[HPforGrownups] our POV (was Re: Who's more out of line?)

[Shaun Hately]

No: HPFGUIDX 51241

On 31 Jan 2003 at 11:50, gingersnape1966 gingersnape19 wrote:

> There have been some *great* discussions about authorial intent, 
> teacher/student roles, etc. but I am going to wonder a bit obout POV 
> (point of view).  JKR tells the story from Harry's POV.  Therefore 
> the Draco incedent is funny, whereas the Hermoine incedent is not.  
> At least to Harry.  And a few of his friends.  And some readers.  
> 
> That's where our POV comes in. Regarding the Draco incedent: Think 
> back to when you first read it.  Did it bring back a time when you 
> were humiliated (or transfigured) by a teacher?  Or did it bring back 
> a memory of a classmate you *wish* would have gotten that sort of 
> treatment?  I wonder if that has anything to do with preception?  

Well, for me, point of view is a definite factor. I was a victim of bullying, including a lot 
that involved the indifference of teachers, and that certainly has an impact on how I see 
Snape's treatment of Hermione, and on how I see Crouch/Moody's treatment of Draco. 
No bones about it. I feel deeply sorry for Hermione and viscerally enraged at Snape. 
While I have a strong emotional feeling that Draco deserved what he got.
 
> Those offended and angered may have been reading it as a real life 
> type of incedent, whereas those of us who found it amusing may be 
> recalling someone real.  In my case, the guy who beat me up after 
> band if I didn't have his music alphabetized, but never told me which 
> end of the word to start at, so there was always a "reason" for the 
> beating.  Of course, he was never caught and punished, so this was a 
> vicarious "comeuppance".    A 25-year-old wish fullfillment.  All in 
> the safe setting of a fantasy.  I wish no ill on this classmate now, 
> but I can go back and imagine "wouldn't it have been funny if Moody 
> had been our band teacher?" 

Yes, I definitely can relate to that.

But at the same time as I acknowledge this emotional reaction, I believe I can keep the 
logical, rational part of my thinking free of it. As I said in a previous post, I found the 
scene funny - but I also thought it was unacceptable.

Likewise, I think this applies with the case involving Hermione and Snape. Yes, I have 
an emotional reaction. But even if the absence of that reaction, I believe I would find 
what he did very wrong.

Something I should make clear. I admire Snape on other levels. To have the strength to 
turn away from evil is something I respect. And with regards to Sirius... when he saw 
what was happening on the Marauder's Map, what did he see. From his perspective, he 
saw a mass murderer in the company of a dangerous monster (both of whom hold him in 
personal contempt), and three students in danger in their presence... and he went into 
the lion's den.

I do admire Snape on many levels.

But - and if you want to talk about emotional reactions, this is definitely one - I want to 
admire Snape as a teacher. I had some... nasty... teachers. Mean ones. At least that is 
how I saw them when I was a kid. But they helped save my life, and they helped me 
become a better person. They really did. I want to give Snape the benefit of the doubt, I 
didn't give them. I *want* to believe that Snape isn't a complete and total (insert foul 
imprecation of choice).

But I can't move beyond his treatment of Hermione, and the incident with her teeth. Part 
of the reason that scene effects me is that it basically means I can't believe what I want 
to believe.

> Best regards to all and thank you to all on both sides who 
> contributed interesting reading material, 
> Ginger
> 
> By the way, did anyone feel sorry for the fellows sent to the 
> hospital wing with leeks sprouting out of their ears?  Sorry for 
> Gilbert Wimple stuck with his horns?  Or did we see them as a 
> humourous reminder that we are not in the real world?

I didn't feel that sorry for either of them - but not because they were a humourous 
reminder. From memory, the reason I didn't feel sorry for them was because in the case 
of the leeks, it was the result of a fight - and if you get in a fight, you pretty much 
deserve what you get. And with Gilbert Wimple, I don't have enough information to know 
what caused it - it could have been his own stupidity - or even if he minds having the 
horns.

Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately |webpage: http://www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       |email: drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in
common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter
the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen
to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who:
The Face of Evil | Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia