Rulebreaking (Official Philip Nel Question #6)

[kiricat2001]

No: HPFGUIDX 38502

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Amy Z <lupinesque at y...> wrote:
 
Think
> about the individual's relationship to the law -
> Hogwart's rules, national wizarding laws,
> international wizarding laws - and then think about
> those who operate outside of these laws.  

> (1)  Other characters who belong on the above list are
> Dumbledore, Lupin, Ali Bashir, Malfoys Jr. and Sr.,
> Dudley, Riddle/Voldemort and his followers, and
> Hagrid, all of whom also go up against laws, rules, or
> (in Dudley's case) parental wishes.  Any thoughts on
> rulebreaking in the light of these characters?

We'll probably be able to go for weeks on this topic.  I think you 
might also add Snape to the above list.  If, as Sirius told us, Snape 
arrived at Hogwarts knowing more curses than most seventh years, one 
could assume that Snape would have practiced them at some time before 
he got to Hogwarts, just to make sure he could do them properly.  
This would be an example of breaking the rules prohibiting under-age 
wizards from performing magic, would it not?


 
> (3) On a couple of occasions, characters distinguish
> between lower-level and higher-level laws.  Molly
> worries about the punishments that might await Fred
> and George once they leave the comparatively forgiving
> realm of Hogwarts--"If they carry on the way they're
> going, they'll end up in front of the Improper Use of
> Magic Office" (GF 5)--and Hermione questions whether
> their disregard for "silly school rule[s]" would
> extend to breaking the law (GF 29).  Do you accept the
> distinction?  Is it made consistently within the HP
> universe?  Does it cause "slippery slope" problems?


I don't think that breaking school rules automatically means that 
that makes people more prone to be lawbreakers later on in life.  
Fred and George are the biggest school rule-breakers who's activities 
we have witnessed. Yet, none of their activites seems to indicate to 
me that they will eventually end up with careers on the wrong side of 
the law.  Sure, I'd hate to be their supervisor in some office at the 
MoM, but F&G are not the types to be happy and productive in that 
environment.  Let them open their joke shop, and they'll be fine.  

The other students who had similar prank- and detention-laden careers 
at Hogwarts are MWPP, at least according to McGonagal in PoA.  Yet, 
the most serious rule-breaking done by that generation was much more 
dangerous and advanced than anything we've seen George and Fred do.  
I'm talking about the Animagus transformation.  The reason it was 
done was to help a friend. Does this mean that WPP were more likely 
to turn to a life of crime as adults?  Of the three, Peter is the 
only one we know of who has committed heinous crimes as an adult.  
Did pulling pranks and becoming an Animagus lead him into this 
downward spiral?  I don't think so.


> (4) Critics of HP often cite Harry's rulebreaking,
> Dumbledore's winking at it, etc., as a reason the
> books are unsuitable for children.  Be honest, now: 
> do you think the books send less-than-desirable
> messages about rules?  About the rule of law?  How
> *should* books deal with the phenomenon of
> rulebreaking, if at all?
>     Corollary to 4:  Hollywood code used to require
> that villains be punished before the film's close;
> Frank Capra had to fight to allow Mr. Potter <g> to
> get away with grand larceny in _It's a Wonderful
> Life_.  Will JKR be sending a bad message if Voldemort
> goes unpunished?

I think that if the books showed perfect people behaving perfectly, 
JKR would then be sending a completely false message about life in 
general.  I also think that it does no harm to let children read 
books that reflect human nature.  Yes, people do cheat, lie, steal, 
etc.  They do break the rules. Sometimes these are minor infractions, 
like cutting up in class, and sometimes they are the highest laws 
that govern society, like murder.  And, yes, sometimes the bad guys 
win, or, at least, go unpunished.  Life ain't always fair.

Do the books incite children to break rules?  Not being a parent, I 
can't answer that.  I don't know of any child who hasn't broken rules 
of some sort, whether or not they have read the Potter books.  I do 
think the books show students receiving some sort of punishment for 
their school rule-breaking, in most cases.  I would hope that most 
parent-child bonds are strong enough that whatever moral code the 
parent wants the child to follow is not so weak and ineffectual that 
reading several books will turn the child into some sort of budding 
deliquent.

Marianne