[HPforGrownups] Re: Book 1 question

Mon Nov 10 00:36:42 UTC 2003

No: HPFGUIDX 84454

 Tzvi wrote:
 --- kewiromeo wrote:
> I am taking a Litterature for children class and the teacher has us 
read SS.  <snip> My teacher tells us, "I only read the book for 
this class, and I only read the > first book."   <snip>  At what point 
does Harry enter the > magical wold? My teacher (the expert) seems to 
think that it was when he steps > onto the platform 9 3/4. I wrote a 
23 page paper on this book for my Comp 2 > class and I wrote that 
Harry's crossing of the threshold was the opening of the > door in 
Diagon Alley.  <snip>

Aussie wrote:  (lots of stuff with which I was impressed)

Tzvi, I for myself would like to have a go at reading your 23 pages.

Now, do bear with me, I haven't done this in a long time, and I haven't
prepared this answer in a proper academic way:

I think there is a term confusion in your teacher's question, relative to
(our established) canon lexicon. In HP, we refer mainly, and do correct me
if  I'm wrong, not to magical world, but to Wizarding World. I believe Harry
was born in WW (I think he wasn't born in a muggle maternity), and left it
for a long while when he was taken to the Dursleys. He was in and out of WW
all his (known to us) life - same thing as embassies (for instance) are
territory of their country within other countries' borders, I'd say Diagon
Alley, St Mungo's, 12 Grimmauld Place (and other wizard houses), the MoM,
etc are WW territory within, in this case, UK's borders (let me get Hogwarts
off this UK list just in case...). Wizarding World has a Prime Minister. It
has laws of itself. (enter discussion of definition of "country" and
"nation") Here, both your answers are wrong, yours and your teacher's - we
can't establish the first moment Harry entered WW. We can, however and only,
establish the first time we *know/are told/ witness* he entered (where YOU
are right) and the first time he left (at the time of OotP release, where
the famous 24h period is not clarified by canon, the Dursleys).

If I take "entering magical world" as meaning, not "having contact with" (in
which I'd say, conscient acknowleadged contact, the moment Harry understood
Hagrid did real magic, and that was before setting his feet into Diagon
Alley),  not "feeling sense of belonging with" (which I can't really
pinpoint now, it envolves psychology theorie, but I'd probably say would be
the moment Harry first felt he missed not being in the WW - sorry, I'm
portuguese, I could never translate "saudade"), but as in entering *to
stay*, making the "entrance" dependent of a (sorry, can only think of French
word) "séjour" (as if he was entering an age, or a <magically> meaningful
period), I would say your teacher is right -even if I would still prefer to
compare two situations of physical entrance, platform 9 3/4 and Hogwart's
itself.

However, and this is my personal position, if you take "entering magical
world" as in "having magic within yourself", being a wizard and not a
muggle, this would be the very first moment Harry did magic. Remember
Neville. His "family thought (he) was all-Muggle for ages" untill his first
magical moment at eight (PS, Scholastic, paperback (1999?) p. 125. This is
the book your teacher admits, btw. She should be familiar with this quote.
Now, can we really establish the first moment Harry did magic? Has it been
established, without doubt, that what happened at Godric's Hollow Oct 31,
1981, was Harry's doing, and only Harry's? Do we know anything about Harry
before that? Do we know for a fact the first time he did magic at the
Dursleys?

Because of the mixer (only heard of both of them a couple of days ago...
been away...), I checked the Scholastic's site for the first time, and found
their About the Books > Discussion Guide (for PS/SS HYPERLINK
"http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/books/guides/sorcerers_stone.htm"http
://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/books/guides/sorcerers_stone.htm ). They
were written by, I assume, someone who has been approved by JKR herself. I'd
say his guides have been most likely been approved by her. I think this is
an interesting question for him, if anyone here would like to ask him.
Checked Bloomsbury's site, but am only muggle, and found nothing like that
there. Sorry, I know there has been academic discussion about this (meaning,
stuff you can fill your bibliography with for any paper you do for this
class), but I've never actively researched it, and so am not familiar with
academical legitimized HP experts... I'd say most of the people who were at
Nimbus could give/ be names...

This because. You don't tell of your academic experience (I assume that if
you write 23 pages on this, you probably have some nice background...). You
don't say exactly what level this class is. If I may add my (now, how many
sickles exactly is two cents... of dollars? od euros?...) worth, and *think*
I may give you advice, from my academic experience (and I only have a
university degree, nothing really special; in Media Studies, meaning I'm
more into Social Sciences than Physical ones - where basically anybody can
say whatever they want as long as they find previous authors, who have not
been completely laughed at by the "Academy", to back them up), I'd say the
best way to shut up this teacher (and colleagues who think they're the only
ones who have read the books...) is to legitimize your theories by quoting
academic work. Basically, swamping her under nice names she'd be a fool to
contradict (hey, she herself is giving a class on HP, not like she can say
"yeah, only a weirdo would think HP is academic-material"). That way, if you
think the grade she gives you (because you don't agree on the
interpretation) is not what it should be, you actually have material to
contest her capacities and competences to teach that class (more than
anything we could say in this list...), and, if you're really pi***d at her,
do something about it (other than getting something from Fred & George's
shop to give her candidly :)

Wow. My brain must be really getting better, because of you - didn't think I
could write like this anymore :)

C

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