There are two things that jump out in this chapter regarding generosity,
The first is Hagrid’s focus on wishing Harry Potter on his birthday. His first 3 actions from the start of the chapter are to eliminate any and all distractions to achieving this singular goal. (1) He fits the door back into the frame to decrease the noise inside the hut. (2) He pushes Dudley out from the couch. (3) He ties Vernon’s rifle into a knot to shut him up. All to present an unsolicited birthday cake for Harry.
The second, Which I believe is even more generous is him saying Voldemort’s name out loud. He battles his own inhibitions here and goes out of his way to tell Harry the truth, which while being very generous also acts as a precedent to the altruistic virtue of Hagrid.
Other compelling thoughts.
- I have this weird feeling that maybe the hatred of Harry by Petunia is due to her being jealous of Lily?
- There’s the line where Harry thinks Hagrid is talking about school, that he knows a little bit of Math and his marks weren’t bad after all. It added a layer of innocence to the wide range of negative emotions on show in the scene.
- This was the first time I learned James and Lily were head boy and head girl.
- The first appearance of Voldemort’s cruel laughter, a nightmare that haunts Harry Potter throughout.
We should also invent a word for “delaying something you don’t want to do, hoping you won’t ever have to do it but, deep down you know you have to”. The Dursleys’ did it with Harry, till a literal giant was banging on the door of their hut in the middle of a sea. I’m doing it with the gecko(s). It’s not procrastination, Procrastination is too liberal, too broad.