The Issue with Dobby's Death (BOOK vs MOVIE) - Harry Potter Explained

Описание: Hey everyone,

Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video, we’re going to be taking a look at one of the most beloved, innocent, and selfless characters of the entire series- Dobby. More specifically, we’re going to be discussing Dobby’s death- and how it’s portrayal differed from book to film.

Dobby, the big-hearted house-elf, first makes his way in to our lives in the Chamber of Secrets- when he enters the home of #4 privet drive at one of the most inopportune times. You see, the day Dobby decided to visit Harry Potter at the Dursley residence happened to be the same day that Vernon Dursley- Harry’s terrible uncle, had a very important business dinner with clients.

The Chamber of Secrets was the first example of Dobby exhibiting extreme heroism- as he tries desperately to prevent Harry from returning to Hogwarts- hoping to save his life. The actions he took in visiting Harry were technically in defiance of his current masters.

"Harry Potter must NOT go back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year!"

Dobby, who served the Malfoys, knew of the plan to reopen the Chamber of Secrets during Harry Potter's second year at Hogwarts. For this reason, he began to intercept Harry’s mail. When Harry finds out what Dobby had been doing, he was furious, but Dobby’s actions were entirely selfless- he just wanted Harry to be safe. When Harry refuses Dobby’s request, he ends up dumping Aunt Petunia’s pudding all over the house guests.

As I mentioned, this was just the first example of Dobby acting selflessly to protect Harry. Dobby’s big-hearted nature quickly becomes apparent to the reader- earning a special place in our hearts. Unfortunately, however, Dobby eventually became another one of the casualties suffered in the wizarding war- sacrificing himself to protect Harry and his friends- helping them to escape from Malfoy Manor. In this video, I want to discuss Dobby’s death- and how it varied from book to film.

Here’s the thing: Dobby, though crucial to the story, is considerably less developed in the film than in the books. This is ultimately one of the reasons that his death wasn’t as impactful as it should have been. In the film, Dobby was barely anything more than the Malfoy’s former house-elf who warned Harry about the Chamber of Secrets - and later appearing once again to save them from the Death Eaters. The Dobby of the books was just SO much more than that, which is one of the reasons why his death was so heartbreaking. Dobby’s whole story was glossed over- and his death simply didn’t have the emphasis that it should have. Instead of an astounding, selfless act of heroism, Dobby’s death served as more of a transition point between the two Deathly Hallows movies. It just didn’t have the ‘impact’ that it deserved- as the focus wasn’t placed on him- but moreso the trio and the continuation of the plot. The books bear a very different representation- starting with the sheer heroism exhibited by Dobby by returning to the home of his old masters.

‘Dobby’s enormous, tennis-ball-shaped eyes were wide; he was trembling from his feet to the tips of his ears. He was back in the home of his old masters, and it was clear that he was petrified.’

Returning to the Malfoy manor required just as much courage as any worthy Gryffindor, and it served as a testament to just how far Dobby would go to help Harry. But here’s the thing- not only did Dobby have to return to the manor, he ended up having to defy his old masters- even going as far as to try to intentionally harm them. You see, it was Dobby that dropped the chandelier that hung above Bellatrix:


Join this channel to get access to perks:
   / @harrypottertheory  

Please LIKE / SUBSCRIBE / SHARE to support the channel

Leave your video ideas down below!

Thanks!

Instagram -   / hptheory  


All content falls under fair use: any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and “transformative” purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work. Such uses can be done without permission from the copyright owner.