[HPforGrownups] Re: Identifying Enemies/Twins

[Magda Grantwich]

No: HPFGUIDX 141002

--- Steve <bboyminn at yahoo.com> wrote:

>  
> Also take note of Arthur's reaction, he doesn't treat this like
> attempted murder. He treats it like what it is, a joke; a joke in
> poor
> taste for sure (as most jokes are), but a joke none the less. He
> doesn't seem worried. He seems to understand that there is no
> danger.
> Of course, I admit that the Dursley don't have anyway of knowing
> that
> their is no danger, but I seriously doubt that the Twins are
> preforming or selling lethal jokes.


What Arthur says in front of the Dursleys is to reassure them; when
he gets back to the Burrow he has a core meltdown on the twins.  He's
"angrier than Harry had ever seen him."  And he stresses the
resemblance of this kind of activity to what he fights every day as a
MoM official.

And a few chapters later we see other nastier wizards abusing their
powers to play jokes on muggles.  Not so funny then, is it?

Nor am I clear on exactly how Dudley is punished for being a bully by
being terrified out of his wits by an engorged tongue.  The twins
never tie the result to his earlier sins against Harry so that he'd
get the message not to bug Harry.  If anything it reinforces what
Dudley does himself: if you can get away with doing something harmful
to someone, go ahead and do it.  The only message Dudley takes away
from the experience is that wizards have powers to be even bigger
bullies than he himself is.

I was never really a huge fan of the twins; I especially dislike the
way they treated Percy, Ron and Ginny.  They reinforce each other and
until the Katie Bell incident in OOTP (when they give her the wrong
candy and she collapses from blood loss) they seem impervious to
others' considerations.  The twins redeem themselves of course when
they are the first to successfully defy Umbridge and show the other
students how to undermine her "authority".  Anarchy wins out over
authoritarianism every time.

But to recap: the twins were way out of line over the toffee.

Magda


		
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