[HPforGrownups] Hagrid's Personality

[shane dunphy]

No: HPFGUIDX 47780

I wrote:
>It would seem from Hagrid's speech patterns that he is from the North of 
>England (but I'm open to correction on this), possibly near Scotland or 
>maybe even on the border of Wales. This would also offer opportunity for 
>his Mum and Dad to have met, as I assume that giants are found most 
>commonly in mountainous regions.

Rachel wrote:
>Being from the North of England myself (Yorkshire) I have to say that 
> >Hagrid's accent is definitely not northern (any doubts I might have >had 
>were put right by TMTMNBN.) I always thought that Hagrid's dialect was more 
>Cornish (the south->west tip of England), >though if there are any locals 
>around and I'm >wrong please feel free to flame me *ducks >down*. :-)

Me:
Well Rachel, I stand corrected.  Being Irish, I've only got a *cursosry* 
knowledge of British dialects - my Mum was from Sussex, and I have relatives 
from all over, so I've kind of got a vague notion of the accents.  Cornish 
is an interesting suggestion.  In the books, he seems to drop the *ends* of 
words, particularly *n* and *t* endings.  Is this particular to any region?  
Is it characterisitc of Cornwall or a dialect of that region?

Rachel again:
>I think the reason why people might think Hagrid was northern is >because 
>the southern counties tend to speak more the 'Queen's English' >(it sounds 
>dead posh - compared to us yokels anyway ;-) ). The >northern accent tends 
>to be (in my experience) coarser, with more >slang used. 'H' s aren't 
>pronounced at the beginning of words, nor >are 'T' s at the end for 
>example. We're pretty much lazy talkers, to >put it bluntly. ;-)

Well, that *does* sound like Hagrid, doesn't it?  My imaginings of what his 
accent sounded like seemed to be quite Scottish: but I don't know how much 
of that was due to the knowledge that Robbie Coltrane would be playing him 
in the movie :o).  The rhythm of the speech as written in the canon just 
seemd to fit the Scottish brogue.  That was why I suggested that somewhere 
on the borders of Scotland may be a possibility.

Rachel:
>I've always been curious just what Blast-Ended Skrewts are a cross OF, 
>especially since I >searched unsuccessfully in FB for them. Any ideas 
>anyone?

Me:
This is actually dealt with in GoF.  Don't have my canon in front of me 
right now, but in the chapter "Rita Skeeter's Scoop", where she exposes 
Hagrid as a half-giant, she also mentions the Skrewts, and says what their 
parentage is.

Rachel:
>I think this is brilliant theory (Shane's idea that Hagrid is really 
> >projecting his own marginalisation). He has empathy for these >creatures 
>because they reflect how he must have felt. isolated and >misunderstood. 
>Despite Hagrid's intimidating stature we know he >wouldn't hurt a fly. He 
>is indeed a gentle giant. (although >recent 'Flesh Eating Slug Repellent 
>Posts' may cast doubt on this).

Me:
Thanks for the vote of confidence.  However, I don't one hundred per-cent 
agree that Hagrid *is* a gentle giant, as I point out in the previous post.  
I think that he has *repressed* the more violent side of his giant nature, 
and has also been *socialised*, by his Dad, Dumbledore and whatever other 
primary carers he has had into being the way he is.  I believe that his more 
aggressive side finds outlet in his love of "interestin' creatures", and 
that also he has developed defence mechanisms to deal with any feelings that 
may become violent.  When faced with diversity, Hagrid runs away and hides 
or gets drunk.  I reckon that, as a child, Hagrid probably learned that he 
was much stronger than other children, and that he had the potential to hurt 
them badly.  This could also be another reason why he is attracted to 
monstrous pets: as a small child, he may have been given a non-magic puppy 
or kitten, and by cuddling it crushed or hurt it.  That's harder to do with 
a skrewt or a dragon or a giant three headed puppy.  Fang is a very large 
breed of dog, and we don't know how long Hagird has had him.  I'd say that 
he is a relatively recent acquisition of Hagrid's (in his adulthood).  So 
while Hagrid's nature is *on the whole* gentle, I'd say that there are some 
aspects of his giant nature in there too, well buried.

Rachel:
 >Also, has anyone ever wondered where Hagrid *lived* after his expulsion 
from Hogwarts, >with one absent parent and one dead. Especially as there has 
been speculation whether he >took the Groundskeeper job straight away. Did 
he have other relatives he could stay with? >If so why haven't we heard of 
them? And will we hear from them in future books?

Me:
I've always reckoned that he was looked after by Dumbledore.  A room was 
probably found for him in Hogsmeade, and once Dumbledore had persuaded the 
board to take him back as assistant Game-Keeper, he was given a room until 
he was made Head (and from what I can see, only) Game-Keeper.  There's also 
the possibility that there are some wizarding orphanages.  The WW must have 
orphans or children who for one reason or another need to be taken into 
care.  Is this all dealt with within the community, or is there a wizarding 
social services?  maybe Hagrid was briefly in an orphanage or with a foster 
family?
That's all for now.  Take it easy.
Shane.

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