A harry potter question (goblet of fire)

[David_B]

hazel-rah said:

Consistency is not JK Rowling’s strength as a writer.

I have noticed other similar things (though I’ve forgotten the specifics by now – except the one mentioned by kaylasdad, which I also noticed at the time) and, of course, the question of how three kids could make it through the best traps ever laid by Wizards to protect the Sorcerer’s Stone – but I have to keep reminding myself that this is, after all, a series meant for children. Whenever you have a series like this, the child is going to be able to pull things off that adults couldn’t, and, yes, there are going to be inconsistencies because being consistent just isn’t as important.

[ITR_champion]

*Originally posted by hazel-rah *
**There is a sentient painting guarding the door to the Gryffindor dormitory and students aren’t allowed to wander the grounds at night… yet the sentient painting not only lets students come and go as they please, it never tattles on them either?
**

Didn’t they explain in Prisoner of Azkaban that as long as you have the password, the painting has to do what you tell it? Sirius Black was able to enter the tower because he had the password.

[Chronos]

OK, I didn’t check day-of-the-week matches, but Lupin’s bouts of sickness are properly timed. I’ll say no more on that, in case there’s anyone in the thread who hasn’t read Azkaban.

And one of the books mentions Dudley throwing his Playstation out the window, which according to the internal chronology would have been a couple of months after the Playstation was released. Consistent with how long it’d take Dudley to accquire and then become bored/frustrated with an expensive new toy.

[kaylasdad99]

*Originally posted by Chronos *
**OK, I didn’t check day-of-the-week matches, but Lupin’s bouts of sickness are properly timed. I’ll say no more on that, in case there’s anyone in the thread who hasn’t read Azkaban.

And one of the books mentions Dudley throwing his Playstation out the window, which according to the internal chronology would have been a couple of months after the Playstation was released. Consistent with how long it’d take Dudley to accquire and then become bored/frustrated with an expensive new toy. **

Not quite, I’m afraid. [url=“http://psx.ign.com/articles/060/060188p1.html”]This site[/url
] shows a history of the PlayStation, that has the product first shipping in Japan in December, 1994. Several months after Dudley allegedly threw his out the window in England.

On preview, I see the link doesn’t work. No Matter. Google “Playstation, history”, and you’ll get the link.

[hazel-rah]

Didn’t they explain in Prisoner of Azkaban that as long as you have the password, the painting has to do what you tell it? Sirius Black was able to enter the tower because he had the password.

Well… then how come in the first book, some of the main characters get locked out of their dorm because the lady in the painting wanders off for a while? You get the sense that the paintings doesn’t have to do anything they don’t want to, really. Isn’t that why after Sirius shredded the normal painting, they could only get Sir Cadogan to be the new guard… none of the other paintings were willing to risk it?

The whole Playstation debate is kind of silly. Clearly these books are not taking place in the real world. If you can believe that magic exists, surely you can accept a little variation in the timeline of home video gaming?