste in our mouths. Ideas like: "None of it mattered in 
the end." "The Courage, loyalty and friendship that was shown didn't 
even exist in reality." This would be such a let down, especially for 
children. It's an interesting theory though and it fits so well. 

-Jeff