Is Dudley...slow?

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 117704


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "ericoppen" <technomad at i...> 
wrote:
> 
> I've sometimes wondered if a lot of Petunia's attitudes couldn't 
be 
> explained by saying that Dudley's...slow of wit.  What I think is 
now 
> called a "special-needs child", although the PC authorities may 
have 
> come up with fresh euphemisms.  
  

Potioncat:
I'd say Dudley, Crabbe and Goyle are all shown as pretty stupid.  
It's great fun to laugh at their weight, their mental skills, their 
sheer brutish behavior.  Unless of course you think about it too 
much.

I'm one of at least two (I'm sure more) on this list who do not 
agree with psychological explanations for characters.  I don't think 
you can diagnose fictional characters unless the author intended to 
portray a certain condition. It doesn't mean the author has to 
say, "This character is BiPolar, this character is Autistic". It 
just doesn't work unless the author intended it AND knew what she/he 
was doing.

So while I think Dudley is pretty dim-witted, I don't think it is a 
Special-Needs situation.

Potioncat (who knows more than she wants to about special-needs.)