Dark Book, was Re: Dark Magic (+ a little Marietta)/Karma and the Twins

[lizzyben04]

No: HPFGUIDX 176893

Pippin:
> To me, the book is dark because beloved illusions die. At least, if
you're
> old enough not to believe in Santa Claus and TV-style heroes with
> teflon moral standards, but you still want to.   Kids need to believe 
> in those things. It's good for them.  And then, when they're old
enough, 
> JKR is telling us, they need, we need,  to put those beliefs aside. 
> 
> Belonging to Gryffindor  House can be an inspiration to extraordinary 
> virtue, but as it turns out,  it doesn't  guarantee even basic 
> humanitarianism. 
> 
> I re-read the exchange between  McGonagall and Slughorn yesterday 
> and I about fell out of my chair. Here it is:
> 
> "I shall expect you and the Slytherins in the Great Hall in twenty
minutes,
> also, " said Professor McGonagall. "If you wish to leave with your
students, 
> we shall not stop you. But if any of you attempt to sabotage our
resistance
> or take arms against us within this castle, Horace, we duel to kill."
> 
> "Minerva!" he said, aghast.
> 
> As well he should be. Look at what she said: if any Slytherins
> side with Voldemort, Horace and the entire House  will be 
> held responsible, and duelled to the death,  ickle firsties and all. 
> And then, just to make sure we don't miss the point (ah, but we do, 
> because we're in the grip of our delusionary faith that JKR won't let
> the other houses do anything really bad) the students draw wands 
> on the Slytherin table, most of whom are children.

lizzyben:

Yes. That moment is the moment when Hogwarts almost descends into mob
violence & massacre. And no one, including the author, seems to
realize it. I honestly think we are supposed to cheer there. 

Here we have a situation of extreme stress & tension - the Death
Eaters are about to attack. And here are the Slytherin students, the
"other", associated w/Death Eaters, Dark Arts, EVIL in general, and
one just tried to point out our hero to the bad guys. And the new
headmaster has just threatened to kill any Slytherin student who
opposes their side. And 3/4 of the school has just risen and pointed
their weapons at the table of Slytherin students. And every single one
of those children has learned and practiced Unforgiveable Curses. 

At that moment, Hogwarts is on the edge, the very razor edge, of
genocide. It would take almost nothing to start it - one Gryf student
hexes Pansy out of anger, one Slytherin student raises his wand out of
fear, provoking a reaction from a Ravenclaw - and it starts. Once one
side shoots a spell, the other side will retaliate, until all the
students are shooting off curses at the other side. And here, the
Slytherins are severely outnumbered. They wouldn't last long. If a
conflict begins, the Slytherins would be massacred. It almost
happened. We almost saw where scapegoating & dehumanization of the
"other" leads to - mass violence. 

Pippin:
> Harry, who once sprang between Sirius and Snape to keep them
> from harming one another,  is awestruck and overwhelmed. 
> 
> And people think Slytherin leaving en masse is supposed to be a sign 
> that *they* have no moral compass? Excuse me? 
> 
> You want to know where the good Slytherins went? They walked
> out when the other houses turned to madness and evil, as
> briefly deluded as Dumbledore once was.  
> 
> No, it's not obvious. But that's what all the folderol about the 
> Elder Wand is for, to slow us down, as Dumbledore said, and
> make us *think*.

lizzyben:

Here's where I disagree, and where the series becomes something that
frankly horrifies me. I don't think we're supposed to think; we're
supposed to cheer. We're supposed to hiss at the awful Slytherins who
want to betray Harry Potter, and cheer as the rest of the school
raises their wands. McGongegal's statement isn't threatening - it
shows how cool & take charge she is in handling these awful people.
Here we have a society where teachers are threatening to kill students
- and we're supposed to think that's perfectly acceptable. 

Pippin:
> I'm not trying to take anything away from the courage and
> sacrifice of those who fought in the battle, but we can as
> adults admire what they did without having to believe JKR
> wants us to see them as perfect in every way. Can't we?
> 
> 
> Pippin


lizzyben:

If I thought JKR actually believed that, I'd agree. But she seems to
support McGonegal's threat, and the other Houses raising wands against
the Slytherins - seems to support labeling them as "evil", w/o ever
seeming to understand where these concepts lead. And in a series
that's supposed to be about tolerance & against bigotry. This is
honestly one of the most disturbing books I've ever read, no kidding.
I'm still fascinated by it. It somehow managed to perfectly capture
the mindset of a genocidal society. It puts us in the minds of people
who can commit these atrocities or human rights violations - and lets
us understand how good people, people who want to do the right thing,
can be pulled into doing horrible things, & can support violence
against "the other". In that way, it even helps us understand the
Death Eaters. It shows the deep, deep pull of tribalism, group
identification, & projection onto the other. It might not intend to,
but it definitely does. And in that way, these books do have a great
deal to offer in terms of learning about bigotry & tolerance - just
not the way JKR may have intended.  


lizzyben