Bright Idea

Travis Prinzi has given me a good idea for a series. He's listening to the Harry Potter audio books and noticing things he didn't notice while reading the books the first or second (or third?) time around.

I, too, have the audio books, and I'm not embarrased to say I've listened to all six books more times than I can count. And like Travis, I've noticed certain things while listening that I overlooked or never put much thought into while reading.

Travis lists several plot points and plot holes in Chamber of Secrets. For instance, why didn't the basilisk eat the petrified students if he/she/it was so hungry, as Tom Riddle claimed? Of course, petrified students were essential to the plot, and had the students been eaten, Hogwarts surely would have closed. With a school devoid of students, lessening the dramatic tension and "who's next" suspense, Chamber of Secrets as J.K Rowling envisioned it wouldn't exist.

Hating the Dursleys

While I can suspend my disbelief for the sake of the story, some things drive me crazy. For example, remember in Chamber of Secrets when Ernie McMillan and Hannah Abbott were talking about Harry behind his back, speculating whether he was the heir of Slytherin and petrifying students? When Harry stepped out of the shadows and asked the whereabouts of Justin Finch Fletchly, Ernie offered as proof of Harry's guilt his hatred for "those Muggles" he lives with. Harry said something like, "It's impossible to live with the Dursely's and not hate them," and walked away.

Actually, that bothered me when I read the book. Why didn't he tell the group what those Muggles did to him all his life to earn that hatred? The ill treatment? The bullying? The lies? Harry wouldn't have to say much to make a good case for hating the Dursleys. Any reasonable person growing up being treated as badly as Harry would hate them.

The only reason I can think of why Rowling would write the scene that way is for Harry to remain the persecuted, ostracized orphan boy misunderstood by his peers and adults alike. This may not be a plot hole per se, but it's one of those things that bother me.

That was fun. Thanks, Travis! In my next post, I'll blog about a couple of irritating plot holes in Prisoner of Azkaban.

Update (4/6) — How did I fail to mention this GIGANTIC plot point: The whole "Tom Riddle's diary" mess could have been avoided if only Dumbledore had told Harry and everyone else that Tom Riddle is/was Lord Voldemort. Had Dumbledore shared this info with the wizarding community, Ginny would not have been fooled by the diary and subsequently possessed by Voldemort, and Harry would not have been lured in by it.

But, of course, the plot of Chamber of Secrets revolves around Tom Riddle's diary, doesn't it? If everyone knew who Riddle was, there would be no Chamber of Secrets as Rowling wrote it.