"Some won't like it".

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 129998

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Magda Grantwich
<mgrantwich at y...> wrote:
> 
> 
> --- eggplant107 <eggplant107 at h...> wrote:
> 
> > Huh? Harry is told it is very important to learn occlumency but 
> > he is never told exactly why, the lessons are extremely unpleasant
> > and taught by someone he neither likes nor trusts, it's little 
> > wonder he doesn't work hard. Who would?

> Magda 
> 
> We have had this debate a few months ago but if you go back to the
> chapter with the first occlumency lesson, Snape explains why Harry
> has to learn occlumency and Harry's questions make it clear that he
> does understand the importance.
> 
> Magda


bboyminn:

Here are my thoughts on this specific event. There is a big difference
between mentioning something and have the person you are speaking to
grasp the basic concept, and repeatedly drilling home in no uncertain
terms the magnitude, importance, and significant of a vitally critical
piece of knowledge. 

This strikes me to some extent as the adult attitude that children
should be spared from the gory details of things. Plus, Dumbledore has
always been known to give extremely terse and limited detail in his
explanation. So I speculate that others like Snape, would follow suit
unless Dumbledore specifically gave them orders to do as I suggested
and drill that concept into Harry until he fully comprehends the
significants and magnitude of the fact.

But it does seem clear that from that ONE casual conversation, while
Harry understood it in the most basic way, no one bother to re-enforce
the fact, and because of this, Harry didn't truly understand what it
meant. 

The whole thing strikes me as being very Dursley-like, just do as I
say and don't ask questions.

When you objectively look as the importance of Harry learning
Occlmency, it seems very shortsighted of all the adults involved for
not having made sure Harry was better informed. Yes, Snape gave Harry
the basic 'what' of the situation, then he let it drop, and never once
delved into the 'why'.

Further, and we've definitely had this discussion before, no only did
Snape and others avoid the signigicant 'why' of Occlmency, but they
failed miserably at the 'how'. 

Illustration, people everyday are told to relax, put aside their
worries, and lower their stress levels, but unless someone gives the
average person an effective 'how' then it's not going to happen. 

I've said in the past that the Occlumency lessons combined with all
Harry's other frustrations are akin to coming up to a furiously angry
person and giving him hard pokes with a sharp stick while saying 'calm
down, calm down'. Sorry, but it's just doesn't work that way. I mean
something as simple as reading a couple chapters of a good book before
going to bed would have had a good likelihood of helping Harry calm
down and clear his mind before bed. But did anyone even suggest such a
simple and easy thing? NO.

Back to the original point, if Harry learning Occlumency was so
all-fired important, then why didn't the people involved impress that
fact on Harry until he knew it with absolute clarity and certainty?

Steve/bboyminn