Hagrid's Competence

[elfundeb]

No: HPFGUIDX 33989


> 
> > Which leads me to 
> the fact that he was denied the education that all other wizards 
> get, and thus a part of him was sort of `suspended' at the age at 
> which he was expelled from school.  

Kimberly, I agree with this point.  In fact, I think one reason HRH 
have such a good relationship with Hagrid is the he is basically 
operating at their level.  

> The Buckbeak incident in PoA nearly broke my heart.  His very first 
> class ever, he's finally been entrusted with something important, 
but 
> he knows he's not `properly' qualified.  He wants to start off with 
a 
> bang and do something interesting, so he introduces them to 
Buckbeak 
> and his pals.  He did everything right in that class, it's only 
> Malfoy's complete disregard for him that causes a problem.  

I disagree that Hagrid did everything right in his first lesson.  
Yes, he did give instructions on handling hippogriffs, but he didn't 
make sure everyone was paying attention.  Then, rather than letting 
each person in the class take a turn that he could supervise, he let 
everyone try at once.  This seems dangerous to do with an 
unpredictable creature such as a hippogriff that turned out to be 
capable of inflicting a deep gash that seems to have caused 
significant blood loss.  Thus, while clearly Draco was primarily 
responsible for causing his own injury I cannot absolve Hagrid of 
contributory negligence.  I know the POA presents Hagrid as having 
been unjustly accused, but the viewpoint we see is Harry's and he was 
very anxious for Hagrid to be a success.  He also has Dumbledore's 
support, but Dumbledore is not disinterested because he hired the 
unqualified Hagrid in the first place.  I think Hagrid was lucky not 
to have been held partially responsible.  And, as others have pointed 
out, it is neither the first nor the last time he grossly 
underestimates the danger of the creatures he exposes the students 
to.  It rather surprises me that he gets such unqualified support 
from the other characters; his main detractor seems to be Draco, and 
while Draco's outspoken contempt for Hagrid is disgusting, most of 
his comments about him are pretty much on target, in my view, 
including the one that earned him the slap from Hermione.

In fact, I think the way he conducts his class, by only doing things 
that interest him without regard to his responsibility to teach 
something, and his running away and hiding in his tankard of mead 
whenever something goes wrong -- demonstrate how childish and 
undeveloped he is as a person.  IMHO as a character he is ripe for 
fading away from the spotlight (or being killed off) because the Trio 
is about to outstrip him in maturity.

I know this thread has gone way beyond Kimberly's post and I will 
echo Cindy and Jenny's well-made points. 

Debbie (acknowledging that perhaps JKR did not intend Hagrid's 
character to be analyzed by lawyers)> >