More on the new Harry Potter
Jun. 23rd, 2003 02:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
butterflyIt's been another day, so I'm going to talk some more. Shocking, I know.
First off, I'll talk about the new characters.
Umbridge: Freaked me out. What a horrible person. Absolutely horrible. Of course, I'm wondering if maybe the fact that she's apparently quite hideous might have something to do with that - like, the only way to make the teasing voices from her childhood shut up is to hurt people and have as much control over others as she can? People don't develop horrid personalities in a vacuum. Still, I was not at all sorry to have her get trampled by the centaurs. Though I'm glad she lived. I don't believe that anyone, no matter how twisted, deserves to die in that kind of pain. And perhaps she'll take a lesson from it. I doubt it, but anything's possible.
Luna: Amused the hell out of me. She was just all kinds of funny. And, on occasion, even a touch touching. I rather like the idea of Luna/Ginny, now that Ginny has a bit of a personality.
Kreacher: I'm rather with Hermione and Dumbledore on this one. If Sirus had treated him like anything other than a piece of contemptible furniture, well, at the very least, he probably would have found it much harder to betray him. If you don't respect people, they tend not to respect you. And he was incredibly unpleasant, but he'd had it beaten into him to be (if we can use Lucius and Dobby as an example, and I really think we can).
Next, I'll go on about the familiar characters. If I've skipped any of the new characters, it's rather because I didn't care much about them.
Harry: I mentioned that I adored him, yes? He was brilliant. Finally felt like a real live boy, rather than someone far too well adjusted. Adored his incredibly short and passionless 'relationship' with Cho. At first, I was wondering what that girl was on, but then it became apparent that she was trying to use Harry: he'd been the one to see Cedric die so he could/should understand her grief. And she was seriously unstable throughout the book. The odd and mildly twisted relationship with Sirus was illuminating. Interesting that neither of them minded pretty much pretending that Harry was James. Of course, he's not. James was raised... a golden boy. Dudley or Draco. Always getting his own way, thinking that he's the peak of everything. And Harry was raised getting pushed around by that type. Naturally, he's going to be different. Loved that Harry could recognize that his dad was an utter prat as a kid. Although, he's still thinking in black and white. Lily hated his dad back then, so how could she have fallen in love with him? His dad had been a bullying git at fifteen, how could he have changed? He's a bit all or nothing, which I do remember being at that age.
Ron and Hermione: I already mentioned the not caring much, didn't I? Ron was just there, being Ron. Hermione was just there, being Hermione. Of course, as this is all from Harry's POV, we have no clue what they're doing 'off-stage'. He's taking them for granted, which I also remember from fifteen. But JK, I'm sure, likes Ron much more than I do.
McGonagall: She was all kinds of wonderful in the book. All of the competent teachers were. They kicked ass throughout the sadistic reign of Umbridge. And I was so worried, after she was Stunned, that she would be The Death. Because she kicks so much ass.
Draco: Okay, so he was barely in the book. Since when has 'screen time' made a difference to me? He was basically the same kid that we've seen all along. He's an utter prat who likes power. But he's an utter prat who has been obsessed with Harry for five years. And he's a prat who adores his parents, much like Harry utterly adored his parents before the flashback. He's young and stupid, which excuses nothing that he's done, but makes me understand it. And at the beginning of the book, when Harry wondered what Dudley could have possibly heard from the Dementors that had such an effect on him, I started wondering again about Draco. He is, like Dudley, a spoiled brat who likes to abuse his power. He's never seen death. But he has memories that make him run in utter terror. And the Sorting Hat song makes me wonder about the future.
Neville: Ruled in the book. I mean, he definitely showed that he's made of the same stuff that his parents were. And he proved, again, that he does belong in Gryffindor.
Snape: Nasty, yet sympathetic. Same as always, but with much more detail and depth. I'm thrilled that he survived his mission.
Dumbledore: Manipulative git. Yeah, he wanted to 'spare Harry'. You didn't want to spare Harry when he was a helpless baby and sent to live with utter idiots who hated the very idea of his existence. You could have had a wizard look after him. You could have put the fear of You into the Dursleys, so that he didn't grow up neglected and abused. You get no pardon from me. Of course, I've thought that he was a manipulative git from the first. We find evidence for what we already believe, and all that.
First off, I'll talk about the new characters.
Umbridge: Freaked me out. What a horrible person. Absolutely horrible. Of course, I'm wondering if maybe the fact that she's apparently quite hideous might have something to do with that - like, the only way to make the teasing voices from her childhood shut up is to hurt people and have as much control over others as she can? People don't develop horrid personalities in a vacuum. Still, I was not at all sorry to have her get trampled by the centaurs. Though I'm glad she lived. I don't believe that anyone, no matter how twisted, deserves to die in that kind of pain. And perhaps she'll take a lesson from it. I doubt it, but anything's possible.
Luna: Amused the hell out of me. She was just all kinds of funny. And, on occasion, even a touch touching. I rather like the idea of Luna/Ginny, now that Ginny has a bit of a personality.
Kreacher: I'm rather with Hermione and Dumbledore on this one. If Sirus had treated him like anything other than a piece of contemptible furniture, well, at the very least, he probably would have found it much harder to betray him. If you don't respect people, they tend not to respect you. And he was incredibly unpleasant, but he'd had it beaten into him to be (if we can use Lucius and Dobby as an example, and I really think we can).
Next, I'll go on about the familiar characters. If I've skipped any of the new characters, it's rather because I didn't care much about them.
Harry: I mentioned that I adored him, yes? He was brilliant. Finally felt like a real live boy, rather than someone far too well adjusted. Adored his incredibly short and passionless 'relationship' with Cho. At first, I was wondering what that girl was on, but then it became apparent that she was trying to use Harry: he'd been the one to see Cedric die so he could/should understand her grief. And she was seriously unstable throughout the book. The odd and mildly twisted relationship with Sirus was illuminating. Interesting that neither of them minded pretty much pretending that Harry was James. Of course, he's not. James was raised... a golden boy. Dudley or Draco. Always getting his own way, thinking that he's the peak of everything. And Harry was raised getting pushed around by that type. Naturally, he's going to be different. Loved that Harry could recognize that his dad was an utter prat as a kid. Although, he's still thinking in black and white. Lily hated his dad back then, so how could she have fallen in love with him? His dad had been a bullying git at fifteen, how could he have changed? He's a bit all or nothing, which I do remember being at that age.
Ron and Hermione: I already mentioned the not caring much, didn't I? Ron was just there, being Ron. Hermione was just there, being Hermione. Of course, as this is all from Harry's POV, we have no clue what they're doing 'off-stage'. He's taking them for granted, which I also remember from fifteen. But JK, I'm sure, likes Ron much more than I do.
McGonagall: She was all kinds of wonderful in the book. All of the competent teachers were. They kicked ass throughout the sadistic reign of Umbridge. And I was so worried, after she was Stunned, that she would be The Death. Because she kicks so much ass.
Draco: Okay, so he was barely in the book. Since when has 'screen time' made a difference to me? He was basically the same kid that we've seen all along. He's an utter prat who likes power. But he's an utter prat who has been obsessed with Harry for five years. And he's a prat who adores his parents, much like Harry utterly adored his parents before the flashback. He's young and stupid, which excuses nothing that he's done, but makes me understand it. And at the beginning of the book, when Harry wondered what Dudley could have possibly heard from the Dementors that had such an effect on him, I started wondering again about Draco. He is, like Dudley, a spoiled brat who likes to abuse his power. He's never seen death. But he has memories that make him run in utter terror. And the Sorting Hat song makes me wonder about the future.
Neville: Ruled in the book. I mean, he definitely showed that he's made of the same stuff that his parents were. And he proved, again, that he does belong in Gryffindor.
Snape: Nasty, yet sympathetic. Same as always, but with much more detail and depth. I'm thrilled that he survived his mission.
Dumbledore: Manipulative git. Yeah, he wanted to 'spare Harry'. You didn't want to spare Harry when he was a helpless baby and sent to live with utter idiots who hated the very idea of his existence. You could have had a wizard look after him. You could have put the fear of You into the Dursleys, so that he didn't grow up neglected and abused. You get no pardon from me. Of course, I've thought that he was a manipulative git from the first. We find evidence for what we already believe, and all that.