Neville: Memory, History, Legacy, Power (LONG!) (Was:: Still Life)

[cindysphynx]

No: HPFGUIDX 38428

So many good ideas in a single post!  I'm impressed!

I'll just pick out a couple of these excellent points that intrigued 
me and about which I can think of something to say.  I won't promise 
that they'll tie together into a harmonious whole; that's asking 
way, way too much.  ;-)

*****************************
Elkins wrote:

> 
> Like Porphria herself, as well as Gulplum, Tabouli, Dogberry, and 
> others who were kind enough to respond, I think that Neville is 
> afraid of power.  That is a large part of what I think that Snape 
> represents to him: power, and not only power in the general sense, 
> but even more specifically, power as it seems to find its primary 
> expression in the traditional culture of the wizarding world.

Ah, but why?

I would guess that most people don't have a problem possessing power 
(although many people have difficulty deciding what, if anything, to 
do with it).  By definition, not possessing power renders one 
powerless, and few people aspire to be powerless, I'd say.

So why is Neville different?  Or more specifically, what happened to 
Neville to cause him to fear power?  I highly doubt it is the 
Traditional Memory Charm scenario -- that Neville saw his parents' 
torture so someone placed him under a memory charm.  I mean, I don't 
see the connection between memory charms as JKR has envisioned them 
and power.  So there must be some other reason Neville fears power.

Well, one thing that might cause someone to fear power could 
be . . . responsibility.  If you have power, then perhaps you have a 
responsibility to use it.  In that case, then two things could be 
going on:  (1) Neville must have some ability, some destiny even, 
whereby he must use whatever power he has to affect change; and (2) 
Neville must be aware that he has that power.

I have some ideas about what Neville's power is and why he might be 
reluctant to use it (or even have others know about it), but uh, 
I've said enough on that subject. ;-)

Anyone else willing to have a go?

Elkins again:

> JKR's wizarding society strikes me as above all else a 
*competitive* 
> culture.  <snip>  Everything, from academics to 
> athletics to comportment, is viewed as fair game for the 
allocation 
> and docking of "points" which apply towards the attainment of an 
item 
> which serves a purely symbolic function: the House Cup.  The House 
> Cup is nothing but a trophy.  It confers no actual benefit to the 
> members of the House which possesses it.  It is a pure expression 
of 
> winning for the sake of winning.  

Oh, but this is so dreadfully *common* in real life, no?  I mean, 
how often has any of us been involved in a competition in which 
there is a goal, a prize, that is really worth having because it has 
its own intrinsic value?  Almost all of non-professional sport is 
premised on winning . . . absolutely nothing tangible.  Warm 
fuzzies, at best.  Personal satisfaction, maybe.  So the Hogwarts 
students are behaving in the same way.  They want the House Cup only 
because others want it, and the only value it has is the fleeting 
warm fuzzy feeling of . . . having kept the Cup away from a rival.  

Kind of sad, really.

Elkins:

>And yet the entire student body 
> would seem to be terribly invested in its attainment.  They are 
> willing to allow their desire for this empty symbol to 
motivate .their 
> actions to a degree that at times seems quite ludicrous.
> 

Maybe the fact that the wizarding world is so competitive is the 
reason I like it so much?  :-)

Nevertheless, there are certainly ways in which the wizarding world 
is not competitive at all.  One of the least competitive areas at 
Hogwards is academics.  Students frequently work in teams.  Harry 
never frets about his class standing.  Harry and Ron don't really 
seem jealous of or competitive with Hermione at all.  Ron and 
Hermione aren't jealous of Harry's prowess on the Quiddich field.  
Students don't sabotage each other academically, despite ample 
opportunity.  The teachers don't seem to compete with each other 
(aside from the sniping between McGonagall and Trelawney, which was 
more about professional respect than about competition).  Crabbe and 
Goyle aren't competitive with Draco.  Even Ron's big fight with 
Harry really wasn't about competition -- it was about trust.

Perhaps this is all due simply to the fact that in these examples, 
the student with the more modest potential simply knows there is no 
point in being competitive.  But for some reason, JKR seems to have 
devised a society that is very confrontational and competitive, but 
still has managed to balance this with instances in which allies 
aren't competitive with each other.

Elkins:

> I would very much like to see some challenge offered to the 
> fundamental tenets of the Potterverse's wizarding culture.  I 
> would very much like to see *someone* within the series show the 
> capacity to think outside of the box represented by those four 
> horrid Houses of Hogwarts School.  I would like to see someone 
> question a few of the assumptions which serve as the foundations
> for the culture of the wizarding world.  
 
Oh, my!  What an interesting challenge!  Is there any character who 
consistently challenges the fundamental tenets of the Potterverse's 
wizarding culture?  Anyone who thinks outside the box?  Marches to 
his own drummer?

Yes, there is.  Voldemort.  Voldemort doesn't play by the rules of 
the Wizarding World.  He uses Unforgivable Curses.  He wasn't 
satisified with the honors Hogwarts bestowed upon him.  To the 
extent we know what he stands for, it is purity of blood and Evil 
for the sake of Evil.  So, yeah, we have someone who thinks outside 
of the box.  But even then, JKR gives him no redeeming qualities and 
makes it clear that the reward for straying from the conventions of 
the Wizarding World is 13 years as a vapor and (undoubtedly) defeat 
in Book 7.

And by extension, Crouch Jr. also strayed from convention, and look 
where it led for him. 

So.  The lesson so far is that straying from the conventions of a 
culture leads to chaos and evil and a tragic end.

Ugh.  

Cindy