{"id":70,"date":"2010-12-12T11:19:53","date_gmt":"2010-12-12T19:19:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=70"},"modified":"2010-12-12T11:19:29","modified_gmt":"2010-12-12T19:19:29","slug":"mark-re-reads-harry-potter-and-the-sorcerers-stone-chapter-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2010\/12\/mark-re-reads-harry-potter-and-the-sorcerers-stone-chapter-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Re-Reads \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcHarry Potter and the Sorcerer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Stone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122: Chapter 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the fourth chapter of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Stone<\/em>, Rubeus Hagrid storms the Dursleys\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 hideout to inform Harry that he is indeed a wizard and everything is lovely and wonderful. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to re-read Harry Potter<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for me to fall in love with Harry Potter<\/em> all over again.<\/p>\n

This was the point in this book that I dispensed with the desire to hide how much I was enjoying everything. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve said it before, but I came from Twilight<\/em> knowing that, by default, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like this series just because\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6well, there was no way it could possibly be as bad as Meyer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s set of books. But I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want that contrast to be so evident, so I certainly looked for what I could to poke fun at.<\/p>\n

Hagrid easily represents a sort of savior figure to Harry and it would be pretty awesome if Jesus was a big hairy bear instead of the totally ripped white dude that we all see, right????<\/p>\n

A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I, for one, welcome our oversized, furry overlord.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make us a cup o\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 tea, could yeh? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not been an easy journey\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Budge up, yeh great lump,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said the stranger.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
SERIOUSLY THE BEST THING EVER<\/em>. I think I know why<\/em> now: Hagrid is the very first person in this narrative to stand up to the abusers that are the Dursleys. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m there was some subconscious bout of pure happiness to see this, as you all know how much I was bullied as a kid. Hagrid is the giant, benevolent hero all of us wanted when people picked on and hurt us.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I demand that you leave at once, sir!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You are breaking and entering!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said the gaint; he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernons hands, bent it into a know as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I love the contrast of Vernon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fake gentlemanly sensibility and the crude manner in which Hagrid completely ignores him in order to disarm him. Hagrid, I will love you until the end of time.<\/p>\n
I also love the image of the entire shack staring at Hagrid as he goes about his business taking out all of the things in his coat to prepare tea and sausages. The immensity of Hagrid\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s size is certainly intimidating to them all, but the strangeness of it all certainly doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s weird to the Dudley and Harry because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen no such thing in their lives, but I imagine that Vernon and Petunia are thinking differently: Is this man a link to the magical world they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re hoping to never see again? I think that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always something on their minds and Harry\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bizarre acts over the past 10 years or so must have always reminded them of where he came from.<\/p>\n
He passed the sausages to Harry, who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Um\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Petunia and Vernon specifically not feed him anything good? Hate them forever<\/em>.<\/p>\n
Hagrid\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rage at the Dursleys\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 willing and knowing efforts to keep Harry in the dark is also magical and wonderful and I love it forever. You know\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6I know that in the beginning of Half-Blood Prince<\/em>, Dumbledore calls them out for the awful way they treated Harry all those years but I wish he was as spiteful and mad as Hagrid is here. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel that the Dursleys ever rightly paid for what they did to Harry for most of his life. I appreciate Dudley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s slight \u00e2\u20ac\u0153apology\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of sorts, but they do get away with it all, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t they?<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yeh don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what yeh are<\/em>?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said finally.<\/p>\n
Uncle Vernon finally found his voice.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Stop!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he commanded. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Oh, Vernon. Never ignite the rage of our precious Hagrid.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Hagrid. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Harry\u00e2\u20ac\u201dyer a wizard.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Ah, that beautiful, succinct, and magical line. Harry Potter is a wizard. I think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll always adore the simplicity of it and what it means for Harry\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life. Here is the start of a long, complicated, and tragic journey, but the most important thing remains: Harry Potter is a wizard. He is magical.<\/p>\n
WHERE ARE OUR HOGWARTS LETTERS, BY THE WAY<\/em><\/strong>. God, we are all so oppressed.<\/p>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s weird that I also latched on to Muggle being a possibly prejudiced term so early on; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s generally not meant that way, but it proves to become a representation of one type of bigotry that this series latches on to. Man, I really love how Rowling so seamlessly tied those themes into the larger story and made it so realistic and vital to everything. I mean, without the Muggle bias, Voldemort wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be Voldemort, would he?<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You knew<\/em>?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Harry. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You knew<\/em> I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a\u00e2\u20ac\u201da wizard?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Knew!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Knew<\/em>! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthat school<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was\u00e2\u20ac\u201da freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Actually, Petunia\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6you<\/em> wanted to be a freak too. You demonized your sister because you couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be a part of what she was and it ruled your life. So much so that you became an abusive, bigoted asshole to Harry<\/p>\n
Nothing represents this best than her and Vernon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s concocted nonsense about how Harry\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s parents died. Again, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re reminded of Rowling\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s statement that her mother\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death is littered in every chapter of this book. Very early on, death is an intricate part of the story. (I picked up how depressing this was during my first read, but reading Hagrid\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s retelling of it is nothing short of gut-wrenching, precisely because we know what that sacrifice means to the series.<\/p>\n
There is a neat line that is proof that Rowling sowed the seeds for later plots:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153No one ever lived after he decided ter kill \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcem, no one except you, an\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d killed some o\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 the best witches an\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 wizards of the age\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts\u00e2\u20ac\u201dan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 you was only a baby, an\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 you lived.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The Bones and the Prewetts. Amanda\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s relatives and Molly Weasley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s brothers. (Weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t they killed by Dolohov, though?)<\/p>\n
Vernon, unsurprisingly, has to interrupte this Parade of Sad<\/em> in order to be Biggest Bigot #1<\/em>.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Now, you listen here, boy,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he snarled, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I accept there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have cured\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdoes, no denying it, and the world\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s better off without them in my opinion\u00e2\u20ac\u201dasked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types\u00e2\u20ac\u201djust what I expected, always knew they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d come to a sticky end\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Man, this is even more offensive than the first time. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so presumptuous and cruel! He literally said the world is better off without Harry\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s parents right to his face. <\/em>Also, it is kind of ironic that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s technically right? Harry\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mother\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death allows what happens at the end of Deathly Hallows<\/em> to occur. Clearly, this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t what Vernon meant, but I had to point it out.<\/p>\n
The seeds for the story of Harry\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s parents\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 death is all planted here, in addition to chapter one, as Hagrid tells Harry how strange it was that something about him stumped Voldemort and caused him to go into hiding. Man, how would I have ever guessed that Lily\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sacrifice saved everything? This shit is straight genius, guys<\/em>.<\/p>\n
But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153NEVER\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 he thundered, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e2\u20ac\u201dINSULT\u00e2\u20ac\u201dALBUS\u00e2\u20ac\u201dDUMBLEDORE\u00e2\u20ac\u201dIN\u00e2\u20ac\u201dFRONT\u00e2\u20ac\u201dOF\u00e2\u20ac\u201dME!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Hagrid\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s very special manger is my very special manger. It is so beautiful, right?<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Oh, well\u00e2\u20ac\u201dI was at Hogwarts meself but I\u00e2\u20ac\u201der\u00e2\u20ac\u201dgot expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as a gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Why were you expelled?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gettin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 late and we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got lots ter do tomorrow,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Hagrid loudly.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
HAHAHAHAHA. Oh, Hagrid. Now I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m starting to understand how unbearable this must have been, as I wondered aloud why Hagrid was expelled and all of you knew the precise answer. I AM BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND THE VERY SPECIAL PAIN OF HARRY POTTER<\/em> SPOILERS.<\/p>\n
Next up: Diagon Alley is the best place ever and why is all this not real<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the fourth chapter of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Stone, Rubeus Hagrid storms the Dursleys\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 hideout to inform Harry that he is indeed a wizard and everything is lovely and wonderful. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to re-read … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-harry-potter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}