[ SECRET POST #4422 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4422 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.



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02.
[Jimmy Carr]


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03.
[Gerard Butler and Craig Ferguson]


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04.
[Harry Potter]


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05.
[Doctor Who]


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06.
[Stargate Atlantis]


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07.
[Harry Potter]


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08.
[Image Source]











Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 27 secrets from Secret Submission Post #633.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

this is such a great comment and i just might nab it for future reference. they were definitely great children's books and while "growing up" alongside the protagonist was great, it also meant they developed a massive tonal dissonance.

the first books are whimsical, fantastical and i think they do that incredibly well. sending a child into an abusive home is horrifying! but maybe it was more about the feeling that no one cared and no one understood and that it was boringly normal, in contrast to the amazing revelation that actually you're a wizard and rich and famous and your *real* parents were perfect cool people

[(Anonymous)]

sending a child into an abusive home is horrifying! but maybe it was more about the feeling that no one cared and no one understood and that it was boringly normal

I definitely agree with this. As adults we understand things like trauma and abuse and the long-term consequences of experiencing those things, in ways that most kids just don't. So for an adult, if taken seriously, Harry's home-life is staggeringly grim.

But I think what most kids get from it is a profound sense of injustice. Harry is relatable because his life (pre-Hogwarts) is bitterly humbling. He cannot please anyone; he cannot distinguish himself; the best thing he can be is invisible. To most kids, it merely seems like a more extreme case of they feel (i.e. If the cool kids don't notice you they won't brand you a loser. You're not going to win any performance awards in school but as long as you do alright in your classes your parents won't be Very Disappointed In You.) But unlike reality, in which most of us can't distinguish ourselves because there's just nothing overwhelmingly ~special~ about us and we haven't yet learned how to distinguish ourselves in any normal ways, in Harry's case, he is - gratifyingly - special but he can't distinguish himself because no one around him will let him. Harry is cruelly underappreciated! Harry is oppressed! Our overdeveloped childhood sense of injustice flares - as JK Rowling intended it to.