Hornets

[osprey_archer]

Today I attempted to mow the lawn. It went smashingly for the first half, at which point I ran the mower over a nest of hornets, a fact which (this is, in more ways than one, painful to admit) I didn't realize for over a minute, at which point I raced into the house.

And the hornets, like tiny, evil ducklings, followed me. Into the kitchen, up the stairs, into my bedroom, out of my bedroom, WHERE IS THE FLYSWATTER?, down the stairs, back into the kitchen, WHAP. I terminated one of the hornets with extreme prejudice. The other made its getaway and is flitting around the house Plotting Revenge for my murder of its sister.

I have spent the evening medicating my stings with baking soda, and am considering medicinal s'mores.

***

On the other hand, I found an interesting link to an article about Harry Potter today: Harry Potter and the Doctrine of the Calvinists, an amusing and trenchant (and IMO convincing) explanation of how the Harry Potter universe totally has Calvinist underpinnings, except with an even scarier doctrine of predestination. Yes! Scarier than the Calvinists! You know you want to read it. (And if that's not enough, it has a really interesting argument about the Sorting Hat and the various Houses of Harry Potter.)

Comments

[entwashian.livejournal.com]

D:

I have never been stung by a bee/hornet/wasp, & I fully intend to keep it that way!

Bones approves your treatment plan.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

Good plan!

There were no marshmallows in the house, so I had medicinal hot chocolate instead of medicinal s'mores. I'm sure Bones is still okay with that.

[exuberantself.livejournal.com]

I'm totally reading that HP thing when I get home.

On the other hand, HORNETS! OMG NO. I've never been stung my anything and I have the fervent desire to continue that trend for, you know, MY ENTIRE LIFE.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

I'm curious to hear what you think of the HP thing.

Also, I am TOTALLY ON BOARD with your not-getting-stung plan. Although if you ever do get stung, baking powder paste is awfully helpful.

[exuberantself.livejournal.com]

I read the article! Before I say anything, I should preface it with this: I haven't read the sixth book at all, and I've only read the last two or so chapters of the seventh book. I don't actually care for HP at all, so I'm hard-pressed to be bothered to say anything nice about it.

That said! My Joneser friends have been explaining their beliefs to me lately (I asked). While they're technically Baptist, they have a lot of Calvinist beliefs mixed in there, specifically that of Predetermination. That said--and I'm only playing Devil's Advocate here, because I'm inclined to agree with him--the author neglects to explain that the Elect, while not strictly better than the Damned do tend to be inclined to behave in a more (for lack of a better word coming to me) saintly capacity.

However, I'm going to have to point out that I feel like there's a big flaw in his argument: the Elect and the Damned aren't actually told. The fact that there is a show made of the Sorting and, in turn, the division of students into categories can create a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you're told when you're eleven that you're going to be brave and strong, doesn't like lead you being so? For example, at the end of the first book, Neville is rewarded points for standing up to our "heroes"...maybe it's not the same sort of bravery, but even Dumbledore recognizes that it's courage nonetheless. I'm not going to go into further examples, but it's a pretty gaping hole in the argument.

Personally, I think the whole thing would have been far more interesting if the Marauders had been from different Houses. There would even have been the option of House division (rather than mere rivalry) having stemmed directly from the original group; that would have played right into Rowling's conviction of Harry's importance.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

I think (and my theology is patchy) is that good behavior is one of the signs of being Elect: therefore, someone who ceases to behave well (like, say, the part in book seven where Harry starts tossing Unforgiveable curses around) calls their status as one of the Elect into question. Whereas the Gryffindors, being known to be Elect, can behave as badly as they want and remain Elect.

And yes, I think you're absolutely right that the Sorting Hat is a self-fulfilling prophecy (although Rowling never addresses that in the books). It seems awfully unwise to continue a system that basically brands a fourth of its students as "future evil people," although bureaucratic inertia has done stupider things in the past.

The problem I see with the Marauders being from different houses is that it would almost certainly make Peter Pettigrew, our one shining example of a Gryffindor Gone Wrong, into a Slytherin; thus making Gryffindor even more obviously the perfect shiny house of light and ponies.