Harry Potter Character Sketch - Part 2 of 3

[catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk]

No: HPFGUIDX 17112

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., joym999 at a... wrote:
> Who is Harry as a person?  What is he like?  And how has he changed 
> and grown in the course of the four years we have known him?  How 
> does his history affect his growth and development?
> 
I've been looking forward to Harry Week, as he remains my favourite 
character, and loved this summary.  Thank you!  I just wanted to add 
a little on the various things he has had to face during the first 
four books.

In PS/SS you say

In SS/PS, he faces only a weak shadow of 
> Voldemort, and his inefficient servant Quirrell.  Harry does not do 
> much fighting or any magic; Quirrell's hands burn when he touches 
> Harry because of the "old magic" that has protected him since he 
was 
> a baby.  He basically just hangs on until Dumbledore rescues him.  

A lot is revealed about Harry's character in these scenes.  Firstly, 
he doesn't feel able to put his trust in any of the adult figures 
apart from Dumbledore - particularly refusing to explain to Professor 
McGonagall what is going on.
He has his priorities right - when Hermione is fretting about being 
expelled, he is the one to point out that it doesn't matter if 
Voldemort reaches power again by finding the Philosopher's Stone.  
This is Harry seeing the bigger picture - he is not confining himself 
to institutional thoughts and rule breaking, and knows what is more 
important. 
Ron and Hermione help him to get through all the tasks set by the 
professors.  He knows his own shortcomings, and knows he wouldn't 
have been able to get as far without them.  In fact, he relies on the 
two of them heavily throughout all four books in one way or the 
other.  Without them, it would be much harder for Harry to get to the 
usual one-on-one confontational scene he usually faces - and he knows 
this, and respects them for it.
The holding onto Quirrel, IMO, shows desperation, courage and above 
all determination.  These latter two qualities I think are integral 
to Harry's character.


> CoS, he fights the basilisk, with the help of Fawkes and Godric 
> Gryffindor's sword.  He doesn't use magic, except (presumably) 
> subconsciously to call Fawkes – he fights the Basilisk with the 
sword 
> and "kills" the 16-year old Tom Riddle with the Basilisk's fang.  

Other important character strengths are revealed here.  He has a 
sense of urgency - knows that it is important for the school and the 
Weasleys to find Ginny.  He bravely stands up to Tom Riddle, and in 
doing so, proves the strength of his loyalty to Dumbledore and all he 
stands for.  This is in the context of a great deal of self-doubt.  
At the time, he is under the impression that the hat wanted to put 
him into Slytherin.  As Dumbledore points out, it is the choices one 
makes which help form character and the path to be taken.  Harry is 
adamant that he is not going to go that way, and Fawkes and the sword 
are physical manifestations of the choices he is making.

In 
> PoA, he faces the dementors – powerful servants of the Dark Lord – 
> and he uses magic to create the Patronus which beats them.  
In GoF, 
> his magical skills have become strong enough to win the Triwizard 
> Tournament, and to escape from a powerful, reincarnated Voldemort.

In both these books, what struck me most about Harry was that the 
things he found hardest to deal with, were the things which helped 
save him in the end.  For instance, in PoA, he has an extremely 
difficult time creating his patronus.  He finds himself sucked into 
the scene of his parents' deaths, and wants to hear their voices, 
despite the fact that they are fearful and on the point of dying.  
The misery he feels is compounded by the fact that he has been 
brought up by the Dursleys.  It centres on family - his loving 
parents have been taken away from him, and he is left with people who 
seem to hate him.  I have always felt that one of the reasons Harry 
was able to summon a patronus at the end of PoA, was because the 
issues affecting him the most at the crucial time centred on family.  
He is truly happy, because he thinks that he has a godfather/guardian 
to live with - someone endorsed by his parents - their best friend.  
And one of the most important things about Harry is the fact that he 
has never experienced a loving family environment before (unless you 
can count OBHWF).

In GoF, Harry has huge problems getting to grips with the summoning 
charm.  He enlists the aid of Hermione - he is usually not too proud 
to ask for help, and relies on Hermione a great deal for aid of this 
kind.
It is this which helps him get away from Voldemort at the end of the 
book.  
Again, I think that this shows that Harry does not give up.  He is 
determined to beat his weaknesses - when he knows how crucial it is 
for him to do so.

To me, he is also a very moral character. He is not averse to 
breaking a few rules - this has been discussed at length recently - 
but it is (almost) always in order to do the right thing.  It is also 
within the context of school.  However, he always seem to have an 
instinctive grasp of the right and wrongs of the situation and acts 
upon it accordingly.

Catherine