Responses of children

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 176458

Carol earlier:
> > 
> > Setting aside the responses of real-life kids (though I'm 
interested in that, too), maybe we should consider the response of the
kid protagonists, especially Harry, who rejects the idea of working 
with Slytherin out of hand, largely because of his enmity with Draco
Malfoy. <SNIP>
> 
Alla replied:
> 
> We certainly can and should if we want to, but I am specifically 
interested in real life children's reactions right now, <snip>
> 
> I am interested in them just because I find it fascinating to
compare kids and adults' reactions, but I am also interested to find
out whether JKR succeeded or not in certain areas where readers adults
claim she failed or suceeded (and Slytherin and House Unity being 
only one of them, actually)

Carol responds:

But that was my point. Kids' expectations, like adult expectations,
are based on the text, but they're more likely than adult expectations
to be shaped by Harry's reactions to, say, the Sorting Hat's speech in
OoP than by the speech itself. House unity is never a goal of the
protagonists, especially Harry and Ron; they ignore the Sorting Hat's
plea and retain the prejudice against Slytherin (and Snape) that began
in SS/PS. We as adult readers should have picked up on Harry's
rejection of House unity (which at first extends to Ravenclaw and to
any students who believe the Daily Prophet regardless of House). Many
kid readers probably accept his views unthinkingly (those who reject
Harry's version of events, which he never even reveals until the Rita
Skeeter interview, must be "bad" because Harry is "good"). I doubt
that we'll find many kids upset that no Slytherins joined the DA (why
would they and how could they when Harry and his friends didn't trust
them?) or that Slytherin is still the rival house, and if they are, at
least we can reassure them that it has its heroes now and it's no
longer the house of budding Death Eaters. Most child readers, I'm
willing to bet, will take their cue from Harry. IOW, we can't separate
readers' reactions from the text itself, nor can we expect most kids
to spot the flaws in Harry's thinking (for example, assuming that
Seamus's open mouth means that Seamus intends to provoke him when,
after the scene in Umbridge's class, it's just as likely that Seamus
intends to apologize).

I agree that kids' reactions are interesting and I look forward to
reading more of them, but I think we should examine what they're
reacting *to*. What are their expectations, what shaped those
expectations, and how do they differ from adult expectations? I see
little reason, based on the text itself, for kid readers to anticipate
House unity, however much the Hat and Dumbledore seem to have
advocated it, because it was never *Harry's* goal. We as adult readers
are lucky to get Harry's cleansed perception of Slytherin and Snape.
That's more, I think, than most readers under seventeen or so would
have expected or wanted.

Carol, trying to add a new perspective to this discussion, not shift
away from the topic