So I was skimming through the Sorcerer's Stone again and I have a nagging question, why does Petunia bother with all of the subterfuge and tricks while trying to keep Harry away from Hogwarts? At this point Harry doesn't know about magic, but she does. She had to know that all of the burning letters, and the camping trip were bound to fail. So why bother?

 

It's a very human action to try and pretend something doesn't exist. She's essentially hoping that if they ignore Hogwarts for long enough that the problem will simply go away in the fall when Harry goes to Stonewall and the term already started. Of course, she probably knows in the back of her mind that the school would probably send someone if there was no response, but it's easier for her to ignore that than to reply.

 

Vernon was the driving force behind most of 're "hijinks" and as we know, he's not the most rational man when it comes to magic. How was he to know it wouldnt work? Or Petunia for that matter.

They simply don't know all that much about the wizarding world.

 

Vernon was actually making a very educated attempt to ground any magic that might force Harry to go to Hogwarts by going to an island and putting a ton of running water between him and all the wizards.

 

And now we have the true reason Hagrid was sent to ensure Harry got his letter.

 

lol, His threshold was weak. Nevertheless, Hagrid was forced to gain entry and disarm Vernon with physical strength alone, and his attempt to turn Dudley into a pig was severely limited.

EDIT: I'm sorry. I'll stop now.

 

Because it was a book of fantasy fiction geared toward a younger reader, and not toward overly analytical adults. It's the same reason silly cartoons exist -- because they're funny to that age group. The author most likely thought the scene called for some silly humor.

 

And these kinds of posts are what I love about this forum.

 

You can't just wave it away like this. Sure, that probably is the reason why Rowling wrote it like that but you have to imagine what the in-universe explanation is and how Rowling would answer the question herself.

I myself think that it's because neither Vernon or Petunia actually know the process of getting accepted into Hogwarts. They might have just thought that whatever they were doign might have been working.

 

Sure I can. This is me waving it away as unimportant and not trying my best to look for meanings behind every single decision Jo made for her first book.

*wave*

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

 

Ok, how would you write a middle aged female character with a seemingly ideal life who is facing a situation she has absolutely no control over? Add in negative family dynamics, hates sister, disdains parents and is viewed with contempt by her husband's family. What does she do?

 

Not if it's from Cuba, those are never just a cigar!

On topic: one thing the OP forgot, and HS touched on it, is entertainment value. The reason they do these things isn't because its logical, it's because it's entertaining to the reader. And, it was. Otherwise, everyone here would have put the book down and walked off.

Fiction isn't supposed to imitate real life, it's supposed to approximate it while still being capturing and immersing the reader.

 

Except if it was a fanfiction and it had been put up for a review here, you know everyone would be going into technicalities and what not.

 

Except it's not fanfiction. It's canon. It's also at the beginning of canon, while suspension of disbelief is being formed - by that I mean, what things will and will not be accepted in canon as believable is being worked out in those very chapters you're referencing. Had they acted normal in book one, and then in book two, acted very differently, then yes, there'd be reason to jump all over it.

You can't compare fanfiction with original fiction. In fanfiction, we work within the rules already set by canon (unless the fic's designated AU). In original fiction, you set up the rules that must be followed from that point on.

It's a very, very different kettle of fish.

 

Yes, you would. And maybe as JKR's editor you might see fit to comment on it.

But fanfiction is a work in progress, even once it's out of the WBA. The Author can return to it at any time for the most minor of changes. The same is not true for a published work - sure, occasionally you get a Tolkien reprinting The Hobbit, but it's necessarily rare, and for a clear reason.

Where it's an incredibly minor and subjective nitpick like this, it will never get changed, and so the technicality is not worth the same discussion it would be there.

 

Not to mention that Philosopher's Stone was written when Harry Potter was still aimed almost exclusively at appealing to kids. Kids are generally a lot more forgiving when it comes to accepting wacky hijinks.

 

I think the much bigger question with Petunia's actions are more along the lines of why did she even try to keep Harry from going to Hogwarts?

I mean, she knew that he was wizard and they treated him like shit. He was clearly unwelcome in their home. If he goes away to boarding school, they wouldn't have to see him all year. And it wasn't like they were compassionate about his powers and trying to 'fix' him either.

 

Because she hates magic and isn't exactly rational about it. That's a pretty fundamental part of her character.

 

No, she knew he came from a marriage of a wizard and witch. That doesn't guarantee the child will be magical. In fact, their rationale seemed to be, "If we ignore it and keep Harry ignorant of it, it'll go away."

So, no. She didn't know he was a wizard. In fact, she and her husband seem to be doing everything they can to keep him from being a wizard.

 

But she'd seen all of his feats of accidental magic throughout the years (accidental apparition onto a roof and growing his hair back, for example), so she knew he had magical talents. And then he'd been accepted into Hogwarts, which Petunia knows is a school for wizards and witches.

After doing "everything they can to keep him from being a wizard", and failing, I'd just imagine that their next logical step would be to get him out of their house ASAP.

And while they wanted it to go away, it definitely wasn't out of any concern for Harry but rather a concern for their own image. So logically, wouldn't him leaving for all of the year but summer be the best answer to their problem?