Harry FP and Leadership

[abigailnus]

So, no sooner am I lauded for being such a hard worker then I disappear 
into the ether <g>.  Sorry, but yesterday and Thursday were extremely 
hectic, and unfortunately, the next few days will be as well.  Tomorrow is 
Yom Kippur, and I'm not certain if I'm going to be online (we never turn 
on the TV, but whether or not we use the computer is always a last minute 
decision.)  Plus, I'm going to all light-headed from fasting and probably 
won't have much that's meaningful to say.

Penny asked that I repost the Harry FP outline I wrote back in June:

1. Harry's character, development and relationships
 1.1 Harry as an abused child, including the theory that the 
 entire series is his protective halucination, or that the 
 series will end up being a dream.
 1.2 The differing views on Harry's personality - is he a 
 take-charge hero or an arrogant kid? How justified is 
 Harry's incessant rule-breaking?
 1.3 Harry's inability/unwillingness to ask for help
 1.4 Harry's relationships with adults 
 1.5 Harry's relationships with his contemporaries. The Rift 
 in GoF, and maybe Harry's treatment of Neville.
 1.6 Harry's reactions to fame.
 1.7 Harry failing 
 
2. Harry's purpose, abilities and destiny
 2.1 Why did Harry survive? Straight up love protection, 
 Love as a Spell Component and Ancient Magic.
 2.2 Is Harry special, and how? Stoned!Harry, Trelawney's 
 First Prediction and Heir of Gryffindor.
 2.3 Harry's abilities - is Harry simply a talented wizard, 
 or a preternaturally powerful one?
 2.4 Was the Philosopher's Stone ordeal rigged?
 2.5 Will Harry die? Will defeating Voldemort cost him his 
 magical powers? Will he be forced to leave the 
 wizarding world?

I had the following thoughts regarding this outline in view of OOP:

>>Looking at this outline from a post-OOP standpoint, there 
 are some obvious necessary changes. Almost all of section 
 1 needs to address the changes in Harry's personality in OOP 
 and how those changes affect his future. In particular, section 
 1.2, Harry's personality, needs to include discussions on Harry's 
 development, and on what his behavior in OOP tells us about 
 him. Is he a normal boy going through adolescence? Are his 
 outbursts normal for the amount of pressure he's under? Is he 
 suffering from mental problems such as depression or PTSD (this 
 one might belong in section 1.1)?
 
 Section 1.3 remains mostly unchanged, although I think a 
 discussion of Harry's reactions to Umbridge might belong here 
 - why doesn't he speak out against her punishment and what 
 does that tell us about him? For that matter, an important 
 theme in OOP is self-control, and Harry's lack thereof - that 
 might also belong here or in 1.2.
 
 Section 1.4 will have to be expanded. I'm thinking that 
 sub-sections will be necessary at least for Snape, Dumbledore 
 and Sirius, and possibly Hagrid. I really think that the theory 
 that these men and others are Harry's father-figures belongs 
 here, and there has to be some discussion about how Harry is 
 consistently failed by adults in OOP. I also think that 
 generational parallels - with James, Sirius and Snape - should be 
 discussed in this section.
 
 In section 1.5, there should obviously be some discussion 
 of how Harry treats his friends and contemporaries in OOP. I 
 said in my original message that Shipping was already 
 well-covered by other FPs and shouldn't be discussed here, 
 but I think Harry's relationship with Cho tells us a lot about 
 him and about his growth, and should probably be addressed 
 here. I also think that in view of the prophecy it's important to 
 include a discussion of Harry and Neville as mirror images of 
 each other.
 
 I suggested section 1.7 because the main group had recently 
 discussed at length whether or not Harry would fail in his fight 
 against Voldemort. In OOP, he did just so - does this make this 
 section superfluous or should it remain?
 
 Section 2 should probably remain largely unchanged, with the 
 exception of section 2.2. Harry is obviously special, and 
 Trelawney's first prediction has panned out. However, I've seen 
 posts on the main group that continue to defend both 
 Stoned!Harry and Heir of Gryffindor, so they should probably 
 remain. However, this section will obviously have to include 
 discussions of the prophecy. Similarly, section 2.5 will also have 
 to be updated in light of the prophecy. In fact, I'm wondering if a 
 section devoted to the prophecy might not be in order.>>

As far as leadership is concerned.  Cindy rightly pointed out that no-one 
is going to undertake to be a leader, so the discussion is purely academic.  
In addition, my recent work as a list elf has got me thinking about the 
differences between the type of work done on the two groups.  Mod (or 
whatever it is that it's being called these days) has a lot more work to do 
then FAQ, but it is highly dispersed, broken up into tiny pieces, and relatively 
quickly dispatched.  Our work, on the other hand, will ultimately be mostly 
singular, and will take a lot more time.  This, I suspect, is why it's harder to 
motivate FP writers then list elves.  It's also why I think a leader might not be 
as effective as we might like.  Bottom line, no one can make us or order us to 
do anything.  We're all here of our own volition, and what we accomplish is up 
to us.

Abigail