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Same Doodle: More Perceptions
by Luna Lovegood
October 4, 2004
The way we perceive characters in Harry Potter is very diverse; so diverse that the word "diverse" can hardly be sufficient in fully covering the statement. All readers will read the same words, the same story, but once our brains all function differently, naturally, the characters will be never be the same from person to person. Our imaginations - whether large or small - feed us the complete picture, the film of plot, and without it Harry Potter would hardly exist.
Over the years since the first Harry Potter book came out, we've been tainted in a way. If a person is not constantly re-reading, then facts just seem to find their way out of our minds. The first book seems so long ago that much of it has been forgotten, which is the base of all else. So going back to this coveted first book, we can see a peek of the first ever descriptions of these five characters:
Neville Longbottom - "He [Harry] passed a round-faced boy..."
Ron - "...talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair." ... "He [Ron] was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose."
Harry - "Harry had a thin face, knobby knees, black hair, and bright green eyes, he wore round glasses held together with Scotch tape because of all the time Dudley had punched him on the nose. The only thing he liked about his appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning."
Hermione - "She had a bossy voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth."
Dean - "...a black boy even taller than Ron..."
These simple details fall through the cracks. Now be honest, when looking at the above sketch for the first time, was your mental image of the five the same...or even close to that?
With Neville in the first scenes that we see of him, the only/main characteristic is his round face. Neville is easily seen as the kid who can't perform magic with a snap of the fingers, and most people can take his abilities for granted. Going from her first descriptions of Neville and her doodle, each flow together - there is the round face, and the bunny pajamas showing his less-than-sophisticated side. However, looks are always deceiving and from the following books, we know the hidden layers of Neville, or at least a few of them.
JKR uses much more description when it comes to Ron. The Weasley's are so known for their red hair, which is no surprise since it is the first prominent description we are given. The doodle is smack on the description, even down to the large hands and many freckles. In the sketch, Ron seems to stand out in the group as a power to be reckoned with. There is a definite air of courage from his picture, and given the rules they are about to break, his Gryffindor colours are showing through.
Harry is right there in the middle leading the group into apparent peril - always at the center living through some circumstantial danger. When I first looked over the doodle, I had the largest problem with how Harry was drawn. Personally, I thought his face was a bit too thin, and for some reason his face seemed a bit off. Despite this first impression, Harry's stance and courage can easily be seen. However, what interests me more is the quote from when Harry is first described. JKR tells us that the only feature that Harry liked of himself was his lightning bolt scar, and this was even after he found out he had received it in the "car crash" where his parents died. One would think that the scar would be a link to the sad thought of his dead parents; yet, maybe it is how Harry said in the third movie - it's not a happy memory or even a memory, but is still a link to the parents that he never knew.
From Hermione's first description, she seems like a complete bother with nothing too flattering about her appearance. Ask any female what they think of their hair and they will have some type of criticism, and most of the time it is the frizziness that is most complained about. And Hermione has a lot of bushy, frizzy hair along with two large front teeth (often times giving the dreaded beaver look). In the drawing, Hermione doesn't look like the prettiest girl in her year. However, while reading through the books, a character's inner qualities are always more prominent than their appearances, so many might see the doodle and their image of Hermione clashes given her personality affecting our perceptions.
When it comes to Dean Thomas, we get most thrown off course. He's first described during the sorting ceremony when he is called up to the front for his turn. All we know from this first glance is Dean's partial nationality and the fact that even though Ron is tall, Dean is taller. These two bits are not too much to go on for the first description, and it would seem as if this is the only time Dean's nationality is mentioned since so many people aren't aware of the fact. The doodle depicts Dean showing these features, and now as the reader, thanks to JKR, we can now have a better mental image of him.
While these doodles reflect her own words magnificently, when we see her pictures we may question it since it could easily go against our own perceptions from her words. This possibility is very viable through mis-reading, forgotten cannon, or interruption from an outside source. Let's say a fan only began with the movies first, then read the books afterwards, most likely these fans would see the actors and actresses in their mind's eye while reading. It is even common for a fan who has been very true to the books to even get those images from the movies when reading.
Perhaps it just might be best for everyone to print out her doodle to keep as a bookmarker, so that while reading no misconceptions could seep through. But then again, the one good thing about reading is that everyone will see and perceive it differently - all the fan art in this fandom will clearly show that. What do you think of her doodle? (Click on discuss to share your answer.)
Discuss!
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