CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Prisoner of Azkaban Chapter 2: Aunt Marge's Big Mistake

[nikkalmati]

No: HPFGUIDX 189422






> > ----------------------------------------------------------
> CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
> Chapter 2: Aunt Marge's Big Mistake
> 
>snip summary
> Questions:
> 
> 1. Seriously - what is wrong with Aunt Marge? What kind of person hits a 5-year old in the shins?

Nikkalmati

Aunt Marge is a characture of a type of person that really exists.  She is loud, rude, greedy, narrow-minded and arrogant.  Vernon is a lot like her, but he has to get along in the real world and so has learned to behave better, except at home.  Marge also expresses a line of "pureblood supremacy" /eugenics that any Death Eater would recognize.  She thinks people are like dogs and inherit their characteristics from their parents.  She probably would agree to dispose of any one with bad blood.  In the course of her discussion she thoroughly insults Petunia, but tries to cover it up by saying "nothing against your family" and that her sister was a "bad egg".  I wonder what Petunia thought of that remark.  
Did it reallyy make up for Marge's opinion that Harry had "bad blood" on his mother's side or would she agree?
JKR is clever by putting these ideas in the mouth of a Muggle, while never having any witch or wizard express the same thoughts, yet I am sure we are supposed to remember Marge and her theories when we encounter the pureblood supremecists.
Nikkalmati    
> 
> 2. Given the little glimpse of Harry's life with the Dursleys that we see at the beginning of each book, what do you think the Dursleys' neighbors believe to be the reason that Harry attends St. Brutus's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys? And do you think they are concerned that he is allowed to come home every summer?

Nikkalmati
I am not sure the neighbors are told that story.  Vernon says that is what they told Marge.  I doubt they would want the neighbors to think Harry was dangerous, just for their own sakes.
Nikkalmati
> 

> 3. Back to Aunt Marge - would you have been able to control yourself as long as Harry did? How about when you were his age?

Nikkalmati
Harry was strongly motivated to behave himself in order to get Vernon to sign his permission slip.  He tried to stay out of the way, but his presence at dinner was required.  Vernon know it entertained his sister to poke at Harry. It is hard to imagine that if I had special powers I would be able to control myself in such a situation.  Harry was under control until she  attacked his parents.  Of course, he knew by now the the story she believed was untrue, but he could not tell her the truth under pain of expulsion or worse, he thought.

Nikkalmati

> 
> 4. Do you think that students from wizarding families are watched as closely by the ministry to see if they perform magic during the summer? Why or why not?

Nikkalmati
No, I think we are told that the Ministry assumes wizarding families will take care of their own children at home.  
Nikkalmati

> 
> 5. OK, one more about Aunt Marge - can you think of any way in which she could have been written to be more unlikeable?

Nikkalmati

Probably not.  She has absolutely no positive characteristics.

> 
> 6. Anything else that caught your eye in this chapter that should be discussed?

Nikkalmati
No, thanks Megan.
>