Harry Not Crying

[kiricat2001]

No: HPFGUIDX 32905

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Eric Oppen" <oppen at c...> wrote:
> It's always been my impression that Harry doesn't cry for several 
different
> reasons.  Having _been_ a teenage boy myself (this admittedly was 
when
> dinosaurs roamed the earth) I can testify that crying is NOT 
socially
> acceptable for boys beyond about age five, unless in extraordinary
> circumstances such as a funeral.
> 
> Also, Harry is English---which also would discourage him from 
crying.  The
> English ideal (and any net.Englishmen or net.Englishwomen on here 
are
> welcome to correct me, but this is the impression I got while over 
there) is
> to display very little strong emotion---"that's for those bally 
wogs," and
> so on.  Sorrow and joy are both held in tightly, and anger, if 
shown at all,
> is supposed to come out in savage dry wit---think "Blackadder, 
really p*ssed
> off," or something like that.
> 
> Finally, Harry probably just retreated behind a wall of apparent
> indifference to survive at the Dursleys' residence.
> 

I have no quarrel with any of the above.  I do, however, think the 
situation at the end of GoF places Harry in a somewhat different 
position.  This is the first time that an action he had taken has led 
to a horrible outcome.  I'm talking about the death of Cedric.  Had 
Harry not insisted that Cedric share the glory of winning the Cup, 
Cedric would have lived.  Harry was being generous, but the outcome 
of that impulse led to Cedric's death.  Add to that the whole 
graveyard experience, including seeing the shades of his parents, and 
I think we're on a completely different level than simply dealing 
with the Dursleys shutting Harry in a cupboard, or ignoring his 
birthday.

Does this necessarily mean that Harry must break down and cry?  No, I 
suppose not, but I do think he'll need to find a way to deal with the 
residual emotional impact of all of this, and he's certainly not 
going to get emotional support from the Durselys, even assuming Harry 
sat them down one night and told them everything. (Like they'd even 
want to listen to him.) I would expect Harry to reach out, through 
letters, if no other way, to one or more of the adults he respects - 
Molly, Hagrid, Sirius - or that one or more of them will have a clue 
and reach out to Harry first.

Yes, Harry has shown himself to be strong in the face of adversity, 
but, hey, he's still only a 14-year-old kid and you can't assume a 
teenager will be able to handle adult situations all the time without 
gettinh a little help and guidance along the way.

Marianne