Rednecks

[Avery Ke]

No: HPFGUIDX 133103

cayres1 wrote:
>My little brother (who, at age 20, is not that little) made me
>laugh when he said: "Voldemort's a redneck!" (Though, to be
>perfectly correct, it's his mother's family, not him).

Well, not precisely, since a redneck is defined as a "a poor white
person in the southern United States." I don't know the British
equivalent. A peasant, a yeoman? 

For my part, I found this section of the book particularly
poignant. LV has grand dreams of his birth family, but his actual
lineage makes his dreams ludicrous. 

His father's family are muggles, and not particularly nice muggles. So
far is Tom Riddle from being a compassionate and responsible
land-owner that his only reaction to the Gaunt's poverty and squalor
is regret that he cannot tear down the shack and (presumably) order
the family to move on.

----begin quote (Chapter 10, page 209 in US edition) 

"My God, what an eyesore!" rang out a girl's voice, as clearly audible
through the open window as if she had stood in the room beside
them. "Couldn't your father have that hovel cleared away, Tom?"

"It's not ours," said a young man's voice. "Everything on the other
side of the valley belongs to us, but that cottage belongs to an old
tramp called Gaunt, and his children. The son's quite mad, you should
hear some of the stories they tell in the village--

The girl laughed.

----end quote

Further, LV's mother's family, although pure-bred, has sunk into
poverty, squalor, and (in the uncle's case) alcoholism. No wonder LV's
face shows "disgust, and perhaps disappointment" when he finally meets
his uncle (Chapter 17, page 364 US ed.)

If it were possible for me to feel sorry for LV, I would do so now.

Avery