Draco's and Harry's wealth (was:Re: Pansy Parkinson (Was: House characteristics)

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 150735

> >>kchuplis:
> I guess I continue to fail to understand why it is necessary to  
> discuss what HP is not.

Betsy Hp:
Well, we were discussing Pansy as a "mean girl" type, and I was 
saying that she doesn't properly fulfill that role, just as Draco 
doesn't properly fulfill the "big man on campus bully" role.  So at 
that time, to my mind, it was necessary to point out that JKR wasn't 
writing that sort of tale anyway.  She didn't *need* a "mean girl" 
or a "BMOC bully".

Anyway, sometimes the best way to arrive at what something *is*, is 
to figure out what it is *not*.  (Or if not the best, it can be an 
interesting trip, IMO. <g>)

> >>kchuplis:
> (I wasn't aware of the "school days" story genre nor elements of   
> such a genre).

Betsy Hp:
>From what I understand, a "school days" story (or is it "school 
story"?) is a coming of age story and follows the protagonist as 
they navigate the path from adolescence to adulthood while at 
boarding school.

See this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_story

Funnily enough, when my sister recommended the Potter books to me 
she told me the series was a lot like "Malory Towers" only with 
magic.  (My sisters and I loved those books as little girls.)

The Potter books do have that flavor, but Harry moves well beyond a 
simple school boy with simple school-boy worries in the very first 
book, I think.

> >>kchuplis:
> I guess that I also do not see it as making Harry more powerful    
> that he has direct access to money... <snip>
> Harry does not *act* upon the direct access to largess, where as  
> Draco seems to be the sort of "rich kid" in behaviour and         
> acquisitions that *does* act upon the family fortune even though  
> he doesn't have direct access. To me, that makes him               
> effectively "richer" than Harry which I think does fulfill your  
> character requirement, but that is just IMO.
> <snip>

Betsy Hp:
Well, Harry is not a "BMOC bully" himself.  He'd never think to use 
his easy access to funds as a tool to lord over the other boys in 
his dorm.  He *could* do so, just as he could cash in on his fame as 
the "Boy Who Lived" to gain a large following of sycophants, but 
that just wouldn't be Harry.  He'd absolutely cringe at the idea.

Draco, on the other hand, has no problem invoking his family name 
(and the apparent connections it brings), and also has no problem 
pointing out the advantages of his family's wealth.  Draco would 
have gladly fulfilled the "BMOC bully" role.  But he can't.  
Because, though Harry's too modest to *use* his power, it does trump 
Draco's.  And Draco knows it.

So, it's not that I'm saying Draco *won't* be the "BMOC bully", it's 
that he *can't*.  Just as Pansy may have hoped to play "mean girl" 
to Hermione, but she can't.  Hermione has too much power.

There's also the added difficulty of the Slytherin students being a 
shunned minority (deserved or not) rather than an elite club.  The 
Slytherins are put firmly into the under-dog or black sheep role at 
the end of PS/SS.  Which is fitting, I guess, since that is when the 
school-days part of the story is also rather firmly put aside.

Betsy Hp