[HPforGrownups] Re: What's wrong with being bad ?

[Shaun Hately]

No: HPFGUIDX 102119

On 19 Jun 2004 at 9:38, Miss Melanie wrote:

> My reply:  That's really not fair to make that statement.  I mean of
> course Harry and Hermione prefer the wizarding world over the muggle
> one they are better suited for it.  We don't know this for sure but I
> get the impression that Hermione was a bit of an outsider in the
> muggle world.  I believe in the first book *granted I don't have it on
> me so I can't look to be sure* but she says something to the effect of
> "I never really fit in but my family was very surprised when I got my
> letter.  I'm the first witch."  To me that implies that she found
> herself able to see things, or do things that other children were not
> able to do.  We know Harry had incidences of "accidental" magic before
> going to school and based on what Hagrid asks in SS/PS we can assume
> that most wizard children, muggle or pure, do these things.  Thus, I'm
> sure a witch with Hermione's talent did some accidental magic as well.
>  I don't know for sure but I can assume that if she did this in the
> muggle world that it confused her and her parents greatly.  She felt
> that she was a bit of an outsider to it, even if her parents did not
> do anything directly to make her feel that way.  

Sure, and believe me, as someone who spends much of their life 
working with children like Hermione (gifted children) who often 
feel like thet don't fit in, I see this. But I don't think it has 
any relevance to what I said.

> Thus, even if she enjoys the muggle world and finds that muggles are
> able to create a wonderful lives in it she can't really feel that she
> belongs in that world.  She wants to be with other people who are like
> her.  However, that doesn't mean that she thinks the magical world is
> better only different. 

I don't really think there is a distinction. If she prefers to live 
in the Wizarding World, then, by definition, she has decided it is 
a better place. Saying that if her experiences had been different 
in the Muggle World, her feelings might be different, is certainly 
possible. But, if my experiences in my own education had been 
different, well - then I might well despise Snape's teaching 
methods rather than supporting them. (-8

To me, it's pretty much a non-argument to suggest that if 
Hermione's experiences had been different, her views would be 
different. Sure, they probably would be - but that doesn't, by one 
iota, change what her views *are*.

The only two people we see in any detail who have real experience 
of both the Wizarding World and the Muggle World, would both, I 
believe choose to live in the Wizarding World. If it was JKR's 
intention to make us believe the Wizarding World was inferior to 
the Muggle one, then I would have expected some real sign of that, 
5 books into a 7 book series. I'd have expected her to have shown 
us a character for whom Muggle life *was* better.

She hasn't, so I don't think that's likely to be a major point of 
the series.


Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one
thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the 
facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be 
uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that 
need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil
Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia