The narrator again (Was: Harry at the Dursleys)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 118447


Alla wrote:
> 
> Harry is ALWAYS hungry at Dursleys, not just missing one meal or two. 
> When he eats, he describes in details what he is given and I don't 
> know, but to  me it clearly does not seem to be enough,
>
Carol responds:
Forgive me, Alla. I'm not picking on you, really! But Harry doesn't
*describe* anything. It's the narrator who does so, from his point of
view. If Harry were the narrator, looking back on his schooldays from
the perspective of the still-young victor over Voldemort, we wouldn't
need to worry whether he was going to survive Book 7. The use of a
third-person narrator allows JKR to leave his survival in doubt (as
well as serving other useful purposes).

Carol, with apologies for ignoring your actual point, but I don't want
to get into the abuse vs. neglect discussion