Harry Potter Moment of the Week is a weekly meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts and Lunar Rainbows
If you could change one thing in book one, what would it be?
Okay, this is really weird, but I wish Hagrid hadn't give Dudley a pigs tail. It feels like a fairly cruel addition to the book. If I remember correctly, in the book Hagrid did it not because Dudley was eating Harry's cake (movie) but because he was angry at Mr. and Mrs. Dursely. Which means he's punishing Dudley for the parents he has just like Harry was punished for being the son "those people". I know the scene is funny and uses the magical cliche of turning people into animals, but I wish Hagrid would have reversed it or something. Then maybe the scene wouldn't feel tainted to me and it would still leave intact the ongoing jokes about it in the series.
This is only something that started bothering me recently. I guess that is why adults shouldn't analyze children's books, I take things too seriously.
This is a cool answer, and you're right that punishing Dudley for being raised the way he was isn't fair. If Hagrid really wanted to punish someone, he should have done The Dursleys instead! I never would have thought of this^^ GREAT answer :)
ReplyDeleteThis is so true, and such a good answer. It's not something I've really thought about, but re-reading the book this morning I can see exactly what you mean. Dudley was a brat certainly, but he hadn't done anything wrong, and it does come across as a bit malicious. Like you said, if it had been reversed afterwards, you could have still had the scene, but without it feeling spiteful.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought about it, but this is a really good answer. It's not right that kids are punished for their parent's faults and wrongdoings. Sure, Dudley was a spoiled brat, but that doesn't make him responsible for his parents action. Hagrid knows a thing or two about being punished for things he didn't do.
ReplyDeleteIt always bothered me (just a tiny bit) that poor Dudley had to get surgery to fix Hagrid's spell. Like, that's a little harsh :p
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