felicityking (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
felicityking) wrote2012-11-29 07:26 pm
felicityking) wrote2012-11-29 07:26 pm
Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
This has always been my least favorite of the HP series and rereading it (for the first time in years), I finally figured out why.
Firstly, I will say I always found the convolutedness of it to be unneccessary. We're constantly told Voldemort was the Greatest Dark Wizard of his time,and that his Death Eaters were clever in their Evilness, and a TriWizard Tournament is the best they could think of think of to kidnap Harry?
This book also reinforced to me how much of a Golden Boy JKR treats Harry. He's not Bilbo, who blunders his way to perfection (along with ghastly mistakes on the way). Despite being younger and more inexperience, and having to learn skills on the quick, he's ALWAYS the fastest, most efficient, most skilled at a task. Granted, he has faced unusual tasks before to help along with his skills, but he's never second, third or fourth. He's always first. A LITTLE STRUGGLE WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE.
Then, we keep getting told the Tournament is being held to advance Cooperation and Good Relations between the International Houses. But, we only ever see Harry really working with Cedric. Sure, he talks to Krum, but that's in relation to Hermione. He never really gets to know Fleur either. For that matter, we never see the Houses interacting with other outside of the competition. Instead, we are repeatedly told Not to trust Durmstrung, and the Beauxbatons are dismisssed. In the end, it's still all about Glory and Honour for Hogwarts. (That ending would have TONS more interesting and more revelant had 2 students from DIFFERENT schools--Harry and Krum, or Harry and Fleur--took the cup. Instead it's a 'clean' ending for Hogwarts with a tragic twist.)
Also, while I've long praised JKR for how she infuses her books with progressive issues, I've noticed that she has a very white liberal POV. It's funny. I follow a HP blog on tumblr and she's very radical and always ridiculing white liberals as not being progressive enough, but she turns a rather blind eye to her favorite celebrity author. An example, Hermione: instead of ASKING the elves what would be helpful to them, what they need to be more comfortable, she just takes it upon herself to assume all elves want days off, wages, etc. (Equally problematic is that JKR wrote the elves as 'happy slaves' always devoted firstly and lastly to their master, no matter how terrible the master treats them.) Back when I first read the book, I was GO HERMIONE, but now I see how it is basically Hermione being...a privileged white feminist not embracing intersectionality. (I mention that blog cuz if this was a real life thing, the blog would be going after Hermione and saying she's an idiot.) (Funny I still like the books, but I see the liberalism is limited in its usefulness.)
And please JKR learn more words. When Voldemort came back in full body form, she used the word "lazy" to describe his movements THREE times on the same page. When Hermione gets embarrassed about Krum, she uses the word "scarlet" twice on the same page. I know you are clever and know your grammar. Use more variety please to describe things.
Firstly, I will say I always found the convolutedness of it to be unneccessary. We're constantly told Voldemort was the Greatest Dark Wizard of his time,and that his Death Eaters were clever in their Evilness, and a TriWizard Tournament is the best they could think of think of to kidnap Harry?
This book also reinforced to me how much of a Golden Boy JKR treats Harry. He's not Bilbo, who blunders his way to perfection (along with ghastly mistakes on the way). Despite being younger and more inexperience, and having to learn skills on the quick, he's ALWAYS the fastest, most efficient, most skilled at a task. Granted, he has faced unusual tasks before to help along with his skills, but he's never second, third or fourth. He's always first. A LITTLE STRUGGLE WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE.
Then, we keep getting told the Tournament is being held to advance Cooperation and Good Relations between the International Houses. But, we only ever see Harry really working with Cedric. Sure, he talks to Krum, but that's in relation to Hermione. He never really gets to know Fleur either. For that matter, we never see the Houses interacting with other outside of the competition. Instead, we are repeatedly told Not to trust Durmstrung, and the Beauxbatons are dismisssed. In the end, it's still all about Glory and Honour for Hogwarts. (That ending would have TONS more interesting and more revelant had 2 students from DIFFERENT schools--Harry and Krum, or Harry and Fleur--took the cup. Instead it's a 'clean' ending for Hogwarts with a tragic twist.)
Also, while I've long praised JKR for how she infuses her books with progressive issues, I've noticed that she has a very white liberal POV. It's funny. I follow a HP blog on tumblr and she's very radical and always ridiculing white liberals as not being progressive enough, but she turns a rather blind eye to her favorite celebrity author. An example, Hermione: instead of ASKING the elves what would be helpful to them, what they need to be more comfortable, she just takes it upon herself to assume all elves want days off, wages, etc. (Equally problematic is that JKR wrote the elves as 'happy slaves' always devoted firstly and lastly to their master, no matter how terrible the master treats them.) Back when I first read the book, I was GO HERMIONE, but now I see how it is basically Hermione being...a privileged white feminist not embracing intersectionality. (I mention that blog cuz if this was a real life thing, the blog would be going after Hermione and saying she's an idiot.) (Funny I still like the books, but I see the liberalism is limited in its usefulness.)
And please JKR learn more words. When Voldemort came back in full body form, she used the word "lazy" to describe his movements THREE times on the same page. When Hermione gets embarrassed about Krum, she uses the word "scarlet" twice on the same page. I know you are clever and know your grammar. Use more variety please to describe things.
no subject
I always took that attitude to be problematic, though. As in, JKR knew Hermione was going about it all wrong by just foisting her views on the elves and not really stopping to ask what they wanted. Clearly the Hogwarts elves were happy because they had good "jobs" but freedom comes in steps and to be set completely free would've jarred them initially. A lot of them would've landed on their feet but then there still would've been cases like Winky. And I think having Winky in there not only served the Crouch storyline, but having Winky interact with Hermione enabled JKR to emphasize that Hermione, while being progressive, was also still being narrow-minded in her world views and executions of such views. It was also pointed out a lot by Ron, whose opinions were probably discarded by most readers since he's sort of lazy and also said these things antagonistically, but he also had good points a lot of the time.
IDK, I don't really see that particular point as something JKR mishandled, I actually think she illustrated Hermione's 'white liberal POV' very well. I came away from that book not praising Hermione, but really side-eyeing her methods and a bit of her rhetoric.
I didn't hate GoF the book as much as I hated the movie--my dislike still sits with OoTP and the way it's stuffed with unnecessary details which made it downright sloggy in some places--but I did always wonder why a Triwizard Tournament was the thing she chose as the setting for Voldemort's comeback. I often think there must've been better ways to bring in foreign wizards, but oh well, it's her world and I'm just living in it :D
no subject
Good points! I hadn't thought of it that way, but I guess I wasn't looking for it either. (I was basically just trying to get the book done...so shame on me for not picking up the subtlety.) Next time I reread I'll definitely try reading the whole elf interactions from your angle and Ron's commentary.
Now, I like the movie interesting because even though it cuts out too much it also cuts out the stuff that drags. (Harry getting stuck on what each task would be and how to prepare just dragged. That opening quidditch game...UGH!, the chapter never ends!). Although I might be partial to this movie cuz of the soundtrack and Yule Ball scene.