Even the first time I read this chapter, way back when it was first published, I did not like it. Honestly, I never blamed Dudley for his neurotic behavior concerning his bottom in the presence of wizards b/c, frankly, I'd probably be a bit neurotic myself after the pig-tail bit.
I remember being absolutely horrified by the way Arthur presents himself to the Dursleys in this chapter. He's an "expert" on Muggles but he commits a long series of inexcusable blunders that good manners if nothing else should have prevented. The crowning moment, of course, comes in the form of a Ton-Tongue Toffee. Arthur's only two "shining moments" in this chapter, imo, are the bits where he is indignant over Harry's lack of farewell and the fact that he stayed - despite flying objects and general hysteria - to fix that tongue. Although, I've always suspected that his "kindness" is at least partly based on his desire to protect his own sons from the repercussions of muggle-baiting.
I have to admit that during my first reading, when the twins dropped that candy, I expected it to be something like a canary cream - magical but harmless. I was disturbed when the candy turned out to be life threatening. What chilled me while re-reading was that none of the Weasleys, or even Harry himself, seem to understand just how serious their "prank" was. Nor do they seem to realize what an extreme lack of compassion it shows on the part of the twins that their only regret is that they were caught! They most certainly do not regret nearly killing another child! At that point, I was once again ready to scream at Arthur and Molly for their lack of critical thinking skills.
The Weasley twins are pranksters, yes - good tempered, imaginative, fun, and very amusing. But they're also sadistic bullies - cruel, thoughtless, compassion-less, frighteningly and cunningly efficient - apparently not armed with either a moral compass or any of those mental stop signs most of us come equipped with. That Harry seems to trust them implicitly distresses me. I know and like many somewhat shady/wild people - but I trust none of them. It's called judgment - something that nearly the entirety of the HP cast lacks. To me, this chapter once again illustrates that appalling shortcoming in vivid, technicolored detail.
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Con't...Sorry, It was too long to fit in one comment...
Date: 2005-09-11 02:57 am (UTC)I remember being absolutely horrified by the way Arthur presents himself to the Dursleys in this chapter. He's an "expert" on Muggles but he commits a long series of inexcusable blunders that good manners if nothing else should have prevented. The crowning moment, of course, comes in the form of a Ton-Tongue Toffee. Arthur's only two "shining moments" in this chapter, imo, are the bits where he is indignant over Harry's lack of farewell and the fact that he stayed - despite flying objects and general hysteria - to fix that tongue. Although, I've always suspected that his "kindness" is at least partly based on his desire to protect his own sons from the repercussions of muggle-baiting.
I have to admit that during my first reading, when the twins dropped that candy, I expected it to be something like a canary cream - magical but harmless. I was disturbed when the candy turned out to be life threatening. What chilled me while re-reading was that none of the Weasleys, or even Harry himself, seem to understand just how serious their "prank" was. Nor do they seem to realize what an extreme lack of compassion it shows on the part of the twins that their only regret is that they were caught! They most certainly do not regret nearly killing another child! At that point, I was once again ready to scream at Arthur and Molly for their lack of critical thinking skills.
The Weasley twins are pranksters, yes - good tempered, imaginative, fun, and very amusing. But they're also sadistic bullies - cruel, thoughtless, compassion-less, frighteningly and cunningly efficient - apparently not armed with either a moral compass or any of those mental stop signs most of us come equipped with. That Harry seems to trust them implicitly distresses me. I know and like many somewhat shady/wild people - but I trust none of them. It's called judgment - something that nearly the entirety of the HP cast lacks. To me, this chapter once again illustrates that appalling shortcoming in vivid, technicolored detail.