[HPforGrownups] Re: Harry's POV was Snape is NOT Sexy

[Diana Williams]

No: HPFGUIDX 56444

From: "L Finn" <severin_szaltis at yahoo.co.uk>

But I am puzzled at this Harry POV mentioned in this thread and others.

Sure, the books are Harry centric and we follow Harry about, but it isn't
him describing things.  As something happens it is related to the reader,
but not by Harry.  It is athough he's carrying a video cam about and we get
to see what is recorded by it.


Me:

Harry is the Point-of-View character in the story, and if you'll look back
at the story, it is *not* told from the omniscient narrator POV.  We only
see the things that Harry sees, and we see them through Harry's eyes - more
as if he is sketching out what he sees or writing about it in his diary
rather than using a videocamera.  We don't know what's happening to Hermione
in the Polyjuice mix-up (i.e., feel her reactions, see her changing) until
Harry sees the end result.  We don't know what Ginny's up to until Harry
finds her and Riddle tells him what's been going on.  We *only* know what
Harry knows, and we only know it the way Harry knows it.  This includes his
feelings/prejudices towards people - for all we know, Draco Malfoy could be
a kind soul who loves animals and helps little old witches across streets,
but *Harry* doesn't see that or know that so *we* don't see that or know
that.  So the descriptions of Snape are likewise influenced by the fact that
we're seeing him through Harry's "sketches" of him.

Diana Williams
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