Cockroach cluster

[Brian Brinkman]

No: HPFGUIDX 126521


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "mhbobbin" <mhbobbin at y...> 
wrote:
> 
> 
> I've always been troubled by the many references to cockroaches in 
> inappropriate places--such as candy, and as Lupin's solution to 
> making the Boggart go look ridiculous.  What is funny about a 
> cockroach???
> (snip)
> I believe that JKR is a big Monty Python 
> fan so I thought this reference was a bit interesting. 
>(snip) 
> Don't know what this all means (likely zip) but perhaps that is 
> where she found the word to begin with. Maybe in her mind, a 
> cockroach is associated with humor.
> 
> mhbobbin

Brian:
I think that's a possibility.  In the US, Monty Python humor seems to 
be viewed as offbeat and appreciated mostly by "smart people."  I 
wonder if that's true in the UK and if it's merely a famous example 
of "British humor"?  

Then there's JKR's enjoyment of alliteration.  Sometimes the 
alliteration reminds me that the books were originally marketed as 
children's books.  The Shrieking Shack, Marauders Map as blatant 
examples.  Then there's Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Willy 
Widdershins, Dudley Dursley (also assonant), Godric Gryffindor, 
Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin.

I like alliteration and there's nothing inherently juvenile about it, 
but in the "grammar" of American lit., too much alliteration can 
destroy verisimilitude (but maybe that's not an issue here).

So, it's possible that cockroach cluster is just another example of 
alliteration from an author who enjoys it.  

Brian Brinkman (My parents liked alliteration, too.)