They are children's books (Was: the heart of it all)

[jeffl1965]

No: HPFGUIDX 81811

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Laura Ingalls Huntley 
<lhuntley at f...> wrote:
> 
  <snipped>


> I don't know who this girl is, what she's done to you, or why you 
> happen to be obsessed with her.  However, I *have* noticed that 
this is 
> your second message posted *solely* for the purpose of complaining 
> about her, and I would ask you to please *stop* using the HPfGU and 
OTC 
> lists as your personal venting grounds.
> 

   Jeff:

   Sorry, I shall. I was just trying to point out what the post was 
about and how some few seem to get *too* involved in what the stories 
mean. For some it becomes their sole reason for breathing ,and that 
concerns me. Have you seen/read Stephen King's Misery? It's like 
that. Also, FYI: I worked as a radio dj, and have firsthand 
experiences with obsessed people. It's not a very pleasant thing. 


> As for the secondary topic of your post, I would point out that 
there 
> are many people who suspect that HP may be a Christian Allegory, 
and 
> most of them aren't "fan girls."  And while I am not sure that I 
count 
> myself among them, I *can* see where they're coming from.
> 
  Jeff:

    I can't really respond to this without offending you again by 
going OT. Iggy's statement explains it better. This woman isn't a 
christian or even a religious person at all. I'll leave it at that, 
so as to not offend you farther.



> First of all, for Harry to assume a Christlike role in the 
> hypothetically allegorical HP books, he hardly needs to mirror 
Christ's 
> Godlike personality or lack of sin.  Allegory isn't about rewriting 
> Scripture.  It's about taking a theme from an epic tale and 
fleshing it 
> out so that it becomes more human (and, incidentally, more 
accessible 
> to the reader).
> 
  Jeff:

    Again, I wasn't trying to compare the series with Christianity at 
all, I used the term Christ-like since saying God-like means 
different things to different people.  I don't find much religion in 
the series at all. Its mainly about love, friendship and good vs. 
evil, but no real reference to a higher being. I find all the 
characters fascinating, and don't try to equate them to any 
historical figures. Perhaps I didn't clarify myself and you read too 
much into it out of anger? If so, that wasn't my intetion at all.



> Furthermore, while I can't quite grasp what this has to do with 
> anything, I would like to point out that, not only do plenty of 
> children grow up to resemble absent parents, but that JKR has 
several 
> characters (Dumbledore, Hagrid, Sirius, to name a few) throughout 
the 
> books comment explicitly on how much Harry reminds them of James.  
In 
> OotP, we found out that they were not as similar as we had 
previously 
> assumed, but, still, there must be *something* that causes so many 
> adult to comment on Harry's resemblance to James.  Also...what does 
> knowing what they looked like have to do with anything?  *puzzled*
> 
> Laura

  Jeff:

     I guess I wasn't clear. My statement was that I find the 
fangirlish posts of hers to be silly and very innacurate, with no 
basis on fact at all.  
    I have a fairly firm grasp on genetics and mental health, having 
read a few books on the subjects. Personally, I don't look a thing 
like either of my parents, nor do my parents, and several of my 
cousins who have siblings resemble their parents nor each other. In 
some cases they all have different hair colors.
    I accept that Harry resembles James. I never denied this. You did 
read my posts carefully? I merely stated that Harry wasn't aware of 
this fact until around mid-term or so when he saw them in the Mirror 
of Erised. That would explain some of the reasons why he's mistreated 
at home as well. oh, and let's not forget that apparently Lily and 
Petunia don't resemble each other either. 
   As for knowing what his parents look like, well it doesn't really 
mean much to me. To the other person in question, it means the world, 
apparently, as it does to Harry himself, which is understandable, 
since they're very OT at home.


  Jeff