Readers in the WW (was: JKR and "Think of the Children!")

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 162133

> Magpie:
> I'm saying that sure, we don't know JKR's motivations and it's 
possible that 
> she didn't want him to be a reader because she thought it would 
clash with 
> the fantasy setting. But that's just imagining things that are in 
her head. 
> One could just as easily suggest that she made him not much of a 
reader 
> because she thought kids would be turned off by a kid who was a 
reader 
> because they thought he was a nerd.  We don't know.

Alla:

Indeed, those are metarguments, but as long as there is no reason for 
them not to work, they are working for me, hehe.

Magpie:
> Whatever the reason for this part of his character (Jen gave a few 
other 
> possibilities in her last post and they were all valid 
possibilities too) 
> the books have made it pretty clear reading books isn't one of 
Harry 
> Potter's most well-loved pastimes.  He's specifically shown reading 
> Quidditch books to show his love ot Quidditch as a pastime.

Alla:

See, I do not get how one contradicts each other. I guess it is again 
a question of degree for me. Most well-loved, surely not, but why 
read the book in the first place, even if the book is about your 
favorite sport, if you can just do without it and just play your 
sport and talk to your friends about it.

He is shown reading about it, to you it only stresses that he loves 
Quidditch, to me it is shown that he cares enough about books to go 
and check out what was written about his favorite sport.

Like I like cooking for example (I do not consider myself to be a 
great cook, but I can make some things well), but I do not read 
cookbooks, not because I do not like cooking, but because those books 
are not interesting to me, even though I like cooking well enough.


> > Alla:
> >
> > Yes, that is precisely what I am saying ( or more accurately) it 
is
> > me liking Neri's argument. Why it cannot be true?
> 
> Magpie:
> We can imagine it to be true, but I really don't see how it's 
likely enough 
> to consider it a reason behind Harry's personality. 

Alla:

I do.

Magpie:
Imagine when we meet 
> Harry when he's living with the Dursleys and as hear he has no 
friends 
> because of Dudley's gang and thinks the lady down the street is 
boring, we 
> also hear that he likes to read and Dudley throws his books out 
windows or 
> whatever. How does that change how real the WW is written?

Alla:

I thought I was clear enough upthread, sorry if I was not. Let's 
continue with your hypothetical. Harry likes to read and since his 
home life is so bleak, he spends days and days in his cupboard 
thinking about his favorite characters adventures, imagining himself 
in those worlds, and lo and behold, what do we know - one day a 
letter arrives, inviting Harry to go and indeed live in one of those 
worlds.

I mean I am honestly surprised, that it is hard to see that in this 
scenario WW can be easily seen as the product of Harry's imagination.

In fact, when I read this argument, I was like - wow, Neri that is so 
obvious, how could I have not seen that - you are a genuis :)

 
> Magpie:
> I think canon's made it clear that reading is not much of a pastime 
for 
> Harry when he's not doing homework. That doesn't mean he's never 
read a book 
> or is an idiot.  But of course there's a difference between 
characters who 
> are specifically given a *love* of books and Harry, especially 
young 
> characters.  A good analogy would be Hermione. She loves books. She 
has also 
> attended Quidditch games. <SNIP>

Alla:

Yes, Harry is not Hermione, I have said it several times, in fact 
Harry is very far from Hermione on the scale of loving books. :)




> Magpie:
> I think you're making Harry too extreme by comparing him to someone 
who 
> hadn't read a book for most of his life. We're talking about him 
not having 
> a love of reading the way he has a love of other things, like 
Quidditch. 
> Not being a character who's given a specific love of books does not 
make the 
> character allergic to books.  Harry and Ron might read plenty of 
books in 
> their lives, but a love of books is not a defining characteristic 
of them so 
> far. They're not abnormally book-shy.


Alla:

Wow, wow, wait. When you phrase it that way...

That is precisely what I am arguing against - that Harry never had 
read a book in his entire life besides text books or that he is 
allergic to books.

That is how I understood Betsy's original point. As long as we agree 
that he indeed reads books sometimes, I have no argument that he 
loves Qudditch much more than he loves books.

In fact as I also said upthread, I am not even insisting on calling 
him a book lover, but I certainly insist on calling him a reader.

JMO,

Alla.