Dursleys Defended

Blog Post 7

In class on Thursday, a fellow classmate pointed out that he is beginning to feel pity for the Dursleys. He explained that all the Dursleys ask for is to lead a magic free life, but instead every year a very unfortunate magical accident occurs directly involving them; he feels that the Dursleys don’t deserve the magic that happens to them.

Thinking back, the magic that happens to the Dursleys is highly unfortunate. First, Dudley gets a python set on him as well as getting a pigtail for a new accessory. The next year their dinner guest (whom Vernon is trying very hard to impress) gets a pudding dropped on his wife’s head. The year after that Vernon’s sister gets blown up like a balloon and the following year came with Dudley’s tongue becoming the size of a giant squid’s tentacle. Up until the Order of the Phoenix, most of these incidents are clearly meant to be comical. They’re quite ridiculous and supposed to invoke humour in the audience. As well as the fact that the Dursley’s clearly abuse Harry physically and emotionally, we are definitely not supposed to feel bad for them.

But is that feeling supposed to change in Order? The magical incident this year is definitely not humorous. Harry and Dudley get two dementors sent after them in the middle of their muggle neighborhood. Dudley nearly gets kissed before he swiftly gets saved by Harry. Even though the boys are safe, Dudley is highly shaken up after the dementor attack and who wouldn’t be? Dementors bring the worst feeling in the world with them: hopelessness. They make you feel like you’ll never be happy again. Even though Dudley is quite obviously a pretty horrible person who has terrorized Harry his whole life and bullies little kids around the neighborhood, does he deserve to be kissed by a dementor and lose his soul?

When Dudley returns to the house, Petunia and Vernon are characteristically angry. Vernon gets his infamous purple face from yelling too much while Petunia fusses over Dudley. As they start to gain understanding that Voldemort’s back, Vernon immediately wants Harry out of his house. If the most famous wizard of all time is after Harry he [Vernon] doesn’t want his wife and son in danger, too. And should we blame him?

In Order of the Phoenix it seems our feelings of the Dursleys shouldn’t be so clear. While the Dursleys still are no saints, do they deserve what happens to them? They didn’t ask to take Harry in, he was placed on them. While any normal person would’ve taken in their deceased sister’s child without question or hatred of the child, at least they still took him in so he would be safe from Lord Voldemort. They raised Harry, however they abused him the entire time. Dudley’s used Harry as a punching bag since they were little and Petunia and Vernon have been using him as a house service since he could walk. But do they deserve to be made a fool of, have their son nearly doomed, or be under possible attack from the greatest dark wizard of all time?

Personally, I think yes. The Dursleys are disgusting child abusers who should’ve loved Harry regardless of the fact that they disagreed with his parents. He was orphaned at one year old and they should’ve pitied Harry and treated him like a son raising him right… Although now that I think about it, maybe raising him the same way they raised Dudley probably wouldn’t be much better…

All I’m saying is that in Order of the Phoenix things are changing. Voldemort’s back, the wizarding war is inevitable, and you don’t know who to trust. Nothing is clean cut anymore and maybe the way we feel about the Dursleys isn’t supposed to be either.