[HPforGrownups] GoF Ch 19

[John Walton]

No: HPFGUIDX 5853

Simon J. Branford at simon.branford at hertford.ox.ac.uk wrote:

Simon, are you SURE you're not planning to be a teacher? ::grin::
 
> We still do not suspect Moody.
> Do we have enough information yet to work out that there is something dodgy
> about him?

IMHO no, we haven't been given any reason to do so. That's actually one
criticism of JKR's style -- in the first three books she (through HHR, who
we take as fact [does anyone remember the literary term for this? I'm sure
it came up in A-level English when discussing soliloquys]) automatically
pointed the finger at poor Snapey-poo, without even considering anyone else.
Of course, every time, it turned out not to be Severus. Too black-and-white
for me.

> Why will Harry not forgive Ron?
> Why will Ron not forgive Harry?

Since this is all Harry's POV, we're led to believe that it's all Ron's
fault, and the only sniping that Harry is doing is under great provocation,
blah blah blah. I think they're BOTH childish. However, on a deeper
level...I'll restate my theory that Ron's envy and lack of self-worth will
turn out to be the tragic element in HP.

> Sirius is not telling Harry everything he knows. I got the impression that
> he was being extremely careful as to what he said.

I agree. I think we can discount the "oh, Harry's just a kid" theory, since
Sirius owes his life to Harry and Hermione. However, Sirius might (at
Dumbledore's request?) be witholding the really bad stuff.

An alternative theory (for those of you familiar with the Belgariad and
Malloreon by David Eddings) is that the Forces O'Good (tm) aren't allowed to
meddle too much with their Chosen Hero (one H. Potter), or else (a) the
Forces O'Evil (tm) can do the same or (b) they'll descend to the "dark
side". Thoughts?

> Harry, even though he is having a very hard time, feels he must even up the
> knowledge of the Champions by telling Cedric about the dragons. Discuss

Oh, it's lovable, honest, reliable, moral Harry ::puke:: who feels that he
must even up the playing field. There is such a thing as a surfeit of
scruples. However, it is possible that Harry couldn't live with himself if
he didn't tell Cedric. However, we note that he didn't tell Fleur or Viktor.
He probably feels that he "owes" Cedric something for the mermaid clue (as
we see when they're at the end of the TWT).

To conclude, I think that the Harry portrayed in this chapter is VERY
one-dimensional. I'd like to see JKR put a little more realism into him.

--John

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Crazy Ivan          john at walton.to

Fiction @ fanfiction.net:
"Potter II: The Curse of Slytherin"
http://www.fanfiction.net/master.cfm?action=story-read&storyid=26685
"Harry Potter and the Song of Time"
Search www.fanfiction.net under "song of time" for all chapters

Novel of the moment: "Winter's Heart": Robert Jordan.
What I'm humming: "We Shall Overcome": Trad.

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