Further Notes on Literary Uses of Magic and Anti-Globalization( VERY LONG )

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 168265

> Magpie:
> So just to be clear, which comparison do you mean? Are you saying 
that 
> you're supposed to think, on your own reading it, that Hermione's 
> disfiguring Marietta for telling about her club is good on its 
own, and that 
> Draco's assassination attempt is bad on its own? Or that if you 
think 
> Hermione's hex is bad you're supposed to think "but at least it's 
not an 
> assasination attempt--that would be bad." Because it seems like 
with the 
> first JKR just has to write it persuasively or not, and if it 
doesn't fly, 
> it doesn't fly. With the second, I can't really make that work for 
me. It 
> didn't even occur to me to think about any Slytherins when I was 
reading 
> about Marietta and the hex.

Alla:

Only responding to some points, I think I reached agree to disagree 
on others. I would say probably a combination of both - I guess, I 
would say that the hex is okay on its own, not perfect, but okay, 
understandable, etc, but when we think about what bad guys do, 
assasination attempts, etc, then any issues that I may have had with 
the hex, pale in comparison. I cannot explain it any better, am 
afraid.


Magpie:
<SNIP> 
She seemed to write Draco more sympathetically in HBP when he was 
> trying to assassinate Dumbledore, and while obviously the attempt 
in itself 
> was never presented as anything but wrong I didn't feel like she 
was wagging 
> her finger at him throughout the story. Thank goodness--she'd be a 
horrible 
> writer if she couldn't ever step into the mindset of somebody 
different than 
> the people representing herself. By contrast, I didn't think 
Marietta's 
> hexing has been presented all that sympathetically. 

Alla:

See, that is something I would never be able to see - meaning how 
you can see Draco more sympathetically when he was cooking up a 
murder than the girl who tries to protects her friends against 
traitor. My opinion obviously.


Magpie:
> Where as I have never even really seen why people ever thought 
there needed 
> to be a "Good Slytherin" (by which we mean friends or wanna be 
friends with 
> Harry)<snip>

Alla:

Eh, NO. **We** really do not mean that - I at least do not. I 
thought I gave an example of what to me good Slytherin would look 
like and really I would require no or very little communication with 
Harry. I guess just the minimum to notice or even his friends 
telling him about that with great surprise. Let me restate my 
examples again. For example, good Slytherin would have asked for 
rematch of the Quidditch match when Harry was injured because it 
would have not been fair like Cedric did OR good Slytherin in TWT 
would have done something similar to what Harry did - meaning saving 
somebody else's hostages. That kind of things - selfless things, 
they do not have to do **anything** with Harry or at least as much 
as it is needed for POV to be noticed.


Magpie:
 because the point for me is that the Slytherins that we already see 
> are not all "bad" any more than the Gryffindors are just "good." 

Alla:

I understand, and the point for me that Slytherins that we see - 
Draco Malfoy and ..... who? Among kids, I mean are really really 
horrible. I want to see somebody better than that, but I am guessing 
that I probably be stuck with redemption of Malfoy. Am afraid for me 
it is not good enough to change the opinion of Slytherin, hehe.

Among adults we at least have Regulus and Andromeda. Oh, even that 
will do for me - to see Andromeda once.


Magpie:
I think 
> that's supported by the Hat talking about the houses needing to 
unite so 
> that Slytherin is no longer the Shadow house that embodies all the 
negative 
> qualities of the society. As the Hat says, just getting rid of 
Slytherin may 
> have quieted things down, but it wasn't a good peace.
><SNIP>

Alla:

I have no doubts that she is moving towards the unity of the houses. 
I do believe though that she should have given hints of the 
Slytherins in general earlier to make it persuasive.

So far, even her choice of words about Slytherins in the interview 
is very telling to me. When asked by Mellissa and Emerson about 
Slytherins in general, she did not even say that they are **just as 
good as any other house". She said, that they are not all bad.

I think that despite trying to give a message that all houses are 
equal at the end on the emotional level Slytherin will also be a 
secondary house for her, sort of House of former evil that reformed 
and therefore it reflects in her writing about them.

Obviously just my opinion.

Alla