Pureblood attitudes and the word "racism" (Was: James the Berk?)

delwynmarch delwynmarch at yahoo.com
Sun Jul 18 20:25:51 UTC 2004


No: HPFGUIDX 106783

Charme wrote:
> I agree, Alla, that is not necessary to know the "whys" in Bella's 
> case: she's portrayed as adult and she makes her own decisions and 
> she killed off a character everyone liked.

Del replies :
You might think so, but not everyone has to agree. Not that I like
Bella and really care about why she does what she does, but I disagree
with a general statement that we don't need to know.

I also disagree with a general statement that everyone liked Sirius. I
loved him in PoA, I liked him OK in GoF, and I strongly disliked him
in OoP. I for one am *not* sorry he's gone. I'm sorry for a lot of
things, starting with Harry who didn't deserve to be put through that
pain, and also for the fact that Sirius never got a real chance at a
real life, but I'm *not* sorry he's gone : he was too much of a
liability, and he was turning into a dangerously bad example for Harry.
I won't go thanking Bellatrix for killing him though.

Charme wrote :
> A friend of mine has a saying that we all have to live with the 
> decisions we make, and I think this is along the theme of what 
> Dumbledore says in canon. Being that JKR is the wisdom behind DD,  
> this is probably one of the main themes of the series she's trying 
> to get across, as you can make (if you CHOOSE) decisions independent
> of your environment, experiences or other influences. Bella, like 
> every other character, has "emotions."  Those emotions preclude 
> decisions which are not always logical nor well thought out.

Del replies :
But DD's choices contradict his words. He says we can make the right
choice no matter what, and *at the exact same time* he makes the wrong
decision *because* of his feelings for Harry. In the very same
discussion at the end of PS/SS, he emphasizes the importance of
choosing AND he makes the wrong decision of not telling Harry the
whole truth because he loves the boy.

I say : actions speak louder than words. JKR is showing us that
*nobody* can escape their emotions. Even someone as old and wise and
experienced as DD *repeatedly* (year after year for 4 years) made the
very same wrong decision because of his emotions. It tells a lot indeed.

Charme wrote :
> I also think trying to base every theory orhypotheses on the 
> combination of canon, logic and "fact" is flawed in some fashion: as
> you allude in your post by your "lightheartedness (which I think
> you are BTW), this IS fiction and is a world which is totally 
> imaginary.

Del replies :
Just because you think we shouldn't think of the Potterverse as a
mirror of real life doesn't mean others can't do just that. I have
several ways of looking at the HP books, and the most serious one does
indeed include making hypotheses based on a combination of canon,
logic and fact.
You on the other hand are totally entitled to counter my logic with a
statement that you see the Potterverse as exclusively fantastic. We
would both be right.

Charme wrote :
> This is supposed to be for fun after all, and if fans didn't
> have emotions, they wouldn't be so passionate about their 
> discussions!

Del replies :
Not all emotions are fun ! In fact, if it were just for the fun, I
don't think there would be hardly *any* passionate discussions on this
list ! Lots of joke and silliness, but hardly any serious debate.
Note : silliness and seriousness are both good, I have no preference.
But this group *does* seem to have a general preference for
seriousness : most posts are serious and when anyone sometimes make
silly posts, they rarely get answered.

Del






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