Happiness and Harry

[meboriqua at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 26518

 Tabouli wrote:
> 
> "As for the happiness of the characters, there's plenty of room for 
> speculation there: is Dumbledore happy?  Is Hermione?  Dudley?  The 
> Weasley twins?">

Ebony responded:
 
> What an interesting question.  As I began to think about it, I 
> realized that NONE of the characters are really very happy in the 
> truest sense of the word.  I can't help but think of the "shadow" 
> premise of my generations theory... they have happy moments (some 
> more than others--Fred and George might have more, Snape might have 
> less) but IMO none of the characters are truly content.>

Is anyone happy all the time?  I feel that there are things that make 
all of us unhappy sometimes.  For example, I am unhappy in my school 
right now because I lost my classroom and I have to share with another 
teacher.  However, I love teaching there and I adore my students.  
There is always a balancing act.

Harry to me seemed the happiest during his first year at Hogwarts.  
Everything to him then was an adventure and he was for the first time 
surrounded by people who not only genuinely liked him but who also 
knew more about him than he did about himself.  Since then he has 
dealt more directly with being ostrasized, being feared, arguing with 
his best friend, being accused of all sorts of things, and the worst - 
seeing a school mate murdered in cold blood right in front of him.  
How happy would I be?  

Hermione seems to be a fairly happy person but she puts a lot of 
pressure on herself and that can be overwhelming.  Ron has grown 
darker, especially in GoF, but I also think he was happiest in his 
first year at Hogwarts, before his jealousy started to get the best of 
him.  Snape is not a happy person to me in any way - he doesn't seem 
to enjoy teaching, harbors many a grudge, and is clearly dealing with 
his own past and trying to get over it.  Having Dumbledore's support 
probably helps him through his days.  Dumbledore is now burdend with 
the rise of Voldemort and his own inevitable aging, yet he (like I) 
loves Hogwarts and his position there, making his happiness not quite 
complete.  

As for Amber's comments about being jealous of Harry - I agree with 
Ebony that I wouldn't want to be in Harry's shoes either.  Even though 
he has the appearance of the boy who has it all, what does he have, 
really?  He knows both of his parents were murdered, he has no 
siblings to share things with, the most evil of all dark wizards is 
continually after him, and people are always staring at him, reading 
about him and asking about him wherever he goes.  Poor Harry; he 
carries an enormous burden on his shoulders and sometimes I think it 
takes everything in him to handle it.  When will he crack?  Wish I 
could give him a big hug!

--jenny from ravenclaw, who isn't kidding