Seeking: Is it meant to be a good thing?

[Melody <Malady579@hotmail.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 48178

Hi all.  Now I may be just a little too melancholy this evening, or I
may be misunderstanding the text, but I have a thematic problem with
Harry Potter.  An inconsistency possibly.  And it all revolves around
the concept of "seeking".


We all know the creed of Voldemort proclaimed by Quirrell in the
mirror room.  "There is no good and evil, there is only power and
those to weak to seek it." (PS/SS Ch 17)

The key to this statement is the word "seek".  Why is it that word
changes everything?  A basic non-Potter view of seeking is...wait let
me find the dictionary..."to try and obtain."  Nothing wrong with
that, is there?  We all seek our breakfast every morning.  And yet,
the HP series bad guy creed seems to imply that seeking is wrong.

My question is what is the definition of "seeking" in HP text?

The act of seeking in the creed brings dishonor to the intentions
behind the action.  After all, there is nothing wrong with power.
Power can be abused but that is always possible whether the person
receiving the power by seeking it or not.  So then, the whole problem
with Voldemort seems to be that he seeks when he should just be given.

This view of Quirrell's statement is held up later with the
introduction of Crouch Sr.  He sought after power and wanted to
achieve greatness.  He is presented to the reader as someone who
desired a bit too much and brought on his own downfall because of it.
 Not that the power he was desiring to achieve was wrong, but the fact
he *sought* it.  Oh his mind was bent on it.  It consumed him.  It
drove his to focus on little else, and yet it is presented that if he
was truly the one for the job, he should of just performed his job
honorably and waited for the public to recognize whether he is worthy
for the job.  That he is the one to have such power bestowed on him.

But, Crouch Sr. desired the privilege to be MoM.  He deeply wanted to
be so revered.  He wanted it so much that he sought after the title.
He did all he could to show the public that *he* was worthy of that
job.  That seems to be the definition of HP "seeking."  That it is
presented to be wrong in this series by JKR.

Want another example?  Sirius also is presented as seeking for Harry.
 He was so driven it consumed a whole year of his life.  Yes, later we
learn that Sirius was actually driven to protect Harry, but his
seeking was painted as not an honorable affair even when we discover
that he was truly after Peter.  Dumbledore told Harry, "Sirius has not
acted like an innocent man." (PoA, Ch 21)  His act of seeking was not
a good thing.  Even if the truth behind *why* he acted that way was
told to the public, it is implied that they would find his method of
achieving his goal as not honorable.  And what did he do?  He sought.

Yes both examples turned aside their life and focused on this one
goal, which caused their downfallen status, but I do not think that is
*always* implied in the text.  My problem with the "seeking is bad"
viewpoint that I think is presented clearly in this series is:

Our little hero is a *Seeker*.  He plays a game where his whole
purpose is to have complete tunnel vision for one individual object
that is hard to catch.  Hmmm, see any parallels?

So I wonder, why is it that it is all right for *Harry* to seek, but
not anyone else?  Why is it that he is being taught it is perfectly
fine to seek after a single goal so intensely, and yet it is not all
right for Voldemort or Crouch Sr. to do such a thing?

After all what is so different from a snitch and power?  Both bring
the capturer a lot of fame and accolades.  Both have a lot of pressure
attached.  Both can only be singularly possessed and is achieved
against an opponent [well in *most* political systems.  No, actually
it should be *all* political systems because you can always murder a
dictator, but I digress in my footnote...].

So I ask, is this inconsistent?  Is the problem supposed to be the act
of seeking on Voldemort's and Crouch Sr.'s behalf, or is it that they
went *too* far in their seeking?  And if the answer is that 'they went
too far', then please explain why it is ok for Harry?  Is there is a
limit to how far one should go in seeking power?  One should not, say,
break their arm for a silly thing like power?  <g>

And yet, the creed does not say that.  It is the *seeking* that is
bad.  It is the seeking that taints well-meaning people.

Please show me where my logic is wrong.  This greatly bothers me.

Is the act of seeking shown as wrong in the series?


Melody