[HPforGrownups] Re: Why to Like and Not Like OoP

[Jesta Hijinx]

No: HPFGUIDX 70859

>"newdevilry9" wrote:
>
> > I think it's important to keep in mind that it is still initially
> > intended to be a children's book.  While I feel that OoP is
> > touching on themes that are not entirely at a child's level,
>
>Oops :-) I'm afraid I must disagree with you again : I never thought
>HP was a children's book series, but rather a series of books for
>everyone interested in them, children and adults alike. It is true
>that books with children as heroes are usually more aimed at kids,
>but that doesn't necessarily make them children's books. And as for
>OoP, it is *definitely* not a children's book, in my opinion !
>
I believe that the HP series is written as a children's book that adults 
will enjoy reading to their kids - and indeed, as you say, something to 
appeal to a wide range of audiences.  There are too many sly cultural 
references that only adults or teens at the high end would get - like the 
"Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle" item I mentioned elsewhere.

> > Kids don't need to consider how much therapy he would really need
> > to deal with all of the trauma he's been through.
>
>NOT okay with that. Why shouldn't they consider this matter of
>therapy ? Isn't it like telling them that it's okay to be pissed off
>and to take it on everyone else and not do anything about it ? I
>mean, it IS okay to be pissed off by things of course, but in my
>opinion, it is NOT okay to take it on everyone else and we HAVE to
>learn to do something about it. In my family, if we have a problem,
>we are *expected* to do something about it, not just wait for it to
>go away, *especially* if that problem makes us turn nasty on others.
>So while I perfectly understand that Harry is pissed off and
>misbehaves as a consequence, I don't like it that the underlying
>message is basically : "it's okay to wallow in your problems and pick
>at others until friends or adults come and help you out". First
>because it's the highway to depression (Harry is on the verge of
>depression throughout the book, and if his friends weren't here to
>rescue him once in a while, like after Mr Weasley's attack, he would
>probably have broken down), and also because it teaches to wait for
>answers from others instead of acting for ourselves. And I don't
>think it's a good idea to teach that it's okay for 15-year-old kids
>not to take care of themselves emotionally.
>
I do have to agree with you about that, but I think JKR is writing that way 
for a reason - first, something of the "stiff upper lip" notion that used to 
be - may still be for all I know - common in British public schools.  
Secondly, it's a good plot device - if Harry keeps it all bottled up inside, 
we feel superior in our knowledge as readers that something Bad is going to 
happen as a consequence, and it heightens plot tension.

But there is a use here, you know:  when parents read these parts to their 
kids, that would be a great time to have the sort of discussion you mention 
here:  "What's Harry doing that's not good?  How would we handle that in our 
family?" etc.

> > And to counter, while yes, GoF was traumatic, so was his
> > interaction with Quirrel and Riddle.   Ok, so no one happened to
> > die in those instances, but it was not for a lack of trying and no
> > one was wondering why Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder wasn't being
> > addressed following those books.
>
>*I* was :-) Okay, maybe not PTSD, but still I was wondering how Harry
>was managing to take it all in stride. But you see, the big
>difference was that until OoP, Harry *was* just taking it all in
>stride, so that was kind of okay with me. But in the last book, he
>blows up. So I was thinking that *finally*, we were going to see how
>to deal with emotional trauma. But no ! The only answer seems to be :
>get angry, get pissed off, keep everything bottled up inside, blow up
>in someone's face once in a while, and you'll be quite fine. Grrr...
>
I don't think he is quite fine, though.  :-(

I think we're getting to see the bad consequences of keeping everything 
bottled up.

> > Selfishly, I just wish JKR would write books for adults, or maybe
> > just write an adults version, something that really delves into the
> > complexities, and all of the emotions that are there.   I think
> > they are great characters and to delve into what's really going on
> > with each of them would be too complicated for the kids whose
> > parents are reading this to them at bedtime (an insane practice if
> > you ask me.)
>
>I was okay with this practice for the first 2 or 3 books (depending
>on the kids). But not with the last ones.
>
Which, reading to kids at bedtime?  Not insane at all, if you ask me.

>(snip)
>
> > Which is why, when readers say that they want JKR to write Harry
> > Post-Hogwarts books, I say: no way, not interested.  Give me the
> > history of Lily and James!  The story of the first war, the
> > original Order!  That is my desperate wish for what JKR should do
> > next.  I want an adult history of the adults.  A girl can dream,
> > right?
>
>I understand that wish :-) Especially considering the complexity of
>the characters involved : the Marauders, Snape, Lily... I mean, James
>turning from that bully to a hero, sounds like a miracle to me, I'd
>love to know what happened !
>
>Del
>
Gee, sort of like the "prequel mania" that 'Star Wars' and others kicked 
off?  ;-)

Felinia

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