[HPFGU-Movie] Adaptation

[Sherry Garfio]

Valerie Flowe <valerie.flowe at verizon.net> replied to me:
    Sirius slips up a lot in OotP, showing his true colors in spite of his good intentions (selfish, self-pitying, alcohol-abusing, insensitive (to young Snape, young Lupin and Harry. Even Kreacher). So why do I love his character so??? :-)
   
  He¹s intriguing. Dark. Tortured. And yet still, in the end, risks his life to save Harry at the ministry. His loyalty to James and Lily (and thus Harry) leave you feeling that in spite of all of his faults, he has strong moral fiber.
   
  Yes, and after I wrote my last post, I started pondering Sirius's behavior in OotP with regard to Harry as well.  Sirius's feelings toward Harry are further complicated by his relationship with James.  He loves Harry not only because he's supposed to as his godfather, but also because Harry is a substitute for James.  Sirius hasn't really had to come to terms with James's death until OotP.  He was locked up in Azkaban immediately after James's death, and spent most of his term there focused on his own innocence (to keep himself sane) and Peter's treachery.  I'm sure he spent a lot of time agonizing over the deaths as well, but not in a coming-to-terms sort of way due to the presence of the dementors, and in any case he hasn't been in his normal life without James, which is where people really come to terms with the death of a loved one (doing "normal" things and feeling the absence of the dead person who should be there).  In GoF, he was on the run and using Harry as a substitute
 for James, and therefore still did not have much time to deal with James's death.
   
  There are several occasions in OotP where Sirius expects Harry to behave like James, and finally he voices this when he tells Harry that he's not so much like his father after all.  Ouch.  I wondered when I read that if he's trying to goad Harry into living up to his expectations of being a replacement for James, or if it's an "a-ha" moment for Sirius where he finally realizes that Harry is NOT James and that this is an unfair expectation.  I still haven't decided; maybe it's both.  As for risking his life to rescue Harry at the Ministry, was he really rescuing Harry, or was he trying to make up for what happened to James?
     
  That said, I was always a bit sad to see Lupin leave at the end of POA. He and Harry really bonded and he (more than Sirius) seemed to be the kind-hearted, confidante, substitute parent role model that Harry had craved/deserved all his life. I find it unfortunate that JKR dropped that nice relationship in OotP and certainly in HBP. Lupin appears here and there with no more major bonding with Harry. Sad. And now Harry¹s even lost Dumbledore. What¹s the poor boy to do?!

  Amen to that!  Unfortunately, I think that Sirius's death and Lupin's absence are both part of the stripping away of Harry's support system like in most archetypal fantasy hero coming-of-age stories (Luke Skywalker, Frodo, etc).  The final blow is Dumbledore's death.  Even Snape, who antagonizes Harry but has always been there to save his butt in a pinch, is gone now, presumably turned enemy.  These events force Harry to grow up and take his place as hero.
   
  Sherry Garfio
  AKA The Other Sherry
   


"Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open."
    -- Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire



__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com 

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]