Neville and Luna

[hickengruendler]

No: HPFGUIDX 181527

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Laura Lynn Walsh <lwalsh at ...> 
wrote:
 
> I didn't see Luna as developing, rather, I saw the other
> children growing up so that they could understand and
> even value her.  From the first, she seemed to be more
> self-aware than the other students.  Her painfully accurate
> observations indicated that she was an astute observer.
> She seems the embodiment of the German word "altklug",
> which roughly means that she has understanding that
> usually comes with age, at a younger than normal age.
> 
> Laura
  
Hickengruendler:

I agree with you, and I think the same is true about Neville as well. 
Not, that he is wise beyond his age, but that the storyline is less 
about his development, but more about learning his worth, which is a 
journey Harry, the readers and Neville himself made throughout the 
books, IMO. His greatest virtue always was his ability to keep on 
fighting and trying, even when the situation seems lost. From that 
point of view, he didn't develop all that much, except that he became 
somewhat more self-confident. But his basic storylines in PS, OotP and 
DH, the three books where he played his biggest parts, are IMO the 
same. It's about him succeeding against all odds, because he kept 
trying, which ultimately is the only reason, why he has the opoortunity 
to get close enough to Nagini.

By the way, there is a slightly negative connection with the 
world "altklug" in German. It means, what you said it means, but I 
would never use it to describe someone like Luna. It's very hard to 
explain, but when I think of someone, who is "altklug", I also think of 
a pretty arrogant person, but maybe that's just me.

Hickengruendler, who, to talk about another thread, likes Deathly 
Hallows very much and doesn't think, that the majority dislikes the 
book. Everyone I know in real life likes Deathly Hallows. :-)