Hermione and DU (was: CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Chapter 33 - Fight and Flight)

[Tammy]

No: HPFGUIDX 119445


Tina wrote:
> > Man, I just wanted Hermione to shut up!  With every word she 
> > spoke it got worse and worse (kind of like Umbridge...).  She 
> > has the book knowledge but clearly needs to work on her 
> > understanding of applying some of that knowledge.
> 
> Vivamus replied:
> Me too on wanting her to shut up, but isn't it interesting that she
*didn't*
> shut up?  How she did not respect the Centaurs enough to stop what
she was
> doing and think when they reacted badly?  I thought it was almost
*exactly*
> like Umbridge.  I wondered if perhaps JKR isn't making the point
that there
> isn't as much difference between the "good" and "bad" characters as our
> fantasy-trained minds would have us believe.   Hermione is far more
> intelligent than DU, but made the same stupid blunder (and it was
stupid not
> in a lack of understanding the Centaurs in the first place, but in not
> shutting up and thinking when they reacted badly to the first
statement.)   
> 
*snip*

> In that respect, Hermione and DU are not all that different.  The
question
> for me is whether Hermione is going to learn to let other people
make their
> own choices.  I think she will by the end of the series, but only
because I
> think JKR really wants Hermione to mature into a healthy adult
(well, I do,
> too.)  But I don't think the encounter with the Centaurs was
sufficiently
> disastrous enough to get her attention.  In her own way, I think she
is as
> blind as Hagrid is about monsters -- and that may well be JKR's point.
> 
> Vivamus

Tammy replies now:

I don't think Hermione is like DU. Umbridge is arrogant and
self-serving. DU is a racist, plain and simple, which is what leads to
her downfall with the centaurs. She expects them to realize they are
"lower creatures" and to respect her higher status.

Hermione on the other hand, has loads of book knowledge, but little to
no interpersonal people skills. She's a standard "nerd" (no offense to
any nerds in the group, and please note I'm generalizing for the
purpose of my point :P ). She can't interact with people. She has a
hard time interacting with Ron and Harry most of the time. 

I think that while Hermione and DU had basically the same result with
centaurs, it was for entirely different reasons. Still a good point
from JKR though.

-Tammy, who identifies greatly with Hermione's lack of people skills :D