Harry's POV was Snape is NOT Sexy

[severin_szaltis]

No: HPFGUIDX 56452

Diana Williams: 
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.
 

Me: 
I'm afraid not; it *is* an omniscient narrator (or ON). The fact that 
the narrator only chooses to tell us what Harry feels and thinks and 
not the other characters, is neither here nor there with regard to 
the omniscience of the narrator.  


What is happening is that the ON is choosing to tell us events from 
Harry's stand point.  Although the distinction is a subtle one, this 
is *not* the same as telling the story in Harry's voice.  The books 
are *not* a First Person Narrative, which would be the only case in 
which we could say that every description in the book was Harry's 
personal view and given in light of *his* prejudices and bias.  The 
HP books are written in the third person and only when it 
says, "Harry thought..." (or similar) are we getting Harry's personal 
opinion.  Otherwise we are listening to the ON. 



Diana Williams: 
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. 


Me: 
I agree that we only see the things that Harry sees, but that is 
because the ON chooses not to tell us what anybody else sees, not 
because every word is Harry's opinion, or is coloured by his bias.  

If as you suggest it was "as if he is sketching out what he sees or 
writing about it in his diary" then the books would be a First Person 
Narrative - they are not, it is the ON giving us details, not Harry 
himself.  It is the ON who describes Snape, not Harry and if it were 
Harry's bias she was describing then the ON would have to say 
something along the lines of "...this is how Snape appeared to Harry."


Diana Williams: 
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.


Me: 
The ON is choosing not to reveal things to the reader any quicker 
than they are revealed to Harry true, but this 'looking over Harry's 
shoulder' approach to telling the story should not be confused with 
First Person Narrative.  Telling a story from a particular characters 
stand point or POV does not take away the omniscience of the 
narrator, nor does it mean that every word written is specifically 
only Harry's view - unless we are told otherwise it is the ON 
*speaking*

SS ~;o)