Cho

[Lilac]

No: HPFGUIDX 50282


I just wanted to weigh-in on the Cho discussion, since my silly theory, CONNIVING CHICK'S REVENGE, was referred to in one of Petra Pan's posts.  Thanks for making us *all* think, Petra! 

Just for the record, it was my first attempt at a "bangy" theory, without realizing what "banging" really is (I still don't understand it...oh well).  I just thought it would really be tricky of JKR to have Cho turn evil...she is one you would never guess in a million years to turn to the dark side.  I'll admit, it's not a very good theory, with absolutely _no_ canon support, but hey...the acronym made up by Nicole was absolutely brilliant , and Gail made up a fun filk about it.  But I agree, there's really no good reason for it (other than my own amusement). 

My Original post http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/43101

Nicole's Acronym http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/43242

Gail's FILK http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/43819

AND I'll admit it...I didn't like Cho *the character* too much when I first read the books, and I couldn't figure out why.  In fact, I didn't *want* to figure out why for the longest time.  I saw her as a monkey wrench for the SHIP subplots *I* thought JKR was going to write, so she was not "wanted"...by me anyway.  I didn't hate her, just not a fan of hers.  But she is so likable in every way that the wonderful Cho fans have mentioned in previous posts.  Doesn't make any sense, does it?

And then, a few months after my first foray into theorizing, I got into a lively on-list discussion with the very eloquent Jessica aka Moonstruck about Ginny, and I realized for the first time that there were people in the fandom who were not Ginny fans.  Not Ginny Fans?  I was thunderstruck!  How could there be people who did not *like* her? I thought.  First of all, we hardly know anything about her.  Second of all, she's a Weasley...automatic coolness in my book.  Third, what's all this talk about "star-struck" and "hero-worship"?  I thought everyone would be impressed by how she's not sticking her elbow in the butterdish anymore!  She was *maturing*...how could anyone not see that?  I also found out that there is a "Ginny is Evil" Yahoo Group, and if you thought I was thunderstruck before, this bit of info made me faint dead away (okay...I'm being very melodramatic here...I was only out for 15 seconds...). 

I have not done a great job of extolling Ginny's virtures here, but that is not the point of this post...the next part is my actual point!

I learned some very important things from my discussion with Jessica.  First off, other people had very different interpretations of these characters, and that was *okay*.  We could agree to disagree.  Second, our personal experiences flavored our interpretations greatly.  For Jessica, she mentioned that Ginny's embarrasing behavior reminded her of herself at that age.  She feels she's more like Hermione now, but it felt like going through hell to get to where she is now.  I can understand and respect that.  Thirdly, I was making the same *judgements* about Cho that I imagined others were making about Ginny...what a hypocrite, huh?  Especially since I started the whole "Cho is Evil" thread (a very short-lived thread back then).  My only consolation is that I didn't go and start up a "Cho is Evil" Yahoo-group, because then I would be the world's biggest hypocrite.  [No offense intended for members of the evil Ginny or (if there is one) evil Cho yahoo groups!] 

I think the real reason I didn't like Cho is that I was *jealous* of her.  I mean, think about it...she has it *all*...she's beautiful, smart, talented Quidditch-wise, dated a school Champion, AND to top it all off, she's nice.   I was reminded of those girls in high school just like her, who you hated for no good reason (aka jealousy), so I disliked Cho for the same no-good reason.  I know...how utterly shallow of me.  However, this book does bring out the "teen" in you, and when reliving those teen experiences with our beloved Trio, feelings just kind of "spring-up" seemingly out of nowhere.  At least it happened that way with me.  

It's a good thing to analyze why we feel certain ways about these characters, because we learn something about ourselves in the process.  For example, I learned how not to assume that everyone feels the same way I do about certain characters AND how to not ignore the "beam" in my own eye while pointing out the "motes" in others' eyes. <very sheepish grin>

~Lilac, who got her tonsils out recently and it really "sucks to be her" right now..   

 



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