Quick question about Harry Potter and the PoA

[Aaron2]

I've never before met someone who relates to the dursleys the way you do and seems to have some sort of apprehension or malice towards harry...

Its because I'm getting 99% of my knowledge from the movies and not the books.

The Dursleys could have been interesting characters. Instead in each movie we get a 15 minute obigitory "Harry gets revenge" scene. To top it off, there hasn't been a single muggle character yet that isn't portrayed as a baffoon or a total jerk-off.

But they are afraid of what they dont understand.

Considering all the nasty things Harry has magically done to them thus far, I'd say fear is perfectly reasonable. Especially now that it seems Harry can do whatever he want to them and the wizard council-types won't punish him in any way.


Aaron

 

[Storm Raven]

Considering the situation, I'm suprised that Harry's aunt and uncle are as nice to him as they are.

So, you'd consider locking a child under the stairs, and generally abusing him to be "being nice", or even acceptable behaviour out of anyone just because your sister was prettier than you?

Never have children.

 

[Datt]

Its because I'm getting 99% of my knowledge from the movies and not the books.
Aaron

And there it is. The movies don't do justice to the Dursleys. They are indeed horrible people in the books. Harry is treated worse than a third class citzen by them. Even after he gets his own room in the house, he is constantly locked it there. They lock it from the outside and have a food slot put in so they can feed him in there. They also put bars on his window to keep him from leaving.

To get a better feel for them read the first couple of chapters of the books. Just until Harry goes to Hogwarts. You will see what we are all talking about.

 

[WizarDru]

The Dursleys could have been interesting characters. Instead in each movie we get a 15 minute obigitory "Harry gets revenge" scene. To top it off, there hasn't been a single muggle character yet that isn't portrayed as a baffoon or a total jerk-off.

There have been, there just isn't time to show it. Hermione's parents are quite nice, as briefly as they're on camera. The same way as the Durselys need to be reduced to 2-dimensional characters after the first film...there's too much material, and they don't have time to flesh out characters who only appear in the very beginning of the book.

Considering all the nasty things Harry has magically done to them thus far, I'd say fear is perfectly reasonable. Especially now that it seems Harry can do whatever he want to them and the wizard council-types won't punish him in any way.

What, exactly has he done? Other than accidentally turning his aunt into a blimp (which was reversed, and the Dursleys memories were wiped), what terrible things has he done to them? As far as they know, thrown a cake around? Been slightly rebellious? Mildly threatened them to assert his rights to actually sleep in a room, not a crawlspace under the stairs? That's mild compared to most normal teenagers, frankly.

Even in the movies, they're horrible people. The only difference is, in the books, Harry is even more submissive, and they are much meaner. Particularly Dudley, who becomes a bully (although he still fears Harry to some extent).

Consider: in the movies, they go to a remote, deserted house off the coast of England, specifically just to prevent Harry from getting a letter to go to his school. His uncle knows that it directly violates his dead parents wishes, and goes to vast lengths to try and poison their memory to their own child. His aunt denigrates her own sister's memory, abuses her sister's surviving son and allows her own son to bully him, as well. They treat him like a servant, denigrate him at evey turn and lock him in his room like a prisoner after they finally are forced to move him out of the crawlspace.

The only difference is that in the books, his Aunt actually has some saving graces, whereas in the movies she's a virtual non-entity.

 

[Tsyr]

The only difference is that in the books, his Aunt actually has some saving graces, whereas in the movies she's a virtual non-entity.

She does?

I musta missed that part.

 

[WizarDru]

She does?

I musta missed that part.

The whole 'Dumbledore's reminder' thing hinted at her not being as bad as her husband. IIRC, that made it clear that it was her choice to take Harry in, against her husband's wishes.

I didn't say she was a good person, or even had much in the way of saving graces...but she has some, buried deep down in there. She knows that if she didn't take Harry in, he would be murdered...and as much as she hates the wizarding world and apparently loathed her sister, she wouldn't allow that. Mistreating her nephew, yes, but leaving him to die? No.

I suspect, before the end of the series, that Harry and his aunt will have a confrontation or discussion of some sort about it, and particularly about his mother.

 

[Laurel]

The whole 'Dumbledore's reminder' thing hinted at her not being as bad as her husband. IIRC, that made it clear that it was her choice to take Harry in, against her husband's wishes.

I didn't say she was a good person, or even had much in the way of saving graces...but she has some, buried deep down in there. She knows that if she didn't take Harry in, he would be murdered...and as much as she hates the wizarding world and apparently loathed her sister, she wouldn't allow that. Mistreating her nephew, yes, but leaving him to die? No.

I suspect, before the end of the series, that Harry and his aunt will have a confrontation or discussion of some sort about it, and particularly about his mother.

The movies also try to show his aunt have a little more... not compassion, but worry when her husband goes off. She can be seen standing in the background with a worried face or gives him a word or two of warning. Granted this is all after something has started to go wrong (she sees Harry or someone else using magic), so these moments may just be based in fear instead.
I would like to see her redeemed somehow, and at the very least coming to terms with her sister as a good person would be nice.... but endings are not always nice happy packages, so we just get to wait and see.