Amos Diggory: Bona Fide Jerk
Here we are in Goblet of Fire, Chapter 8, and you know what? Amos Diggory is being a jerk.
I know, I know. No one wants to kick the guy who loses his only son (I’m assuming Cedric doesn’t have any supernaturally nice, perfectly coiffed siblings – correct me if I’m wrong). But with a dad like Amos, you have to wonder where Cedric got his charm. Mrs. Diggory must have the people skills of a seasoned diplomat.
I'm a dislikable human being, but you're forced to feel bad for me at the end of the book. Fiction is cruel. Deal with it!
Amos is at best, irksome. At worst, infuriating. We’ll come to find later in the book that he has a tendency to say things akin to “My son is gonna whoop your derriere” whenever Harry is around. I can sort of forgive that faux pas. He’s a proud father and his son is representing Hogwarts in the Triwizard Tournament. Amos’ adoration for his boy is almost endearing (“That’s my son! That’s my boy! It’s my boy!” – did I just make you sad?)
What gets to me about Amos is how he treats Winky. I’m not about to join Hermione’s S.P.E.W. campaign (she goes a little off the deep end with that one), but as an employee of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, you’d think he’d have a bit more sympathy for an elf.
Or maybe not! Maybe years of keeping Beasts, Spirits, Goblins, Centaurs, and other magical non-humans at bay has hardened him. Have one too many run-ins with an angry Centaur and you’re bound to lose some of your compassion.
Still, Amos’ cruelty to Winky brings up the whole House-Elves issue in the Harry Potter universe. I don’t really want to go there now because it takes away from my Amos Diggory whining, but it’s pretty atrocious how elves are treated by mostly everyone.
That doesn’t excuse Amos, of course. I just recognize that blaming an elf for something a wizard did is nothing new. There’s no logic to Amos’ accusations – Winky wouldn’t know how to cast the Dark Mark even if she wanted to – just as there’s no logic to Barty Crouch firing her (or rather “giving her clothes”).
What do you think? Is Amos a jerk? Do you understand where he’s coming from? Does it bug you that he’s far more likable in the film than he is in the book?
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I know I’m moving a little slower these days with the re-read, but remember to read along. We’re into Chapter 9 next!
This is really about your underlying hatred toward Hufflepuffs, right?
Well timed response! I actually just threw a disclaimer on my “Pottermore: Will You End Up a Hufflepuff” entry, because people are taking it far too seriously.
That said, Amos Diggory is really a jerk!
Yes, I saw that, because for the last twenty minutes the responses have been popping into my email.
Of course, after being sorted into Ravenclaw, I don’t mind you dissing Hufflepuff any more.
Oh! If you subscribe to comments and I slack on approving them, you receive them all at once when I finally get around to it? I didn’t realize that (((the more you know)))
So much for my Ravenclaw intelligence!
Wizards are not generally known for their logical thinking… I think it was Hermione that said something like that in CoS.
That said, what about being likeable? Who is the most likeable character in the Potterverse? Lots of people hate Harry, or have hated him. Ron is probably the most liked one of the threesome, but all three of them have had their moments to show their infuriating humanity. My guess is that the most likeable person is one you know least about. (That way you don’t know them well enough to see their flaws.) Cedric. So what about Amos? He definitely has the parental pride: forgiveable, imo. Clueless in the logic department: mainstream wizard-like. There are many wizards that are less likeable though: Snape, Draco, all the death eaters; I could go on and on until I got to Voldemort himself.
I, honestly, have been talking to my younger brother and complaining about Amos. I don’t care if he lost a son. At the time, he had no excuses. Nowadays, his boasting is probably ignored.