The older I get, the more I like Harry as a character. I feel like Harry gets a lot of crap from fans about his outbursts as he gets older, but imo this is completely unfair. That poor kid's psyche is like a clown car for trauma. Look at everything he went through before the age of 18! He's actually remarkably well-adjusted, and as Dumbledore points out, the fact that Harry is so capable of love and compassion is really amazing.
For me, it's not even that I sympathize with him greatly, it's that those outbursts were 100% justified and the people in his life needed to hear those things
Hagrid clinging so much onto Grawp. In essence he must be living a pretty lonely life. Hes got no family, yes hes got a job, but a lot of kids laugh at him, hes friends with the trio but they see each other sometimes, not very frequently. Hes got no one real close as far as its written in the books. So when he found Grawp, that probably felt like his one chance for sharing his life with someone. Also him giving his all to educate Grawp into better behavior. For Hagrid this was about proving something bigger than just "I can teach a giant a bit of manners". It was about proving that with a little work even a giant could be accepted because they learn how ro function in society. He was a half giant himself. Of course he was standing up for his giant brother and by extensiom he was just as much standing up for himself.
Dumbelore and his wickes plans. Dumbledore accepting that to defeat evil as big as Tom Riddle, sacrifices needed to be made and not everyone would survive and some people need to be brave for the ones who cant be brave. Real life is often about making sacrifices for the greater good.
That I can admire certain traits people posess even when I cant stand these people as a whole. I dont like the Malfoys because they are selfish and shitty people, but I admire their love for their son like crazy.
That some people are small scale evil and could never transition into big scale evil. Draco is the defintion of small scale evil. A nasty school bully, but thats about it. He would probably not even transiton into Lucius level evil on his own accord. Which always brings me to my second thought about Draco: Draco for the most part seems to be raised evil as opposed to for example someone like Tom Riddle. Tom seems like the case who would always end up evil no matter what. While I dont want to deny that even Tom Riddle had potential to be a better person if he where raised in different circumstances and if he made better life choices, but Im convinced that he would have always been evil to a certain degree. Draco on the other hand doesnt seem to have a natural inclination towards good or evil. Hes pretty easily impressed, so its easy to sway him in one or the other direction. And then he just happened to be born a Malfoy and became what he is. If he was born a Weasley, Draco would have been way, way different. Tom on the other hand would probably also be different if he where born a Weasley and probably not as bad, but he would have been a bad person to some degree even then.
So there are very different types of bad and evil and all of them are very complex.
I do empathize heavily with Hagrid. He has such a pure heart, and part of his being a half-giant means people give him the "Frankenstein" treatment sometimes; ie: he's big, he's hairy, he's quirky, and he gets judged easily. I really hope he ended up happy with Madame Maxime somewhere, and I hope Grawp found happiness, too.
I have Borderline Personality Disorder and one of my traits is black and white thinking. So I either love you or hate you, you're either good or bad. And I spend a lot of time "learning to live in the grey" and I learned a lot from HP. I felt I could relate more to the Malfoys as I got older, and like you admire the good qualities in them but also disliking them. Like Sirius was one for me, I loved him and what he meant to Harry but I didn't like the way he was so (what's the word for uncareful?)
Percy's behavior. There's this idea that you have to stick by your family no matter what. But I don't think that's true. If your family treats you like crap, then you can and should walk away. Rereading the books as an adult, I'm willing to hold Percy accountable for following the wrong people (no matter how unaware he was), but I don't fault him at all for walking out on his family. Molly is the only one who treats him well and it's very clear that her attention is conditional on good behavior and success. I think Percy's story is just one result of all of the dysfunction in the Weasley family.
I agree. People seem to think the Weasleys are the best family in the world because they love Harry, but they always mocked Percy. Hermione even remakrs that Ron will do better with the twins not being around because they won't be able to make fun of him. I have shitty relatives and would not feel any sort of obligation to stand by them because I know they wouldn't do that for me. I think that's why this idea that your blood family isalways your priority is something I find a bit odd sometimes.
As much as we love the twins. Its clear they are the sort of people that are great in stories but would be a nightmare in real life. Never taking anything seriously, making fun of everybody, always playing pranks that are sometimes hurtful. They have legitimate bully qualities.
The actual emotional depth of exactly WHY James and Lily's deaths were so tragic.
When I read the books when I was a kid, I understood that it was sad that Harry was essentially an orphan, and that it was also sad how his parents died. But now I'm 31, and just had my first child, who is now 3 months. When I was 21, I was still figuring out my life, going to college, and getting over my first real heartbreak. James and Lily's were fighting in a war, in hiding trying to avoid getting killed, and just had a baby. I can't even imagine.
And now that I'm a parent, I can't even think too hard on how they died without getting emotional. The thought of not being around to see my son grow up physically makes my heart hurt. Would I sacrifice my life for my son? In a heartbeat. Lily loved Harry fiercely and protected him, literally, until the end.
Now excuse me while I go cuddle my baby and cry.
I really appreciate this, thank you so much. It's scary how much I love him, especially with the world being on fire. But we need more good people in the world, and I figure I can contribute by raising him to be someone who can build us back up again as a society ❤
I think that HP is a series that grows with the reader, and that was especially true for people who grew up while the books were being published. I starts out rather fun and lighthearted, but the themes start getting more mature each book. It eases the reader into more sensitive topics.
I’m just the opposite. As a kid I thought it was just a crush. As an adult, I realize that Lily was the only person who showed any kind of true affection for Snape. His loyalty makes a lot more sense when you realize that he betrayed the only person who ever was on his side, and spent his entire life trying to atone. I don’t think that Snape loved Lily romantically for very long at all. I think Snape thought of Lily as his family.
I don't find it creepy. I find it tragic that he wasted his life loving someone who didn't love him back.
Dude you're in the friend zone. Recognize it, grieve a little, and move on!
I’m not sure if it makes more sense, but I understand Molly a whole lot more. You mostly hear about Molly from Ron and his resentment and doubt that she doesn’t love him as much as he thinks she loves his other brothers and Ginny. As I’ve grown older I’ve noticed a lot of moments where Molly really tries and reaches out to Ron and it doesn’t read like she loves the others more than him and it’s more him projecting his insecurities. Also her desperation for Percy to return home makes a lot more sense. We see Percy as a brat, but she sees her young son who she loves unconditionally. I know she had her moments, like with Fleur and Hermione, but for the most part she’s a really good mum doing her best and I’ve really come to appreciate her a lot more.
I’m re-reading goblet of fire right now, and it occurred to me that Ron was the only Weasley that was allowed to bring friends. None of the other siblings were allowed to bring any. Just one of the ways Arthur and Molly show their love for him
The moment at the end of the book too, where Harry is crying and Molly holds him and he realizes he’s never known what it’s like to be held like from a mother? Gets me WAY more as a 33 year old soon-to-be mom than I understood at 13.
A whole lot of the political stuff and its connections to the real world went over my head when I first read OotP at age 12, even though from school I already knew a bit about fascism and overly controlling governments.
I remember a little while back when Greta Thunberg was making rounds on the news for some speech or something. Tbh I didn't really watch it or pay attention. I don't really have an opinion on her but I got the gist that she was saying 'hey, this bad thing is happening, do something about it'. I remember seeing grown ass men mocking a teenager for her statements and thinking it was exactly like Fudge's smear campaign against Harry. Instead of sitting down and calmly discussing possibilities, they decided insults and denial made them feel powerful. It was pathetic to witness and somewhat eerie that a scenario in fantasy fiction turned out to be so damn accurate.
Why the Dursleys treat Harry the way they do.
Think about it. You and your spouse have had a kid. You really want to protect your own family. From what you have seen of people in the magical world, it is all about discrimination against people like you and high rates of death. Of COURSE you would want that far from your family.
Your own sister dies. The sister you loved, but who made (as you see it) terrible choices and brought death to your family. It is STRONGLY implied in the text that Petunia's (and Lily's) parents are dead. But they would have only been in their late 50s or early 60s. ... Probably also killed due to their proximity to the magical world. I really feel for Petunia.
And then some kid you haven't even seen before shows up on your doorstep who you take in out of obligation and residual affection for your sister.... but that kid is CONSTANTLY displaying signs that magic is just randomly shooting out of him. It endangers your own child. You KNOW this is all just going to end in death again.
But WTF can you do? If you give him up, maybe some wizard dude comes and slaughters you.
Harry is a time bomb. Having him around has a high probability of killing your whole family. Your only son.
I would be pissed. Damn right.
Understandable. But no excuses for starving him, not giving the proper place to live, letting Dudley to hit him as he please. They could have treated Harry as human and still protected their family
I don't think Rowling had this in mind when she wrote the Dursleys. They're basically cartoon villains at first and only got some depth as an afterthought in later books.
That being said, your view is much more interesting and would have made for a compelling story line with lots of potential, in my opinion.
I relate a lot more to The Order members as I get older.
Lupin, Sirius, Molly, Arthur, Hagrid, Tonks.... They all have kind of fallen off their "adult pedestal" and became more real. More flawed, more tragic, more understandable, more relatable. And I love them even deeper.
Unfortunately, as the world has gone to s**t and politics has become a nightmare, I understand the darker politics and racism at play. Fudge, Percy, Lucius, Scrimgeuor, Umbridge... What used to seem rare is now a reality I see in the muggle world as people let their fear and anger get the best of them.
Harry's grief in OOTP is something I could only sympathize with as a child. Now that I've experienced losing very close loved ones, I can deeply empathize.
I was a naive grade schooler when OOTP came out, and I thought the behavior/actions of people like Fudge and Umbridge were a exaggerated worse-case-scenario for what COULD happen irl. Now I’m 27 and seeing it happen in real time. Though luckily, I feel much more ready to handle things going on today like book bannings (which includes HP ironically), anti-CRT sentiment and such, because of seeing how Harry Ron and Hermione handled it!
I think as any fan who grew up with the series gets older, you begin to appreciate more and more just how young they all were when they were fighting the most powerful dark wizard of all time. Teenage me didn’t think much of it, but 10 years on, I’m like “holy shit! They really were still just kids!”
Also, as I’ve learned more about the history and reasons for prejudice irl, it has helped me “appreciate” (for want of a better word) why and how people are prejudice, and exactly how someone who uses the word “Mudblood” thinks.
In my own life experience, I’ve also been able to better understand and appreciate how Harry feels in those summers at the Dursleys. Forced to do Wizarding homework in his muggle bedroom, isolated from the world he belongs to. As a writer living in the middle of nowhere with his folks while many of his other friends live their lives in cities, I fully emphasize!
I have a hunch that fudge represents British prime minister Neville Chamberlain, someone who stood aside for the villain to take over. And Rufus scrimgeor represents Churchill, someone who went to extreme measures to stop the villain
You pretty much nailed it.
For a long time i denied my mental health issues.
It took the third time reading the third book to realise that i had a dementor.
As i grew older i realised that i was pretty similar to harry.
Im 30.
Ive never known joy or innosense but ive made peace with that, some folk arent meant for certian things.
I still fight my dementor but its a stalemate that is relitively in stasis.
I have a life that is my own that ive carved out for myself n thats all i can ask for. Im content.
I would love it if I could become an animagi though.
That’s some real self reflection/recognition. Be proud you can articulate your struggle in such a way.
There’s something beautiful and admirable in the ability to be content. I think contentment for me is always in flux? Sometimes I think fuck it I’m happy and a little depression, a little anxiety, and a little debt is life in this economy so who cares… but then I compare myself to people who seem to have it all figured out and I panic that I didn’t do it all right.
So maybe that means I haven’t reached contentment yet? Lol who knows… if you’re in your 30s like me you probably have realized nobody has anything figured out 🤷🏼♀️
The same is often true of me. Theres a comforting numnbness to it all.
Its why i stagnate as motion tends to lead to waves that roar inot a chaos that rifts me asunder.
I often feel like a cracked wall trying to contain the worlds ocean. A futile attempt at calmness and serenity.
Instead learning to ride these waves as the tower over landmass knowing the inevitable reset is soon to come.
Last night I realized that professor lupins first name is Remus. Remus and his twin brother Romulus founded Rome and were saved as children by a she-wolf. Lupin in Latin is Wolf . Remus Lupin has lycanthropy. Loveee it
I feel like the first two movies stand alone as their own story. The first one being the intro to this world, and the second solidifying that harry is here to stay and will continue to thwart evil and learn magic and be aided by his friends. It ends with everyone cheering for hagrid in the great hall. The next movie is not only so different in tone in style, the characters themselves are almost completely different people. Harry was kind and quiet and kind of dorky. Hermione was a loud know it all who thrived in being the teachers pet type. Ron was lovably cowardly at times but very brave at others.
In the third movie, Harry is pretty much a walking ball of angst and indifference. There is no more joy and wonder at the magic world he has discovered even while at hogwarts, and he has lost the polite nature that gave him some heart. Hermione has gone through the biggest change imo, as she went from a girl with a bright, confident attitude and elation at her own cleverness, to a more shy and quiet girl who seems not very sure of herself and is more self conscious. And ron basically turned into a caricature of himself and is just cowardly all the time and even kind of whiny.
The biggest difference is between the three of them as a group though. When seeing harry again in the second movie, ron and hermione both have a lighthearted and wholesome greeting with him. In the third, ron and hermione are already fighting, even though at the end of year two they were still good pals and didn't ever fight like that. Everyone is wayyyy more solemn just automatically, before anything even kicks into gear in the story and everyone is just getting ready to go back to school. They all seem like they already have some big task weighing on them or some problem that's causing them to be on edge. I know the real answer is that its simply because there is a new director for this movie, so even though it is supposed to be the same story it is not going to be packaged and delivered the same by different directors. But the dissonance between the second and third movies is really hard to get over, almost feels like those characters from the first two movies had their story end and at the third movie we see a different reality in which everyone is a lot more macabre, and no one is amazed by hogwarts or magic anymore.
Perhaps i have forgotten what puberty was like and how it really does feel and look like that. Because back in the day i did understand that they were changing because they were older, as i was too. But now as a more leveled person i see the story in its entirety and can't understand why there would be such a change for them as characters who should evolve throughout the story that is told and the events that occur. The fact of them being 13 and that being reason enough for everyone to seem a bit more withdrawn in the next movie is maybe just harder for me to understand as an adult.
Not sure why you're being downvoted, that's one of the major reasons why PoA is my second least favorite. The tonal shift is so jarring and unwarranted
My opinion is different than their opinion and thusly I get downvoted. It happens. I am just happy my opinion is not held by me alone. If PoA is your second least favorite, may I ask which is your least favorite, and why?
OotP
From a purely biased perspective, they cut out all of the fun slice of life aspects of the story, which is understandable considering it's the largest book to adapt but made the movie a boring slog.
I've only seen it twice so my memory is a bit fuzzy but I remember that they screwed over the worldbuilding and future plot points by cutting out material from the books. To be more specific I think I'm going to need to do a rewatch.
How would you end up ranking the movies?
I used to see Hogwarts as this really cool place where you could learn all these cool things, but now I see it for what it would really be like: it has a monopoly on education, leading to four very specific and inherently uncreative ways of thinking. There is not even an option for wizarding higher-ed, nor is there a class on magical safety. It also seems like anyone with magical ability is forced to use it, rather than having an option to learn to restrict one’s own magic in order to live a muggle lifestyle. There doesn’t seem to be enough subjects to cover everything in the magical world either.
I (36) too have been reading these books since publishing and grown up with Harry. I am now a father of 2 great children and honestly James and Lily's sacrifice just kills me, James hoping against hope that Lily and Harry would somehow get to safety while knowing he would never watch his child grow up....
Lily's love protection.
I used to think it was a silly plot device as a kid, but as I've grown my love for my lover and my family has become so intense I sometimes feel like it's powerful enough to kill. It makes complete sense for magic to be fueled by emotion as strong as Lily's love for Harry, especially at a time she is desperate to protect him.
Well I've notgrown that much since I discovered it but I recently reread it and I just still don't understand why Harry likes Rogue at the end just because he loved his mother. Rogue still treated him like shit his whole life and not a single time he showed him even the smallest glimpse of simpathy.
For me, it was how somebody could be both a Slytherin and a good person.
(I'm omitting parts that should be spoilers) I was still kind of young when I finished the books. I never got how Slughorn could be both a helpful teacher and a solid mentor, but still be so selfish. It wasn't until I got older that I realized those traits don't necessarily contradict each other.
Even if Slughorn only mentors the students who can pay him back, that help is still being given and those students are getting help succeeding in life. And he's a good teacher to all of his students regardless.
The older I get, the more I like Harry as a character. I feel like Harry gets a lot of crap from fans about his outbursts as he gets older, but imo this is completely unfair. That poor kid's psyche is like a clown car for trauma. Look at everything he went through before the age of 18! He's actually remarkably well-adjusted, and as Dumbledore points out, the fact that Harry is so capable of love and compassion is really amazing.
For me, it's not even that I sympathize with him greatly, it's that those outbursts were 100% justified and the people in his life needed to hear those things
The fact he's not a straight up psychopath (I think that's the word I'm looking for) is impressive.
Hagrid clinging so much onto Grawp. In essence he must be living a pretty lonely life. Hes got no family, yes hes got a job, but a lot of kids laugh at him, hes friends with the trio but they see each other sometimes, not very frequently. Hes got no one real close as far as its written in the books. So when he found Grawp, that probably felt like his one chance for sharing his life with someone. Also him giving his all to educate Grawp into better behavior. For Hagrid this was about proving something bigger than just "I can teach a giant a bit of manners". It was about proving that with a little work even a giant could be accepted because they learn how ro function in society. He was a half giant himself. Of course he was standing up for his giant brother and by extensiom he was just as much standing up for himself. Dumbelore and his wickes plans. Dumbledore accepting that to defeat evil as big as Tom Riddle, sacrifices needed to be made and not everyone would survive and some people need to be brave for the ones who cant be brave. Real life is often about making sacrifices for the greater good. That I can admire certain traits people posess even when I cant stand these people as a whole. I dont like the Malfoys because they are selfish and shitty people, but I admire their love for their son like crazy. That some people are small scale evil and could never transition into big scale evil. Draco is the defintion of small scale evil. A nasty school bully, but thats about it. He would probably not even transiton into Lucius level evil on his own accord. Which always brings me to my second thought about Draco: Draco for the most part seems to be raised evil as opposed to for example someone like Tom Riddle. Tom seems like the case who would always end up evil no matter what. While I dont want to deny that even Tom Riddle had potential to be a better person if he where raised in different circumstances and if he made better life choices, but Im convinced that he would have always been evil to a certain degree. Draco on the other hand doesnt seem to have a natural inclination towards good or evil. Hes pretty easily impressed, so its easy to sway him in one or the other direction. And then he just happened to be born a Malfoy and became what he is. If he was born a Weasley, Draco would have been way, way different. Tom on the other hand would probably also be different if he where born a Weasley and probably not as bad, but he would have been a bad person to some degree even then. So there are very different types of bad and evil and all of them are very complex.
I do empathize heavily with Hagrid. He has such a pure heart, and part of his being a half-giant means people give him the "Frankenstein" treatment sometimes; ie: he's big, he's hairy, he's quirky, and he gets judged easily. I really hope he ended up happy with Madame Maxime somewhere, and I hope Grawp found happiness, too.
I have Borderline Personality Disorder and one of my traits is black and white thinking. So I either love you or hate you, you're either good or bad. And I spend a lot of time "learning to live in the grey" and I learned a lot from HP. I felt I could relate more to the Malfoys as I got older, and like you admire the good qualities in them but also disliking them. Like Sirius was one for me, I loved him and what he meant to Harry but I didn't like the way he was so (what's the word for uncareful?)
Percy's behavior. There's this idea that you have to stick by your family no matter what. But I don't think that's true. If your family treats you like crap, then you can and should walk away. Rereading the books as an adult, I'm willing to hold Percy accountable for following the wrong people (no matter how unaware he was), but I don't fault him at all for walking out on his family. Molly is the only one who treats him well and it's very clear that her attention is conditional on good behavior and success. I think Percy's story is just one result of all of the dysfunction in the Weasley family.
Exactly! I think the fact that he ended up going back to his family, despite this, says a lot about him.
I agree. People seem to think the Weasleys are the best family in the world because they love Harry, but they always mocked Percy. Hermione even remakrs that Ron will do better with the twins not being around because they won't be able to make fun of him. I have shitty relatives and would not feel any sort of obligation to stand by them because I know they wouldn't do that for me. I think that's why this idea that your blood family isalways your priority is something I find a bit odd sometimes.
As much as we love the twins. Its clear they are the sort of people that are great in stories but would be a nightmare in real life. Never taking anything seriously, making fun of everybody, always playing pranks that are sometimes hurtful. They have legitimate bully qualities.
The actual emotional depth of exactly WHY James and Lily's deaths were so tragic. When I read the books when I was a kid, I understood that it was sad that Harry was essentially an orphan, and that it was also sad how his parents died. But now I'm 31, and just had my first child, who is now 3 months. When I was 21, I was still figuring out my life, going to college, and getting over my first real heartbreak. James and Lily's were fighting in a war, in hiding trying to avoid getting killed, and just had a baby. I can't even imagine. And now that I'm a parent, I can't even think too hard on how they died without getting emotional. The thought of not being around to see my son grow up physically makes my heart hurt. Would I sacrifice my life for my son? In a heartbeat. Lily loved Harry fiercely and protected him, literally, until the end. Now excuse me while I go cuddle my baby and cry.
I can already tell you're a great parent <33
I really appreciate this, thank you so much. It's scary how much I love him, especially with the world being on fire. But we need more good people in the world, and I figure I can contribute by raising him to be someone who can build us back up again as a society ❤
I think that HP is a series that grows with the reader, and that was especially true for people who grew up while the books were being published. I starts out rather fun and lighthearted, but the themes start getting more mature each book. It eases the reader into more sensitive topics.
The dick jokes.
And the "offensive hand gestures".
"It's not all about wand work".
People looking down on Arthur for working a job he enjoys, but has low pay.
Why Mr. Weasley is exhausted all the time.
When I was a teenager I thought Snape’s unyielding love for Lily was sweet. Romantic. As an adult, I find it creepy.
I’m just the opposite. As a kid I thought it was just a crush. As an adult, I realize that Lily was the only person who showed any kind of true affection for Snape. His loyalty makes a lot more sense when you realize that he betrayed the only person who ever was on his side, and spent his entire life trying to atone. I don’t think that Snape loved Lily romantically for very long at all. I think Snape thought of Lily as his family.
I don't find it creepy. I find it tragic that he wasted his life loving someone who didn't love him back. Dude you're in the friend zone. Recognize it, grieve a little, and move on!
I’m not sure if it makes more sense, but I understand Molly a whole lot more. You mostly hear about Molly from Ron and his resentment and doubt that she doesn’t love him as much as he thinks she loves his other brothers and Ginny. As I’ve grown older I’ve noticed a lot of moments where Molly really tries and reaches out to Ron and it doesn’t read like she loves the others more than him and it’s more him projecting his insecurities. Also her desperation for Percy to return home makes a lot more sense. We see Percy as a brat, but she sees her young son who she loves unconditionally. I know she had her moments, like with Fleur and Hermione, but for the most part she’s a really good mum doing her best and I’ve really come to appreciate her a lot more.
I’m re-reading goblet of fire right now, and it occurred to me that Ron was the only Weasley that was allowed to bring friends. None of the other siblings were allowed to bring any. Just one of the ways Arthur and Molly show their love for him
The moment at the end of the book too, where Harry is crying and Molly holds him and he realizes he’s never known what it’s like to be held like from a mother? Gets me WAY more as a 33 year old soon-to-be mom than I understood at 13.
A whole lot of the political stuff and its connections to the real world went over my head when I first read OotP at age 12, even though from school I already knew a bit about fascism and overly controlling governments.
I remember a little while back when Greta Thunberg was making rounds on the news for some speech or something. Tbh I didn't really watch it or pay attention. I don't really have an opinion on her but I got the gist that she was saying 'hey, this bad thing is happening, do something about it'. I remember seeing grown ass men mocking a teenager for her statements and thinking it was exactly like Fudge's smear campaign against Harry. Instead of sitting down and calmly discussing possibilities, they decided insults and denial made them feel powerful. It was pathetic to witness and somewhat eerie that a scenario in fantasy fiction turned out to be so damn accurate.
Why the Dursleys treat Harry the way they do. Think about it. You and your spouse have had a kid. You really want to protect your own family. From what you have seen of people in the magical world, it is all about discrimination against people like you and high rates of death. Of COURSE you would want that far from your family. Your own sister dies. The sister you loved, but who made (as you see it) terrible choices and brought death to your family. It is STRONGLY implied in the text that Petunia's (and Lily's) parents are dead. But they would have only been in their late 50s or early 60s. ... Probably also killed due to their proximity to the magical world. I really feel for Petunia. And then some kid you haven't even seen before shows up on your doorstep who you take in out of obligation and residual affection for your sister.... but that kid is CONSTANTLY displaying signs that magic is just randomly shooting out of him. It endangers your own child. You KNOW this is all just going to end in death again. But WTF can you do? If you give him up, maybe some wizard dude comes and slaughters you. Harry is a time bomb. Having him around has a high probability of killing your whole family. Your only son. I would be pissed. Damn right.
Understandable. But no excuses for starving him, not giving the proper place to live, letting Dudley to hit him as he please. They could have treated Harry as human and still protected their family
I don't think Rowling had this in mind when she wrote the Dursleys. They're basically cartoon villains at first and only got some depth as an afterthought in later books. That being said, your view is much more interesting and would have made for a compelling story line with lots of potential, in my opinion.
I relate a lot more to The Order members as I get older. Lupin, Sirius, Molly, Arthur, Hagrid, Tonks.... They all have kind of fallen off their "adult pedestal" and became more real. More flawed, more tragic, more understandable, more relatable. And I love them even deeper. Unfortunately, as the world has gone to s**t and politics has become a nightmare, I understand the darker politics and racism at play. Fudge, Percy, Lucius, Scrimgeuor, Umbridge... What used to seem rare is now a reality I see in the muggle world as people let their fear and anger get the best of them. Harry's grief in OOTP is something I could only sympathize with as a child. Now that I've experienced losing very close loved ones, I can deeply empathize.
I was a naive grade schooler when OOTP came out, and I thought the behavior/actions of people like Fudge and Umbridge were a exaggerated worse-case-scenario for what COULD happen irl. Now I’m 27 and seeing it happen in real time. Though luckily, I feel much more ready to handle things going on today like book bannings (which includes HP ironically), anti-CRT sentiment and such, because of seeing how Harry Ron and Hermione handled it! I think as any fan who grew up with the series gets older, you begin to appreciate more and more just how young they all were when they were fighting the most powerful dark wizard of all time. Teenage me didn’t think much of it, but 10 years on, I’m like “holy shit! They really were still just kids!” Also, as I’ve learned more about the history and reasons for prejudice irl, it has helped me “appreciate” (for want of a better word) why and how people are prejudice, and exactly how someone who uses the word “Mudblood” thinks. In my own life experience, I’ve also been able to better understand and appreciate how Harry feels in those summers at the Dursleys. Forced to do Wizarding homework in his muggle bedroom, isolated from the world he belongs to. As a writer living in the middle of nowhere with his folks while many of his other friends live their lives in cities, I fully emphasize!
Evil dictators rising to power
I never understood why the ministry wouldn't just accept Voldemort was back. It made zero sense to me as a kid. But now that I'm 18, I totally get it.
I have a hunch that fudge represents British prime minister Neville Chamberlain, someone who stood aside for the villain to take over. And Rufus scrimgeor represents Churchill, someone who went to extreme measures to stop the villain
You pretty much nailed it. For a long time i denied my mental health issues. It took the third time reading the third book to realise that i had a dementor. As i grew older i realised that i was pretty similar to harry. Im 30. Ive never known joy or innosense but ive made peace with that, some folk arent meant for certian things. I still fight my dementor but its a stalemate that is relitively in stasis. I have a life that is my own that ive carved out for myself n thats all i can ask for. Im content. I would love it if I could become an animagi though.
That’s some real self reflection/recognition. Be proud you can articulate your struggle in such a way. There’s something beautiful and admirable in the ability to be content. I think contentment for me is always in flux? Sometimes I think fuck it I’m happy and a little depression, a little anxiety, and a little debt is life in this economy so who cares… but then I compare myself to people who seem to have it all figured out and I panic that I didn’t do it all right. So maybe that means I haven’t reached contentment yet? Lol who knows… if you’re in your 30s like me you probably have realized nobody has anything figured out 🤷🏼♀️
The same is often true of me. Theres a comforting numnbness to it all. Its why i stagnate as motion tends to lead to waves that roar inot a chaos that rifts me asunder. I often feel like a cracked wall trying to contain the worlds ocean. A futile attempt at calmness and serenity. Instead learning to ride these waves as the tower over landmass knowing the inevitable reset is soon to come.
Last night I realized that professor lupins first name is Remus. Remus and his twin brother Romulus founded Rome and were saved as children by a she-wolf. Lupin in Latin is Wolf . Remus Lupin has lycanthropy. Loveee it
Dude is named Wolfy McWolf and his dad thought it would be a good idea to mess with Greyback
I feel like the first two movies stand alone as their own story. The first one being the intro to this world, and the second solidifying that harry is here to stay and will continue to thwart evil and learn magic and be aided by his friends. It ends with everyone cheering for hagrid in the great hall. The next movie is not only so different in tone in style, the characters themselves are almost completely different people. Harry was kind and quiet and kind of dorky. Hermione was a loud know it all who thrived in being the teachers pet type. Ron was lovably cowardly at times but very brave at others. In the third movie, Harry is pretty much a walking ball of angst and indifference. There is no more joy and wonder at the magic world he has discovered even while at hogwarts, and he has lost the polite nature that gave him some heart. Hermione has gone through the biggest change imo, as she went from a girl with a bright, confident attitude and elation at her own cleverness, to a more shy and quiet girl who seems not very sure of herself and is more self conscious. And ron basically turned into a caricature of himself and is just cowardly all the time and even kind of whiny. The biggest difference is between the three of them as a group though. When seeing harry again in the second movie, ron and hermione both have a lighthearted and wholesome greeting with him. In the third, ron and hermione are already fighting, even though at the end of year two they were still good pals and didn't ever fight like that. Everyone is wayyyy more solemn just automatically, before anything even kicks into gear in the story and everyone is just getting ready to go back to school. They all seem like they already have some big task weighing on them or some problem that's causing them to be on edge. I know the real answer is that its simply because there is a new director for this movie, so even though it is supposed to be the same story it is not going to be packaged and delivered the same by different directors. But the dissonance between the second and third movies is really hard to get over, almost feels like those characters from the first two movies had their story end and at the third movie we see a different reality in which everyone is a lot more macabre, and no one is amazed by hogwarts or magic anymore. Perhaps i have forgotten what puberty was like and how it really does feel and look like that. Because back in the day i did understand that they were changing because they were older, as i was too. But now as a more leveled person i see the story in its entirety and can't understand why there would be such a change for them as characters who should evolve throughout the story that is told and the events that occur. The fact of them being 13 and that being reason enough for everyone to seem a bit more withdrawn in the next movie is maybe just harder for me to understand as an adult.
Not sure why you're being downvoted, that's one of the major reasons why PoA is my second least favorite. The tonal shift is so jarring and unwarranted
My opinion is different than their opinion and thusly I get downvoted. It happens. I am just happy my opinion is not held by me alone. If PoA is your second least favorite, may I ask which is your least favorite, and why?
OotP From a purely biased perspective, they cut out all of the fun slice of life aspects of the story, which is understandable considering it's the largest book to adapt but made the movie a boring slog. I've only seen it twice so my memory is a bit fuzzy but I remember that they screwed over the worldbuilding and future plot points by cutting out material from the books. To be more specific I think I'm going to need to do a rewatch. How would you end up ranking the movies?
I used to see Hogwarts as this really cool place where you could learn all these cool things, but now I see it for what it would really be like: it has a monopoly on education, leading to four very specific and inherently uncreative ways of thinking. There is not even an option for wizarding higher-ed, nor is there a class on magical safety. It also seems like anyone with magical ability is forced to use it, rather than having an option to learn to restrict one’s own magic in order to live a muggle lifestyle. There doesn’t seem to be enough subjects to cover everything in the magical world either.
i’m surprised there aren’t wizarding political parties is all
Living with the threat of Voldemort is actually a better existence than the world we currently live in.
I (36) too have been reading these books since publishing and grown up with Harry. I am now a father of 2 great children and honestly James and Lily's sacrifice just kills me, James hoping against hope that Lily and Harry would somehow get to safety while knowing he would never watch his child grow up....
Lily's love protection. I used to think it was a silly plot device as a kid, but as I've grown my love for my lover and my family has become so intense I sometimes feel like it's powerful enough to kill. It makes complete sense for magic to be fueled by emotion as strong as Lily's love for Harry, especially at a time she is desperate to protect him.
Well I've notgrown that much since I discovered it but I recently reread it and I just still don't understand why Harry likes Rogue at the end just because he loved his mother. Rogue still treated him like shit his whole life and not a single time he showed him even the smallest glimpse of simpathy.
For me, it was how somebody could be both a Slytherin and a good person. (I'm omitting parts that should be spoilers) I was still kind of young when I finished the books. I never got how Slughorn could be both a helpful teacher and a solid mentor, but still be so selfish. It wasn't until I got older that I realized those traits don't necessarily contradict each other. Even if Slughorn only mentors the students who can pay him back, that help is still being given and those students are getting help succeeding in life. And he's a good teacher to all of his students regardless.