Secrets of Harry's past WASRe: On the Issue of "Boys will be Boys" Chapt 14 Disc

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 190094







Shelley:
<SNIP>
I don't think it would have spoiled the story at all to have someone
give Harry a small photo book of his parents earlier in the series, and
have him take a brief scene looking at his mom and dad having fun at
school, looking happy on their wedding day, etc.

Alla:

Agreed.


Pippin:
Who was left to do it? Most of James and Lily's friends were dead, or worse.
Lupin probably felt he didn't belong in Harry's life for the same reason he
didn't think he belonged in Teddy's.

Alla:

Lupin is alive however and I am sure he (or JKR for him) can come up with many legit  justifications for not doing it, my point is I am not ready to buy them.

And of course there is Dumbledore, who could have I don't know, call Harry to his office and give him the photo book and tell him a little about his parents, without talking about major spoilers in the story.

Pippin:
<SNIP>
But Harry knew about the school trophy room and all about the fact that his
parents were mentioned in history books, from his very first days at Hogwarts,
and actively resisted seeking information about them, as well as from Mad-eye
later on. It's partly that he's embarrassed to know so little, but also that he
doesn't like letting his feelings about them show. He never asks Hagrid to
identify any of the other people in the photo book or even asks who the friends
were who supplied the photos. You know if he had gone after information about
James and Lily the way he'd tried to find out about, say, The Chamber of
Secrets, or the secret of the trapdoor, there was loads more available.

Alla:

I am not talking about Harry's motivations here for not asking questions, I think it is actually quite well established why he does not ask questions, Dudleys beat (metaphorically ) it out of him quite well. I think however it is also quite well established that while he is not going after information, he is very very "hungry" to eat the scraps that he gets, so whether he is asking questions or not, I still think they could have told him some stuff.

Geoff:
<SNIP>
Silence = peace, what Harry might consider a semblance of peace. He
has endured nearly eleven years of this sort of put-down. Is it surprising
that "silence is golden" is branded into his psyche?

Alla:

Definitely not surprising, I completely agree with you as I wrote to Pippin, see I think Harry's silence is established quite well as part of his character, it is Dumbledore et all silence that bugs me, not Harry's.


Lynda:
 Obviously, Alla, what you say is right, but I have a major contention
here. It was Rowling's right to compose the story in the way she saw fit, just
as it is the right of every author to compose their stories in the way they
wish. Obviously, seven books later and with the eighth movie nearly out the
gate, it worked for her. Very well. And really, I've read many stories written
in a very similar formula. It's called digging for the clues and thinking things
out, and also, and this is very important, joining the author for the ride, the
story that someone else is telling. I know a lot of people on this forum take
issue with this idea, but it's true and it's part of reading, or even listening
to a story teller or even watching movies or tv. We let others tell their
stories to us. We always have the option of not reading, listening or watching,
but it's their story and we join them as they tell it.

Alla:

Where did I say that it is not Rowling's right to tell the story how she sees fit? It is also my right to tell what I feel about the story and artistic decisions the writer makes. Obviously if I am still here in this group almost ten years later I find plenty to like in the series and want to talk about it, but I do not have to like everything in the books. While being swept in the characters' journey and loosing ourselves in the book is certainly part of the fun, I also like looking at the stories with the critical eye.

JMO,
Alla