[HPforGrownups] Re: God for Harry, England, and a Sandwich

[Janette]

No: HPFGUIDX 178864

montims:

not quoting anyone, because I tried, and it got too complicated, just to
remark:

I think SPEW was introduced to show Hermione as an earnest, obsessive
teenage girl with a Cause.  In the real world, she might have taken up
Saving the Whale, or Animal Liberation, or Greenpeace or something.  We see,
however, that she does not understand the complexity of the matter, and does
far too little, far too ineffectually.  Like someone who "liberates" minks
from a fur farm, into the countryside where they don't belong.  She needs
somewhere to put her energies and her emotions, and comes up with SPEW.

I don't believe JKR expected us to think that life was going to change for
house elves overnight just because Hermione took up their cause, any more
than she expected us to think that the Houses were going to be abolished
because the Hat made one comment one year, when things were going badly...

And by equating the elves with animals above, I guess I am referring back to
the old discussion of elves as sentient pets - Harry has inherited a very
talented dog.  Or if that offends people, think of them as robots - R2D2 or
whoever it was in Star Wars...  They perform as they are supposed to.  They
can be mistreated by humans, or treated well.  If treated well, they are
happy to serve.  And that is that.

The fuss made about the sandwich makes me think of a General or someone in
WW1 - after fighting a terribly dangerous and heroic long battle, at the end
of said battle, would people blame him for expecting his batman to rustle
him up a meal, while he rested?  I suppose these days, people would...

It's a book, guys...


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]