House Elves in HBP :~, Was their lot improved, worse or the same ? |
 Jul 2 2009, 10:40 AM
Post
#1
|
|
Dumbledore's Personal Secretary  Posts: 4,717 Joined: 10:28am December 31, 2006 Location: At a violin concert with my boss.  |
House elves in HBP Hermione might have set S.P.E.W. on the back-burner in view of Voldemort rising from the dead and the ensuing mayhem in the wizarding world, but we do get to see many house-elves in their different avatars in HBP. Let us take them one by one.  There's the ever-ready to please Dobby who never tired of obeying Harry- even though he wasn't bound to do so. Dobbyplainly prided himself on doing a good job. He didn't seem to think that throwing himself off a tower for not doing his job properly was a little excessive. Was this because of his elf upbringing or was it his love for Harry? Did you think he seemed disappointed that Harry hadn't thought of him first when he wanted Draco followed ? Why so ?  We then move on to Kreacher who makes it clear that he hates Harry's guts and is only forced to do Harry's bidding because Sirius was very clever with the wording of his will. Kreacher, left to himself, would much rather be Draco's slave than Harry's because Draco is a pureblood - or was there something else to it ? Why do you think Harry called on Kreacher to follow Draco even though he knew Kreacher hated him ? Why not get Dobby to do it ?  The third elf we see - Hokey - is dressed better than Dobby when he was with the Malfoys. She was Hepzibah Smith's house elf and Harry notes her extreme old age and tiny size as she served her mistress. Hepzibah Smith didn't seem to mistreat her elf but she certainly bossed over Hokey - but she was also trusted with her mistress's valuables. Do you think Hokey's lot was better than Dobby's enslaved life or Kreacher's bondage ? If so, how ? What do you think of Voldemort's use of her ?  *******
This post has been edited by rowena r: Jul 2 2009, 10:41 AM --------------------  |
 |
 
 
|
|
Jul 3 2009, 06:00 PM
Post
#2
|
|
Getting Fitted for New Dress Robes Posts: 47 Joined: 7:06pm February 11, 2009 Location: England |
"He didn't seem to think that throwing himself off a tower for not doing his job properly was a little excessive. Was this because of his elf upbringing or was it his love for Harry? Did you think he seemed disappointed that Harry hadn't thought of him first when he wanted Draco followed ? Why so ?"
I think that may have been a mix of both,the excessiveness showed how much he wanted to please Harry and the method a result of his elvish upbringing. "Kreacher, left to himself, would much rather be Draco's slave than Harry's because Draco is a pureblood - or was there something else to it ? Why do you think Harry called on Kreacher to follow Draco even though he knew Kreacher hated him ? Why not get Dobby to do it ?" Hmm,not sure on this one,perhaps because he knew Kreacher was bound by Sirius' will and so couldn't disobey him-though also part of the reason he worded his order to him so cleverly.  It may be that he didn't want Kreacher causing mischief elsewhere and so had him do it instead of sending him back.Also,Kreacher is an extra pair of eyes,though I'm not sure how that helps;seeing as Dobby's would give a less biased account,as we found out."Do you think Hokey's lot was better than Dobby's enslaved life or Kreacher's bondage ? If so, how ? What do you think of Voldemort's use of her ?" Well,I think Hokey is bound just as much as Kreacher and Dobby,we see that in her carrying out her duties and praising her mistress,or lying through her teeth,or whatever Harry said ,she's stuck in the life of a House-elf and made to do far too much for her age and tiny frame  .I thought it was sad what Voldemort did to her,she was so innocent and could have found a nice wizarding family to take her in after Hepzibah's death,some must have been nice,remember the Weasley's/Molly wanted one?
|
|
|
|
|
Jul 5 2009, 12:26 PM
Post
#3
|
|
|
Just Through the Brick Wall Posts: 16 Joined: 11:55pm October 21, 2006 |
I think that Dobby's was obeying Harry because of the kindness that Harry showed to him and the fact that Hary freed him. I think maybe Kreacher liked Draco and the black family didn't treat him as cruelly as sirus did. They knew that all they had to do to use him for Voldemort was by treating him with kindness. I think Hokey was better than Dobby's because she lived with a mistress who loved her.
|
|
|
|
|
Jul 19 2009, 10:50 AM
Post
#4
|
|
|
Monster Book Stacker Posts: 368 Joined: 12:00am March 9, 2007 |
I think Dobby wanted to help Harry out of gratitude and admiration, while the manner in which he carried out his work was a reflection of his elf upbringing (i.e. the acceptance of excessive punishment for failure).
I see Kreacher's attitude toward Draco as the result of lifelong indoctrination (i.e. the "purebloods are superior" ideology of the Black family), but also as the result of Draco's blood relation to Regulus Black, Kreacher's beloved former master. Despite this, Harry knew that Kreacher was bound to obey him as long as he couldn't find any loopholes in Harry's orders. Dobby, as enthusiastic and friendly toward Harry as he was, had the tendency to go overboard in his actions. I think Harry didn't want to risk Dobby doing something which was well-intentioned, but which accidentally attracted too much attention. Hokey was as enslaved as Dobby and Kreacher in terms of having any legal rights as a magical creature. Her mistress trusted her and provided better material goods for her, such as clothes, which probably made her day-to-day life somewhat easier than the lives of other elves. But this could change at any moment, and if anything went wrong, she would have no protection under wizarding law. Her life still wasn't considered to be her own. |
|
|
|
|
Jul 20 2009, 04:31 AM
Post
#5
|
|
|
Getting Fitted for New Dress Robes Posts: 47 Joined: 7:06pm February 11, 2009 Location: England |
That's a good point about Dobby maybe attracting toomuch attention,yet,he was well-intentioned in CoS and was never caught.I doubt his enthusiasm would have led him tothis.Perhaps it would have increased with him being free and so,are you saying Kreacher was a necessary addition because of this? I didn't think of Draco being related to Regulus meaning that he was more eager to help,I think it may have just been that he was part of the Black family.
|
|
|
|
