Complexity of the Books

[Penny & Bryce Linsenmayer]

No: HPFGUIDX 5359

Hi --

Peg Kerr wrote:

> It's easy and tempting and reassuring when things seem safe, to look
> back and say, "Oh, I saw it, or I should have known.  Peter Pettigrew,
> always tagging along, such a sneak--of course he wasn't really one of
> us."
>
> But he was.  THAT'S why it is so scary.  He was one of us, and we have
> to be very brave to admit it.  That capacity for evil is in each one
> of us, even the bravest and the best. That's why (until Dumbledore
> talks to him about it in CoS) Harry is so haunted by the idea that he
> should have been placed in Slytherin. He senses that capability for
> evil in himself.  Sure, JKR's world is simple--the battle between good
> and evil--but at the same time it is very complex.  It's not just us
> vs. them.  The battle for good and evil is played out within each
> person, too.  And the outcome is not always easily seen.  Who can
> fathom, from outside appearances, the human heart, even and perhaps
> especially when the heart is your own?

This is very well-said Peg.  Thanks as always for your thoughts.  That's
why I disagree with Zsenya that this series is straight-forward and
targeted at children.  There's just so much more to it than what
"appears" to be on the surface.  JKR throws more than a few curve balls
our way.  IMO anyway.  :--)

Penny



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