Harry Sue? (was Give Hermione credit!!!)

[saintbacchus]

No: HPFGUIDX 37504

Uncmark writes:

<snip examples of Hermione's brilliance>

<<
Hermione has been VITAL to success in all four books.
Could you picture Harry alone discovering the secret
of the Sorceror's Stone? Or the Chamber's monster?
Or learning Accio or Stupify without her assistance?
>>

Assistance is the key word here. The reason Mary Sue
is so hated is that she steals the show annoyingly.
Hermione is overwhelmingly brilliant, sure, but in a
way that's underappreciated by the main cast and
even herself sometimes. Also, she has her enemies
and she's often embarrassed and left without a snappy
comeback (as when Snape reads the Daily Prophet aloud
in Potions). She fights with her friends, too. Nobody
fights with Mary Sue, because even her enemies admire
her, albeit grudgingly.


<<
>From what I read about 'Mary Jane's' they are
generally both one-dimensional and too good to be
believed. Hermione has SEVERAL levels and works for
everything she has.
>>

They don't necessarily have to be one-dimensional;
they can actually be very well written and STILL
completely irritating. In fact, it's usually good
writers who commit the worst Mary Sues, because they
tend to have ideas that make MS worse. For instance,
feeling guilty about making her too perfect, they
give her a cute "flaw" or some kind of "angst." Or
kill her at the end and give her a big funeral.

Now, I don't see Hermione as a Mary Sue, but you
could make a case for Harry. He is occasionally
described in such glowing, reverent terms you just
want to drop a truck on him. (For instance, when
Dumbledore is asking what happened at the end of GoF.)
If he starts giving the Dursleys lip, I'll be
disappointed, because his being downtrodden there
goes a long way towards making him human. I liked his
reflection in GoF that he wishes his friends could
see The Boy That Lived all sweaty and gross and
covered in fertilizer. ...or was that PoA? I'm, uh,
pretty sure I'm not confusing canon with fanon....

In any case, while I personally don't think Harry is
irritating enough to be considered Mary Sue, it could
be argued. More easily than Hermione, even.

--Anna (likes Hermione, darnit!)