Broken potionvial WAS: Re: Bad Writing? (was: JKR and the boys)

[Neri]

No: HPFGUIDX 163257

> Potioncat:
> OK, I agree 100% My first impression was correct! 
> 
> 
> Now, how do we get past the fact that my first impression and your
> first impression are different?  Our impressions are formed by our own
> biases and points of view. We still don't know what really happened,
> nor are we likely to.
>

Neri:
As you say, different impressions by different readers is the natural
state of things. But I still think the Author originally intended to
create *one* certain impression when she wrote this, not a multitude
of impressions. Even if she was deliberately planting a red herring
(which isn't very likely here) it means she intended a certain
impression, albeit a misleading one. 

And I still don't see anything to suggest and accident here. The flask
was on Snape's desk, and Harry had already turned away, so he didn't
push it by mistake. I'm not saying an accident is *impossible*, but
normally when an accident happens on page there's some explanation
regarding its cause. Or at least it is noted that it happened to
someone clumsy (Neville, say) or reckless (Mclaggen), or that it was
the result of incompetence (say, Harry and Ron causing accidents in
Charms because they haven't mastered the spell yet, or aren't paying
attention), or the situation was risky by nature (all kinds of
Quidditch accidents), or *something*. But Harry isn't a clumsy person,
and placing a flask on a desk doesn't require any competence. Snape
too is hardly a clumsy person. It would be very OOC for him to
accidentally drop flasks off his desk, not to mention the amazing
coincidence of the flask being Harry's and not any of the others. The
flask could have been dropped by another student bringing his own
flask, but no such student is mentioned. To summarize, no possible
cause for an accident is even *hinted* in canon. OTOH Harry
canonically expects Snape to be vindictive even before the incident,
and Snape indeed has a "look of gloating pleasure" when he gives Harry
an unfair zero mark. I'd say the overall straightforward impression
here clearly points towards intentional dropping, not an accident. 

No, I can't deny that some readers had the first impression it was an
accident, but I just don't see how they got it from what JKR wrote. I
also can't deny that some readers had had the impression JKR was going
for H/H even after OotP, but I still share JKR's bafflement as to how
they could have possibly got that impression from her canon. 


> Carol again:
> But if a reading depends upon subtle distinctions between "oops" and
> "whoops" unrecognized by native speakers and impossible to pinpoint
> using a dictionary, what's the use of it?

Neri:
I never wrote that the reading here depends on the difference between
"oops" and "whoops". It depends on the much more obvious canon that
I've listed above an upthread. I was merely trying to answer Potioncat
who wondered why Snape said "whoops" and not "oops". 


> Carol: 
> A straightforward reading does
> *not* include any reference to Snape's dropping the potion flask. Not
> even Harry thinks such a thing. 

Neri:
A straightforward reading also does not include any reference to an
accident. So going by this logic it's not likely to be an accident and
Harry doesn't think it was an accident. 

Regarding the subtle distinction between "oops" and "whoops", I
googled them and what I found generally fit with my impression that
the first tends to indicate genuine surprise, while the second is more
predictable and ironic (or deceiving). Here's the opinion of Chaos
Firebug, who seems to be writing from long experience: 

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=59477827

"The difference between oops and whoops.

Whoops is an affirmation that everything went just as badly as you
expected it would. It is usually shouted enthusiastically at the
conclusion of an experiment, especially if there has been a loud
explosion, and the release of much smoke. Oops is the understated and
self-deprecating admission of a mistake, but with the implied
understanding of both its cause and solution. Since the secret to
happiness is learning to correctly ascribe blame, oops has no real
educational or scientific value."


I also found a few enlightening distinctions in: 
http://www.perfectduluthday.com/2006/04/oops_or_whoops.html
for example: "WHoops is more WHimsical". I won't quote the rest of
them here, as they involve politics.   


Neri