- This topic has 249 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 1 month ago by
.
-
Posts
-
UK schools aren’t given yearly vision screenings.
Also something that might be worth considering is when does the story of Harry Potter take place? It is timeless in the sense that it doesn’t feel dated, however, times do change so what might’ve been acceptable then might not be considered acceptable now. Example: People are more aware of the signs of abuse now than they were back in the day.
If Harry went to school now, his plight would probably be picked up sooner.
Apparently, Harry Potter was born in 1980, with the majority of the series taking place between 1991-1997, based on various clues form the books. Here’s one site explaining it: http://www.hp-lexicon.org/timelines/main/timeline_1990s.html
[adrotate group="5"]Also something that might be worth considering is when does the story of Harry Potter take place? It is timeless in the sense that it doesn’t feel dated, however, times do change so what might’ve been acceptable then might not be considered acceptable now. Example: People are more aware of the signs of abuse now than they were back in the day.
Universal constructs are universal and timeless for a reason. They can speak to us at any stage of history. The lyrics change, but the song remains the same. The lonely hero who is alone until he is called off to adventure is old. Like. OLD.
However the reason why a lot of modern readers take HP as an allegory for, say, LGBTQ rights is because it’s probably the social justice issue that we’re talking about right now. Had this series been written, say, back in the 1950s and 60s, the racism and disenfranchisement of a non-white race would probably be the first allegory to spring to mind. Neither is, strictly speaking, wrong. And I don’t know that JKR intended for one to be held up above the other. I think JKR is a big believer in BBTTR–books belong to their readers–the question I posed a few pages back
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"Apparently, Harry Potter was born in 1980, with the majority of the series taking place between 1991-1997, based on various clues form the books. Here’s one site explaining it: http://www.hp-lexicon.org/timelines/main/timeline_1990s.html
That explains how the Dursleys got away with how they treated Harry.
All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of FelixApparently, Harry Potter was born in 1980, with the majority of the series taking place between 1991-1997, based on various clues form the books. Here’s one site explaining it: http://www.hp-lexicon.org/timelines/main/timeline_1990s.html
That explains how the Dursleys got away with how they treated Harry.
Oh I don’t know. You’d have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to suspect that something was going on at the Dursley home. He’s incredibly skinny, his glasses are tapped up, he obviously has no friends, he is wearing clothing that is far too big while his cousin seems to have the best of everything, I doubt Petunia and Vernon were going to parent/teacher conferences. Even if Harry has no physical bruises showing signs of abuse, there are a lot of indicators that something isn’t quite right at home. Like Jo said, the system is complicated and reporting suspected abuse is a lot more than just picking up the telephone. Even in today’s age of 2015, it still constantly go unreported by teachers who have too many students and not enough time on their hands. Whether it’s 1980 or 2015…it happens. A lot.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"Chapter 3: The Letters from No One
The Durlseys blamed Harry Potter for the zoo incident, and locked Harry in his cupboard for his “longest- ever punishment”. When he is finally released, weeks have passed since Dudley’s birthday fiasco, school had ended and Dudley and his gang were always around to engage in Dudley’s favorite sport: Harry Hunting.One morning, the mail came and Harry was ordered to retrieve it for Uncle Vernon. There on the doormat was a postcard from Aunt Marge, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and – a letter for Harry. Harry couldn’t believe it. No one, ever, had written to him. And who would? He had no friends or family other than the Dursleys, but still here it was, a letter addressed to him:
Mr. H. Potter
The Cupboard under the Stairs
4 Privet Drive
Little Whinging
SurreyThe envelope was thick and heavy, and had a strange seal on the back. When Harry returned back to the kitchen, he sat down and began to open his letter, which was immediately taken away by Uncle Vernon. When he and Aunt Petunia saw who it was from, Dudley and Harry were ordered out of the room (but listened at the door). Aunt Petunia thought maybe they should reply, scared that the writer knew where Harry slept. Uncle Vernon decided for the both of them: they would ignore it, and eventually it would go away.
That evening, Uncle Vernon told Harry he had burned his letter, and that he would be moving upstairs into Dudley’s second bedroom. The next day, another letter arrived in the mail, this time with “Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom” on the address. Uncle Vernon immediately grabbed it and ordered Harry to his room, despite his protests. For days, more letters appeared, not just by post, but cropping up in the strangest of places: under the door, squeezed through the window – Aunt Petunia even found some in the eggs! After being assaulted by thirty or forty letters shooting out of the fireplace, Uncle Vernon had had enough and declared they were leaving.
They got into their car and left. After many miles (and doubling back to prevent anyone from trailing them) they eventually stop to stay at a gloomy hotel. However, Vernon’s plans were thwarted when “about a hundred letters” arrive the next day at the hotel, addressed to Harry, again with an updated address. Once again Vernon & co. flee and this time acquire a boat to take them to a remote island with a lone decrepit, miserable hut on it. That night Harry remembers that the next day would be his eleventh birthday and counts down the time until midnight, by the light of Dudley’s wristwatch. He watches the clock turn to Twelve AM, and at that precise moment, there was a loud knocking at the door. Something was wanting in…
ANALYSIS:
There is no denying that Harry Potter is a special kid anymore; but the Dursleys sure are trying to. Many of the other strange things that have happened in the past ten years, even the disappearing glass in the zoo, could have been explained away as a freak occurrence, a weird coincidence, a strange gas leak even, until the day that letters started arriving for Harry. JKR shows us the letters flooding in the house, and appearing in odd places without ever telling us, or Harry, what the contents are. We are told that no matter where Harry is, the letters are addressed to him: the cupboard under the stairs, the smallest bedroom, Room 17. It is far more effective for us to know that, no matter what, someone is trying to get these letters to him, than for us to actually find out what the contents are. The mysteriousness of the events is also shown through JKR’s use of gothic-like imagery to heighten the suspense and create an uneasy mood: the dark night, the terrible weather, a desolate island with a ramshackle hut, and the chapter ending on the stroke of midnight with a climactic large thump at the door. No one can deny anymore that something “magical” is happening here, even if Harry hasn’t quite figured it out himself.Defiantly, the Dursleys go to extraordinary lengths to ensure their life is “normal”, rather than letting Harry know the truth. They decide to ignore the problem, and eventually it would go away.
“Vernon,” Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, “look at the address – how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don’t think they’re watching the house?”
“Watching – spying – might be following us,” muttered Uncle Vernon wildly.
“But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don’t want -”
Harry could see Uncle Vernon’s shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen.
“No,” he said finally. “No, we’ll ignore it. If they don’t get an answer…. Yes, thats best… we won’t do anything…”
“But -”
“I’m not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn’t we swear when we took him in we’d stamp out that dangerous nonsense?”Uncle Vernon tears up the letters, burns the letters, nails the mail box shut, and nails planks to any cracks on the door to prevent them from being delivered. They are willing to drive for miles and miles over 2 days, to escape the delivery of these letters to Harry, when surely wouldn’t it have been easier to just hand a letter to Harry and have him open it? By the end of the chapter, we know the Dursleys can’t hide behind their “normal” life anymore. It is worth noting that the idea of “ignore it and and eventually it will go away” OR “deny it and it’s not the truth” is not just a “Dursley” or even a “Muggle” problem for that matter; this is a real world, human problem (and one that we will see and talk about again later in the series). We recently touched upon it briefly, but considering the real world examples we’ve already discussed (LGBT rights, racism, religion, etc.) it’s easy to see how the Dursleys could hide their head in the sand and ignore what’s about to happen, even if they know it’s coming. It’s this idea of denying the truth, even if the truth is literally coming through the fireplace and pelting you in the head.
There are more examples of the abuse and neglect that Harry has been subjected to for the past ten years. Dudley is taken shopping for brand new uniforms for the private school he will be attending in the fall, and Harry is given some of Dudley’s old clothes that Petunia will dye gray for his uniform. We know from future chapters that Petunia is a neat freak, and that she often stayed up until after midnight cleaning the kitchen. Surely, it would have been easier to just buy Harry new clothes, rather than dying old clothes for his uniform? It was mentioned numerous times how awful it smelled, offending everyone in the family. For me this, solidifies the fact that Petunia went out of her way to make Harry miserable, when it would have been in everyone’s best interest to just buy him some cheap clothes. We also find out that there has been an extra bedroom in the house these last 10 years, filled with Dudleys broken and unwanted toys, and books that have never been opened. (What’s more astounding, is that as of right now, we really have no motivation for the why the Dursleys treat Harry this way, other than that he is “different”.)
The effect of living under these conditions is apparent when Harry receives the first letter:
“Harry picked it up and stared at it his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him. Who would? He had no friends, no other relatives – he didn’t belong to the library, so he’d never even got rude notes asking for books back.”
Harry is astounded to receive a letter that is solely for him. In many ways, it may have been the first thing that had ever been just for him. His whole life, he has been treated as if he doesn’t exist, and now, he has been recognized and acknowledged as an individual. When Harry remembers his birthday, we find out that last year he received a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon’s old socks, and it is as if this is a common occurrence. It’s even fair to assume that the Dursleys forgot or deliberately ignored his birthday some years.
Many people would be broken by this, but not Harry. For the first time, we really start to see his defiant wit and independent will, his inextinguishable hope (and a sassy sense of humour!). He counts down the days until school starts and he’s free of Dudley, he stands up to his Uncle and demands to be given HIS letters (“I want to read it,” said Harry furiously, “as it’s mine.” pg 35), he makes desperate attempts to retrieve his letters by waking up early to get to the mail first, only to find Uncle Vernon sleeping under the mail slot to prevent it. And even though he’s never had a real birthday, never felt special or important, never been anything more than just Harry, the kid who lives in the cupboard under the stairs, he stays up late, counting down the seconds until it’s officially his birthday. Because after all, you don’t turn eleven every day.
Possible Foreshadowing:
Mrs. Figg is mentioned again but she “wasn’t as bad as usual”. Could there be a reason why?MEMORABLE QUOTES (aka “When Harry met Sassy”)
“No, thanks,” said Harry. “The poor toilet’s never had anything as horrible as your head down it – it might be sick.”
“Oh,” he said, “I didn’t realize it had to be so wet.”
“Make Dudley get it.”
“It was not a mistake,” said Harry angrily, “it had my cupboard on it.”
Discussion Points:
– Who do you think is sending the letters, and how do they know where Henry is at all times?
– Why do you think the Dursleys won’t let Harry read the letters?
Keeper of the Cheshire Cat’s smile, Baelfire’s sword, Snow’s backpack, Robin Hood’s bow, Ariel’s purse, Ariel’s smile, Henry’s heart, Belle’s shoe collection
Great write up Macy! (and thanks for agreeing to speed up the process since we’ve decided to do biweekly analysis)
It is far more effective for us to know that, no matter what, someone is trying to get these letters to him, than for us to actually find out what the contents are.
Yes, very good point. At this stage, we know that the magical world exists and, more importantly, Harry is apart of it, even if he doesn’t know it. We do.
What the letters demonstrate, and moreover the insistence of getting those letter to Harry, show is that he hasn’t been forgotten. Someone (or something) out there in the magical world is coming for him. This is a rather big deal given that the Dursley’s try their darndest to forget Harry even exists, and if they had it their way…he simply wouldn’t exist.
There is this question that I think exists in human beings about what confirms identity. Or rather, how do you know you are a important, but even baser than that, that you simply exist. How do we confirm human existence? Yes, breathing and speaking go a long way (though, JKR is clever and has rarely had Harry speak out loud in these few chapters. He’s very silent which might be driving home my point here) but I think it’s more than that. It’s having someone acknowledge that you exist in any manner. That’s the sum of human existence, interacting with others to confirm you are in fact alive. That’s why being alone is so dangerous; how can we confirm or establish identity without another person? The Dursley’s rarely acknowledge him and we saw this in Chapter 2 where Vernon and Petunia talk about him as if he wasn’t in the room and Harry thinks that this is a fairly common occurrence.
We might come back to this with Voldemort and everyone’s demands that he be called He Who Must Not Be Named and You Know Who.
But Harry, suddenly, is being acknowledged by an outside force and thus his own identity (not only as a magical being but just as Harry Potter) begins to surface. We see his wit and charm, his sass come through for really the first time in the wake of the letters. He speaks more, he is loudly vocal in this chapter because for the first time in his life, someone wants him to be Harry Potter.
Defiantly, the Dursleys go to extraordinary lengths to ensure their life is “normal”, rather than letting Harry know the truth. They decide to ignore the problem, and eventually it would go away.
And by ignoring it, maybe they can make Harry go away too! Their constant ignoring of Harry goes to the point I was making above about Harry’s identity and sense of self finally breaking through because at long last someone is trying to connect.
We know from future chapters that Petunia is a neat freak, and that she often stayed up until after midnight cleaning the kitchen. Surely, it would have been easier to just buy Harry new clothes, rather than dying old clothes for his uniform? It was mentioned numerous times how awful it smelled, offending everyone in the family. For me this, solidifies the fact that Petunia went out of her way to make Harry miserable, when it would have been in everyone’s best interest to just buy him some cheap clothes
Never considered that before, but yeah, good point. She’s going out of her way to make life as terrible for him as possible. It makes you wonder who first had the idea to stick a baby in the cupboard.
he didn’t belong to the library, so he’d never even got rude notes asking for books back.”
The Dursely’s are trying to keep him ignorant as well. They don’t want him learning or exploring the world. General education is enough and then they’ll throw him to the wolves/world. But let his imagination go, and who knows what sort of “perversity” he could undertake. This is a fairly common tactic with oppressive majority groups, by the way. There’s a reason you don’t let the slaves learn to read…
– Who do you think is sending the letters, and how do they know where Henry is at all times?
I’m trying to remember who I first thought when I read the book when it first came out. Obviously, now, I know EXACTLY who is sending these letters. But back then, I think I just assumed it was Dumbledore from chapter one. Hogwarts has not yet been mentioned “on screen”. A crest appears on the back of the letters so it seems something official.
As for the second part of this question, I’ve wondered that. I almost think that the letter writer is having a bit of fun at the Dursley’s expense. He’s (whoever “he” or “it” is) trying to throw them off their game.
– Why do you think the Dursleys won’t let Harry read the letters?
Ignorance. They want him in the dark as much as possible–to a scary literal level where they keep him locked in a cupboard. It’s also worth noting that Vernon and Petunia read the letter and they GET it. They seem to know exactly what is written in these mysterious letters and what it will mean for their family, whatever that means. Whatever is in the letters scares them because they understand it so perfectly.
Misc Thoughts
–I want to talk about liminality, mostly because it comes up quite a bit in the next few chapters so it’s a good idea to introduce it now. Liminal spaces usually refer to something in ritual but over the years it has come to be associated with a lot of other topics like ethnography, folklore and and actual places. For me, I’m going to use it as a metaphor and as a place. I’m using it thus: a threshold, a turning point, a place that exists “in between” what was and what will be, or place that is between this world (the known) and the next world (the unknown).
Harry in the hut on the rock by the sea is in such a place. Metaphorically, he’s on the cusp of his next birthday, and right when he transitions to his next age, the big BOOM happens. But before then, for a brief moment in time he is between 10 (the known) and 11 (the unknown). He doesn’t know what the future holds, but he knows that the past was sheer crap.
Now as far as a literal place, the hut, on the rock, by the sea, is removed from the mundane world–or about as far from it as Vernon Dursley could get. They are cut off and so remote that Vernon is convinced that no one will ever find them–including the post and letters. But the family has not moved into another world. They are betwixt the two, hence why one of the worlds has to come to them–loudly. We’re going to keep seeing these liminal spaces–a point at which you haven’t yet crossed over but you aren’t in the previous world either. It’s worth pointing out that these liminal spaces can be delineated by a landmark–a river, an archway or other door, a crossroads, an inn, a train station…
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"*snorts at “When Harry met Sassy” 😆
It’s very fun to go back to an almost eleven year old Harry and see his sense of humor. Others in the series are often more known for their wisecracks or jokes, so it’s easy to forget how funny Harry is himself. I laughed a good bit at him and his snarky comments.
-Who do you think is sending the letters, and how do they know where Henry is at all times?
I think like RG, I thought it was Dumbledore at the time. In chapter one, he seemed to be the major figure in this other world. So I figured it was him finally returning to Harry, once again.
–Why do you think the Dursleys won’t let Harry read the letters?
The Dursleys were absolutely terrified that that “world” would infiltrate their lives once again. We have no idea of their interaction with it in the past and so far the only thing we have to go on is that they consider it deviant and unnatural. But you have to wonder what else happened. Where are Petunia’s parents? Evidently she not only lost her sister, but her parents aren’t around, either? Could this other world be a reason they’re gone and that is why they’re so adamant to stay away from it? Or are they just horrible people?
What’s interesting is that they also don’t let Dudley see the letters’ contents, either. This is a boy who had probably never been denied anything in his life. Yet, for the first time, he’s in the dark, too, and he doesn’t like it. No amount of fussing, complaining or crying is going to sway his parents’ minds. This is big. If they’re even chastising Dudley about his behavior over this, just what exactly is going on?
The Dursely’s are trying to keep him ignorant as well. They don’t want him learning or exploring the world. General education is enough and then they’ll throw him to the wolves/world. But let his imagination go, and who knows what sort of “perversity” he could undertake. This is a fairly common tactic with oppressive majority groups, by the way. There’s a reason you don’t let the slaves learn to read…
Hmmm….where have we seen this technique recently, I wonder? 😕 Could it be Regina in Season One? 😉 Remember how she shuttered the library. Keeping it closed was literally and figuratively cutting the citizens off from knowledge that she hoped nobody discovered. And only after the curse was broken and through the machinations of Rumple (who himself was the holder of knowledge she didn’t possess) was it restored and open to the public. *whispers quietly* Is Rumple Once’s Dumbledore? *runs away for bringing Once into HP talk*
Keeper of Rumplestiltskin's and Neal's spears and war paint and crystal ball.
What’s interesting is that they also don’t let Dudley see the letters’ contents, either. This is a boy who had probably never been denied anything in his life. Yet, for the first time, he’s in the dark, too, and he doesn’t like it. No amount of fussing, complaining or crying is going to sway his parents’ minds.
Yeah Dudley has an interesting role in this chapter. He’s obnoxious as normal but he’s also a bit sympathetic. He seems to be both in awe of Harry (who wants to talk to Harry this badly?? Even Dudley isn’t used to *this* much attention, which really says a lot) and angered by his parents response. For the first time, Dudley and his wants/needs are on the back burner and it’s all about Harry. Vernon is even trying to be nicer to Harry which ipso facto, leads Vernon to demand more of Dudley–getting the mail, giving up his second room, ignoring his requests for food and TV. That’s a first for Dudley.
Is Rumple Once’s Dumbledore? *runs away for bringing Once into HP talk*
Yes. More or less. He’s the “Wizard” of the OUAT series, in the archetype sense. We talked about this over in the Savior thread I made a few months back, but what makes Rumple more complicated is that his real archetype isn’t really Wizard of Trickster (though, he fills both roles when he needs to) but it’s the Father.
Dumbledore becomes a sort of father (or grandfather) figure to Harry, much like Sirius will. But Dumbledore and Rumple are alike in one other aspect as well; it’s less about preparing the hero because it’s the right thing to do and “Good” demands it. It’s more about their own needs and wants AND most importantly, they both have something to atone for and they need the Savior and the Savior’s magical abilities in order to get them that forgiveness they so long for. For Dumbledore, it’s about his sister. For Rumple, it’s all about Baelfire
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"Something else I wanted to mention to go along with the “ignorance” theme we see in this chapter–by the time Harry is released from his “jail sentence” it’s the summer holiday. According to the Harry Potter wikia, Dudley was born in June. As an American, I’m not 100% sure this is right (maybe POM can clarify) but my brief research suggests that British school summer holidays begin in July.
This means a few things
1) Harry was locked up (sneaking out for food at night presumably) for probably a month
2) Harry missed all his final exams and, at least, the final month of school.
Vernon and Petunia don’t care if Harry receives any sort of proper education; they care about what is best for them and in this case, it’s keeping Harry out of sight and out of mind. I’m curious as to what Vernon and Petunia thought Harry’s future would be (if they thought of it at all.) Did they imagine that he’d get a good job and be able to move out after graduation? Did they picture him going to university and moving out? If they deny him an education, or at least don’t concern themselves with it, then how did they picture ridding themselves of Harry once and for all?
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"Something else I wanted to mention to go along with the “ignorance” theme we see in this chapter–by the time Harry is released from his “jail sentence” it’s the summer holiday. According to the Harry Potter wikia, Dudley was born in June. As an American, I’m not 100% sure this is right (maybe POM can clarify) but my brief research suggests that British school summer holidays begin in July.
This means a few things
1) Harry was locked up (sneaking out for food at night presumably) for probably a month
2) Harry missed all his final exams and, at least, the final month of school.
Vernon and Petunia don’t care if Harry receives any sort of proper education; they care about what is best for them and in this case, it’s keeping Harry out of sight and out of mind. I’m curious as to what Vernon and Petunia thought Harry’s future would be (if they thought of it at all.) Did they imagine that he’d get a good job and be able to move out after graduation? Did they picture him going to university and moving out? If they deny him an education, or at least don’t concern themselves with it, then how did they picture ridding themselves of Harry once and for all?
He might have still been allowed to go to school, but was forced to stay in his cupboard whenever he was back home. Otherwise, the school would have been calling up on the Dursleys inquiring why Harry was absent for so long. Sure the Dursleys could have tried pretending that Harry was sick, but would such a charade be able to last that long? Also, the fact that it’s brought up that Harry was supposed to be going to Stone Wall High suggests that Harry did graduate Grade School.
The topic ‘Harry Potter Reread: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone’ is closed to new replies.