JKR's lesson on prejudice

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 180517

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Bart Lidofsky <bartl at ...> wrote:
>
> Elizabeth Snape wrote:
> > Oh, of course HRH and Neville deserved to be awarded those points!  
> > Who on earth has ever argued against it?  No one that I can recall.
> >
> > What I found disturbing about that scene in PS/SS was the Slytherin 
> > flags on display indicating they had definitely won the house cup and 
> > *then* DD awards the points, claps his hands, "We need a change of 
> > decoration" and the pennants change to Gryffindor.  Sounds like 
> > deliberate humilation to me. 
> >   
> 
> Bart:

> Getting back to PS/SS, Harry realizes that real life is more important 
> than a house cup. However, as the house cups continue to be a plot 
> point, rather than having Slytherin win the House Cup with 
> acknowledgment that the Gryffindor Four had done something much more 
> impressive, JKR had Gryffindor win the House Cup as well. After all, 
> those nasty snobbish Slytherins DESERVE IT! 

Geoff:
I wrote a post recently in which I expressed concern about this scene 
and, on mulling it over further, I seem to see a subtext in it.

I remarked that McGonagall had been very tight-fisted in giving house 
points after the troll incident, giving five each to Harry and Ron and 
then docking five from Hermione which meant that Harry and Ron's 
heroics had only gained Gryffindor a measly five extra.

I then remembered McGonagall's actions over the Norbert incident:
'"All three of you will receive detentions - yes, you too, Mr.Longbottom, 
nothing gives you the right to walk around school at night, especially 
these days, it's very dangerous - and fifty points will be taken from 
Gryffindor."
"Fifty?" Harry gasped - they would lose the lead, the lead he'd won in 
the last Quidditch match.
"Fifty points each," said Professor McGonagall, breathing heavily through 
her long pointed nose.
"Professor - please -"
"You can't-"
"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Potter..."'
(PS, "The Forbidden Forest", p.178 UK edition)

In comparison with the award of points over the troll incident, Professor 
McGonagall's action is grossly out of balance. And add to that her  
previous action on the same evening:
'A lamp flared. 
Professor McGonagall, in a tartan dressing-gown and a hairnet, had 
Malfoy by the ear.
"Detention!" she shouted, "And twenty points from Slytherin!"'
{PS, "Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback", p.175 UK edition)

I get the impression that the good Professor is not considering whether 
her rewards and demerits are correctly matched to the actions.

I then began to wonder if perhaps Professor Dumbledore had noticed 
the alarmingly sharp downturn in Gryffindor points and raised the 
matter with McGonagall. And also if, by some means, he learned of 
Neville's attempt to stop the Trio leaving the Common Room. Because  
the shortfall on points between Slytherin and Gryffindor was 160 - 
almost exactly the amount that Harry, Neville and Hermione had lost 
on that night. 

And whether, without openly criticising Professor McGonagall, he used 
the events involving the Philosopher's Stone as a spring board to 
negate the effect of the punishment. I would have been happier if he 
had just done that which would have put Gryffindor as a close second 
rather than shoving them past their rivals and ratcheting up the dislike 
between the two houses because I can visualise the insults flying 
between the two sets of students afterwards with the possibly valid 
accusation of "teacher's pet" being flung at the Gryffs.

Otherwise, I find Dumbledore's actions very strange for someone 
who ought to understand the eleven year-old mind better.

Or am I becoming a conspiracy theorist?