Why are Dobby and Grawp so annoying? (Was: Freedom for House-Elves)

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 162280


> Alla:
> Well, yes, that is what I would like to do too ¡V leave Snape out of 
> it. I was just surprised about the analogy Pippin made, because I 
> cannot see it even with magnifying glass. 

Pippin:
::blinks::
In the very post in which you decide that you don't like Dobby
because he's injured Harry, you also proclaim that you can't see
any analogy with Snape?

> Alla:
> 
> Well, no I would rather read about better written character, I could 
> care less whether character is human or not.
> In Louis Bujold saga about Miles Vorkosigan for example  there are 
> plenty fascinating non-human character.
> So, as of today, I guess I just think that Grawp is not written well, 
> contrary to Dobby.

Pippin:
So  you're assuming that JKR's aim is to make you like the character,
and therefore if you don't like him, he must be poorly written? But
what if she doesn't want to make you like the character very much?

You said in a previous post that you thought canon wants us to be
sympathetic to Dobby. Certainly Dobby is more sympathetic than
Kreacher. But compare the way Dobby is handled and described to
Lupin or Firenze. 

Harry thinks Lupin is kind and skillful. He doesn't
have a whole lot of use for Firenze's subject, but he has to admit
the classroom is cool. Dobby, OTOH, he characterizes as weird.
We never hear anyone tell us that Dobby is cool or speak of him
in an admiring way. Even the other Elves think he's strange.

Lupin is described in ways that make us think of consumptive
nineteenth century poets, Firenze is a very handsome centaur indeed,
but Dobby gets bat ears and saucer eyes. 

As far as Harry knows, Firenze and Lupin haven't injured him in any
significant way. Dobby has. 

JKR knows perfectly well that starstruck gush is wearing, she points
it out knowingly in Lockhart's fans and shows us Harry finding 
Colin Creevy annoying. Lupin and Firenze, OTOH, both show a great
deal of feeling for the boy who lived, but they never gush about it.

Finally, it's hard to identify with Dobby because, like Snape, we're
not sure what to make of his attitude. We don't
debate whether the centaurs or werewolves have human feelings,
but we're not so sure about House Elves, and we're not so
sure about Snape.


> Carol:
> <SNIP>
>  And his idea of helping Harry is
> to get him in trouble with the Dursleys and the MoM (the pudding
> incident), to prevent him from taking the Hogwarts Express and
> potentially injure both him and Ron in the process (solidifying the
> barrier they're supposed to walk through), and setting a rogue Bludger
> on him ("Not kill you, sir! Never kill you!" Could have fooled me, 
> Dobby.)

Pippin:
Hah! Another Snape analogy: "But he never wanted you *dead*."

> 
> Alla:
I mean if Dobby at the end would have 
> indeed helped Harry in some significant way, it would make me feel 
> less annoyed with him, but while he wanted to help, he did not really 
> do anything helpful, no?

Pippin:
I see you've forgotten that he saved Harry from whatever curse
Lucius meant to put on him at the end of CoS.


Pippin