Originally posted by: beguiling
Very interesting take and two very interesting excerpts from the books you have mentioned here Ash.
This post reminded me of one of the deleted scenes from Part 1 of Deathly Hallows-
"You didn't just lose your mother that night in Godric's Hollow you know, I lost a sister"
I feel part of the reason why the Dursleys were shown to be such bullies was that JK Rowling wanted to show Harry as someone being deprived of love and affection who grows to find a sense of belonging with his friends at Hogwarts.
Dudley in particular is shown to be a very spoilt child who not only bullies Harry but also bullies and beats up other children younger than him ganging up with his friends. I agree with you, the behaviour he was allowed to feel entitled to at his home, he grew up to exhibit the same behaviour outside too.
Perhaps Lily and Petunia's parents could have made Petunia understand that just because Lily was a witch that did not mean that she (Petunia) being a simple human being was any less special (Parents can play a very active part in addressing a child's insecurities after all) Probably then Petunia might not have grown to become snobbish and insensitive with the way she treated her sister and later on her nephew.
I guess the idea of not having anyone in the muggle world for Harry to care about (except Hermione who was herself a witch and his foster family) also helped the author in keeping the story more wizarding world centric.
Bullying I believe is nothing but an act of cowardice and only exhibits the shallowness of a person's character.
Looking forward to reading the next part of this post!
This is probably as long as my post. 😂 Will reply in some time.
Okay, I am back.
You are right about one thing Nikkie. Lily and Petunia's parents went wrong somewhere in her upbringing. They should have made her feel extra special but that's a different thing altogether.
Petunia's bullying was because she was jealous the of her sister. I am just trying to focus on why people bully.
Vernon was afraid of anything out of ordinary. His fear made him a bully.
They were all cowards. That's true...
And I really wish J K Rowling had written that scene in the books. It made Petunia more relatable somehow. Like maybe even she grieved her sister.
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