Muggles v wizards redux

[lizzyben04]

No: HPFGUIDX 183263

> Zara:
> I don't see that the new story proves anything one way or the other 
> regarding Montavilla's proposal. For whatever reason, the series 
> includes this near-universal prejudice against Muggles among 
> Pureblood (and other wizard-raised) wizards. James and Sirius are two 
> characters from that background. So Rowling has the choice of making 
> them either 1) uniquely sensitive and thoughtful regarding this 
> prejudice or 2) just like the rest. Frankly, I don't think 1) fits 
> their characters as revealed in the books. And 2) combined with 
> being "the height of cool" makes the interaction with the Muggle cops 
> depicted in the notecard story write itself.
<snip>

lizzyben:

Well, we can expect teen!James & Sirius to be obnoxious as that is
their personality as seen in various flashbacks. And you could also
expect these wizards to have the same prejudice against Muggles as
other wizards. You could also expect them to perhaps get a kick out of
a prank or two against a Muggle, or enjoy humiliating pranks in
general as seen in SWM. 

The difference is that it isn't just James & Sirius making fun of the
Muggles; the narrator is as well. When the policemen get the car stuck
in the alley, the policemen have to squeeze themselves along the alley
walls to stop James & Sirius. Here is how the narrator describes this: 

"There was so little space between the car doors and the walls of the
alley that Fisher and Anderson had difficulty extricating themselves
from the vehicle. It injured their dignity to have to inch, crab-like,
towards the miscreants. Fisher dragged his generous belly along the
wall, tearing buttons off his shirt as he went, and finally snapping
off the wing mirror with his backside."


LOL, he's fat! The fat Muggle can't fit through the alley & snaps the
mirror off the car. His dignity is injured, & he looks foolish. IMO
this is clearly presented as something that we're supposed to laugh at
or find amusing.

There's also slapstick humor at Muggles falling: "Fisher's knees
bucked; he sat down hard; Anderson tripped over Fisher's legs and fell
on top of him, as FLUMP - BANG - CRUNCH."

The Muggle policemen are also quite cowardly in the end: 

"There was an earth-shattering crash, and Fisher and Anderson threw
their arms around each other in fright; their car had just fallen back
to the ground."

I think this image is also supposed to be funny. Two grown men
throwing their arms around each other like little kids. Muggles
transformed into petrified idiots at the sight of magic. LOL.

The narrator also shows that Sergeant Fisher doesn't like rock
bands or punks, that he is middle-aged, not all that bright, &
apparently conservative & conventional in every way. In other words, a
typical Muggle. He's Uncle Vernon in a uniform. When people say that
they can't identify w/the Muggles in the story, it's because Muggles
are consistently portrayed as ignorant, conventional, oafs. And it's
not James or Sirius who are portraying non-wizards that way - it's JKR. 


lizzyben