[HPforGrownups] Re: HP morally questionable? Discuss...

[Morag Traynor]

No: HPFGUIDX 17219

I think the one time when Harry breaks the rules out of pure self-indulgence 
is his second trip to Hogsmeade and he ends up feeling pretty bad about 
that.  In the first place, he's a bit rotten to poor Neville, who has also 
been left out of the trip and is clearly feeling a bit lonely.  Harry 
doesn't really see this because his one idea is to get to Hogsmeade.  In 
Hogsmeade, he takes advantage of his invisibility cloak to vent his 
frustrations on Malfoy - I'm not blaming him for this so much - Malfoy asked 
for it, and the cloak evened things up a bit - but Malfoy showdowns are 
usually face to face with Harry relying on his innate abilities and/or his 
friends.  Then he lies to a teacher and gets into a slanging match with him, 
admittedly the latter under provocation.
(Aside on Snape's disciplinary skills - he doesn't handle this very well - 
listening to a sneak, charging ahead without enough evidence, insulting a 
pupil's dead parent...tsk tsk!)  Though we're on his side, Harry isn't 
looking like a role model here.  We can see that Lupin (showing Snape how 
it's done ;) ) is right, and Harry is wrong.  Harry pays dearly for a few 
Zonko items and the fleeting satisfaction of slinging mud at Malfoy.

Scott wrote: <snip interesting comments on rule-breaking in HP>
>
>--Not at all. Sorry Eggplant but I really disagree here. I mean I do
>not refute (in fact I readily agree) that blind faith is extremely
>dangerous, but I do not see how you can justify that evil couldn't
>have been defeated without Harry breaking rules. As someone else
>pointed out in GoF Harry isn't breaking any rules by praticipating in
>the TWT or in fighting V in the graveyard scene. True in PS/SS he
>broke the rules, but it could have been resolved otherwise had that
>choice been made, the same goes for CoS, though to a lesser extent
>IMHO, but in PoA they were following Dumbledore's orders (sort of),
>not breaking rules. I guess I'm just confused.

They are not "following Dumbledore's orders" (wouldn't that be blind faith?) 
- Dumbledore doesn't give any orders, just hints about the resources 
(time-turner, Hippogriff) at their disposal.  They are breaking *laws*, not 
just school rules, but they *are* acting morally, and (I think this is 
important) risking the consequences, as is Dumbledore.  This is a clear case 
where evil would have triumphed without rule-breaking.  You're right, it is 
the tension between rules and moral actions that is fascinating. Noble 
actions can have bad consequences - it was noble, and morally right - to 
save Wormtail's life, even though the consequences are bad.

HP isn't "morally questionable" as the original article had it - it asks 
moral questions, which is why it will be read when books that equate 
morality with "doing what grown-ups tell you" are gathering dust.

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