Reactions to Philosopher's Stone Chapter 2

• Our first indications of what year it is. We are “nearly ten years” after the previous chapter. We will quickly figure out that the difference is that between the summer between school years and November.
• [Harry] sleeps in a cupboard under the main staircase in the house.
• Dudley is described as attempting to use [Harry] in place of a punching bag.
• [Harry] is small and skinny for his age. We do not know how small compared to his peers. Is he still with standard growth charts, even if on the low end? Were either [James] or [Lily] small for their age at eleven?
• Dudley is described as attempting to use [Harry] in place of a punching bag.
• [Harry] gets a hair cut once a week in a vain attempt to control his messy hair. How long is [Harry]’s hair, do the Dursleys consider it messy the way a girl’s long hair can get messy, or the way a young boy might need to start smoothing down his hair when growing out a crew cut?
  • From the typical book cover art, we envision something more resembling a bowl cut, and yet this style is noted for not needing a barber, which the text says [Harry] is sent to. Perhaps because hair cutting is messy and Petunia dislikes that?
  • The impression that his hair is on the longer side is reinforced by the description of Petunia’s one attempt at barbering.
• [Harry] and Dudley are turning eleven, they should be in what England calls Year Six.¹ That’s really late for him to still be having trouble adding two to 36, no matter how intellectually challenged he is. The implication that Dursley has been ignoring school recommendations to either hold Dudley back a year or place him in some sort of remedial program is quite strong. That is, of course, assuming that in England parents would have final say in such decisions. I believe the do here, I not sure if that is the case there or not.
• As critical as I am of the Dursleys, I read the threat to keep him locked in the cupboard “until Christmas” as simple blustering. The use of hyperbole is fairly common in every day speech.
• Again at the end of this chapter we have descriptions of what we in retrospect know are witches and wizards, but who are not wearing robes, simply oddly dressed.

[Harry]: </Harrypedia/people/Potter/Harry James/>/ [Lily]: </Harrypedia/people/Evans/Lily J/> [James]: /Harrypedia/people/Potter/James/