Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Vernon Dursley's Wizard Hate is Completely Justified

Triathlon completed. 1:25 not quite as fast as I was hoping for, but got through the first one. With the Harry Potter movie coming out this Friday, I'm going to unleash part of my inner nerd and write about the books a little bit. More specifically, how Uncle Vernon is dead on in his dislike of wizards.

Book 1: The nephew he doesn't want to raise continuously gets into odd trouble. The nephew releases a giant snake which terrorizes his son, Dudley. Dudley is given a tail. He and his family are left stranded on the rock in the middle of the sea. Wizards simply didn't have the courtesy to knock on the door of his home to discus Hogwarts, rather they kept blindly sending more letters until half-giant Hagrid had to break down a door at midnight in a storm. How much fear should his family have to put up with?
Book 2: Dobby drops a dessert on the head of one of his house guests, and the owl that arrives soon after further freaks out his guests, blowing what was described as "the biggest deal of his career." Not long after that, Weasley children show up in a flying car and tear off part of his house.
Book 3: His sister gets inflated when the nephew he is being forced to care for loses his temper.
Book 4: Mr. Weasley blows apart his living room. Dudley is given a ton-tongue toffee that engorges his tongue to a dangerously large size.
Book 5: Dudley attacked by dementors. Tonks sends them on a trip to the "All-England Best Kept Suburban Lawn Competition" that doesn't exist.
Book 6: Dumbledore gives them drinks that spill everywhere and bash into their heads. This is fairly mild, and Dumbledore does seem to be the only wizard who takes their feelings into account, but after the last 5 years his predisposition to mistrust and dislikes wizards is already justified.
Book 7: They are forced to go into hiding so that the wizard who is after the nephew Vernon doesn't like doesn't torture them. His family is forced to leave their entire lives behind and disappear.

Magic has done nothing but mess with Vernon Dursley's life, no wonder he hates Harry and all the wizards that come along with him.