[HPforGrownups] Acceptable Abuses?

[Dolies]

No: HPFGUIDX 95712

--- karenoc1 <karenoc1 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> I don't understand about this one Dumbledore
> incongruity (I apologize 
> if this has been previously discussed!).  I'm
> wondering why 
> Dumbledore allows his students to be abused at all,
> and I guess I'm 
> thinking specifically about Snape.

Is this really an issue regarding Dumbledore's
morality or REALLY about JKR and how she use her plot
devices??  
 
> Here, I'm thinking mainly of the episode in PoA,
> when Neville could 
> not get his (shrinking?) potion to work properly. 
> Snape gave Neville 
> time to fix it before administering it to Trevor,
> and we all know 
> that Trevor did not die because of Hermione's aid to
> Neville.  But 
> Snape fully intended to administer what we can only
> assume to be 
> poison to Neville's pet.  I know that this scene is
> a device to 
> demonstrate why Snape would be Neville's worse fear
> during the 
> boggart lesson, but why does Dumbledore allow a
> teacher to terrorize 
> a student so viciously?

You see this scene as not making sense as it is so
vicious and wrong, while I see this as something fun
to read. Different reactions and different mentality
for different readers.

> There are also other abuses, like the crack Snape
> made about 
> Hermione's teeth in GoF and the occasions where he
> purposely 
> sabotaged Harry's work just to give him poor grades.

Well if he didn't make such demonized remarks, you
wouldn't have hated him and stayed angry with him and
distrust him like Harry right? Isn't that's what this
character and his role and his relationship with Harry
is about?  From book one Snape's character has always
been setup to be an unpleasant, abusive and vengeful
anti-hero. Really, what really did you expect Snape to
behave?

> Is it any wonder that Harry is *amazed* that
> Dumbledore trusts Snape 
> implicitly, the teacher who abuses Hogwarts students
> so pleasurably?  
> After all, Dumbedore is supposed to know about
> everything that 
> happens at Hogwarts, right?

My overall response will be very boring and
uninspiring: because Harry Potter series is a story
where the main characters have to deal with and
overcoming conflicts, abuses, torture and suffering.
But most importantly how they triumph over these
horrible things....as in the fairytale tradition. 

I have the feeling that a lot of posters here have
some false expectation of Harry Potter series as some
sunshine fluff where EVERYONE falls in love with Harry
and how everyone is nice and friendly.  A lot of the
Book 6 & 7 predictions I saw here are what they wish
for the best and MOST safe and perfect resolution for
poor little Harry, and not actual prediction of what
would actually happen that could create "more
conflicts=more drama=more gripping story."   

Maybe I'm in the minority here that Harry Potter is
the type of children's books where readers actually
ENJOY seeing the main character going through horrible
things, as I'm sure JKR actually have fun writing them
(I know I would). Some actor once said (whenever he
choose which role he'll play when given a script): the
character who has the most sufferings is the STAR of
the story.
 
If you must apply and taken everything that happens in
the book as social issues, like some of posters here
get so angry and demand to call child-abuse service on
Snape and Dursley...it just don't make sense. This is
just a fairytale-ish story where most of the
villainous characters started out as caricatures.
There are exaggeration. And some poster post quotes
from JKR before: she did not think of HP as some
"issues" book. And I agree.

D.