How do the books affect children? (was: Why down on all the characters?)

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 179532

> > Alla:
> > 
> > Somebody said elsewhere that JKR may not be the perfect writer, 
but 
> > phenomenal storyteller and I agree with that.
> > 
> > Myself I would be **proud** if my child will learn what I 
consider 
> > to be the most important values in the book – that you should 
not 
> > make friends because of the important connections they have, but 
> > because of their personality, that courage is important, that 
> > standing up against evil is important, that forgiveness is 
> > important. I would be very proud.
> 
> Magpie:
> Really? That's the most important value in the book? That just 
seems 
> kind of...so what? 

Alla:

Are you talking about making friends for their personality as being 
so what value for you, just to be clear? Or are you talking about 
courage is important, standing against evil is important being so 
what values for you as well? Because if all of what I listed are 
matters not for you, there is really nothing to discuss I guess.

If we are only talking about making friends with connections, then 
read on.

Magpie:
I mean, how many children are struggle with that? 

Alla:

I do not know how many. I think Harry did.

Magpie:
 Harry's got far more social clout that any other person he meets 
> in his life so he's got nowhere to climb to. (And before somebody 
> points out that sometimes Harry is a pariah--yeah, that's part of 
> being an Important Person. Everybody has an opinion about Harry. 
> Nobody's friendship will change his social standing.)

Alla:

Nope, not in my opinion. The fact that Harry is a pariah sometimes 
is one of many things that does not make me to think of him as 
important person, never will, never would.

And everybody has an opinion about Harry is I think again an opinion.


Magpie:
> Not being friends with someone because of their connections isn't 
an 
> issue in the books at all. Harry is never tempted by it. The 
closest 
> the books get to raising the issue is maybe Draco's lines on the 
> train, but there's no temptation there. Harry already hates Draco 
> personally and Draco has nothing to offer him that we can see. If 
any 
> sixth grader came on to another with a line like that they'd be 
> laughed at and probably be a complete social misfit. Draco's an 
> annoyance to Harry, somebody jealous of him. <SNIP>

Alla:

That's your intepretation. Mine is that this moment ( and this is of 
course the moment I was thinking of) is one of the defining moments 
in the book, when Harry instead of choosing pureblood ideology, 
instead of choosing everything Malfoys stand for, chooses Ron and 
what Weasleys stand for as I perceive it - love, loyalty, 
friendship, putting blood purity as something very unimportant on 
their list of values. I view it as very symbolic. IMO of course.

 Alla