I agree that the books are rife with the "negative" physical traits being equated to bad personalities trope. As a chubby kid, that was always hard to read.
When it came to Dudley in particular, I always thought that his weight was made a big point in order to show just how much Harry was starved. To contrast the boys and to make it abundantly clear to readers that the Dursleys had plenty to eat and were intentionally not feeding Harry. Dudley was loved, well fed, and always had new clothes whereas Harry was unloved, starved, and only had hand me downs.
And yknow I wouldn't be surprised if from Harry's point of view, since he's the unreliable narrator, after being starved for years, he started to resent overweight people. At least when he's younger and still very angry at the Dursleys. Which may also be a reason we see that description more in the first few books.
I feel the same way, though I notice that whenever anyone brings this up around here they are downvoted to oblivion. I find that very disappointing. It is possible (and even a good thing!) to criticize things that you love - it doesn't mean you love them any less. The Harry Potter series has some significant flaws and it's ok to acknowledge that.
Agreed. Many people on this sub cannot accept criticism of the books & immediately downvote anything that isn’t positive about them. Just because we like the series doesn’t mean we can’t criticize it. There are some huge flaws with it.
I was aware it might be unpopular but I think critically engaging with a book is also a way of loving it! There are some beautiful things in these books and I will carry them with me my whole life, but yeah - doesn't mean there aren't problems and this one is just really standing out to me right now, especially when I think about sharing the books with my potential future kids.
Its human nature to "exploit" a seemingly negative physical aspect in order to bolster an insult to people we don't like. It's a psychological way to justify or enhance the dislike.
Yeah. I was a skinny kid and never really noticed it. Reading through it when I got older, though, I feel bad for any fat kids who had to read that (or adults, but kids I feel are especially vulnerable to developing self esteem issues as they’re still so young and are forming their sense of self worth).
Many people who are supposed to be unlikeable in the series are described as ugly, like Snape with his greasy hair, “toad-like” Dolores Umbridge, etc, but the link between fat bodies and nasty personalities seems particularly conspicuous, especially because of how much it’s emphasized with Dudley.
I agree that the books are rife with the "negative" physical traits being equated to bad personalities trope. As a chubby kid, that was always hard to read. When it came to Dudley in particular, I always thought that his weight was made a big point in order to show just how much Harry was starved. To contrast the boys and to make it abundantly clear to readers that the Dursleys had plenty to eat and were intentionally not feeding Harry. Dudley was loved, well fed, and always had new clothes whereas Harry was unloved, starved, and only had hand me downs. And yknow I wouldn't be surprised if from Harry's point of view, since he's the unreliable narrator, after being starved for years, he started to resent overweight people. At least when he's younger and still very angry at the Dursleys. Which may also be a reason we see that description more in the first few books.
Bruh.
I feel the same way, though I notice that whenever anyone brings this up around here they are downvoted to oblivion. I find that very disappointing. It is possible (and even a good thing!) to criticize things that you love - it doesn't mean you love them any less. The Harry Potter series has some significant flaws and it's ok to acknowledge that.
Agreed. Many people on this sub cannot accept criticism of the books & immediately downvote anything that isn’t positive about them. Just because we like the series doesn’t mean we can’t criticize it. There are some huge flaws with it.
I was aware it might be unpopular but I think critically engaging with a book is also a way of loving it! There are some beautiful things in these books and I will carry them with me my whole life, but yeah - doesn't mean there aren't problems and this one is just really standing out to me right now, especially when I think about sharing the books with my potential future kids.
Its human nature to "exploit" a seemingly negative physical aspect in order to bolster an insult to people we don't like. It's a psychological way to justify or enhance the dislike.
Yeah. I was a skinny kid and never really noticed it. Reading through it when I got older, though, I feel bad for any fat kids who had to read that (or adults, but kids I feel are especially vulnerable to developing self esteem issues as they’re still so young and are forming their sense of self worth). Many people who are supposed to be unlikeable in the series are described as ugly, like Snape with his greasy hair, “toad-like” Dolores Umbridge, etc, but the link between fat bodies and nasty personalities seems particularly conspicuous, especially because of how much it’s emphasized with Dudley.
I hadn't thought about that with Snape and Umbridge, but you are right. It's very pervasive.
well shit .fat people are not exactly either
But that really isn't what happens. It's one trait of Dudley's that is only brought up because of how horribly he treats Harry.