[HPforGrownups] Re: Parallel Theory (WAS: Draco's redemption)

[Zorb17 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 33369

Christi said
<<I think the parallel theory is possible, but if Draco=Snape, 
Harry=James, Ron=Sirius, and Neville=Peter who would Hermione be 
parallel to, Sirius or Lily. And if Hermione is parallel to Lupin, 
who would be parallel to Lily(I imagine the GIANTCUSHION members 
would be happy to provide an answer to that one). Ron has several 
similarities to Sirius such as short temper and being Harry's best 
friend. Sirius feels like he betrayed James and Lily, so the 
theory would not exclude Ron betraying Harry. Lupin was very much a 
part of the MPWP so Hermione would be the closest parallel, but as 
far as we know Hermione does not have some terrible secret. And 
Harry saw Neville in his mind when he heard about Peter, so that's 
fairly likely as a parallel. But Neville is not particularly tied to 
HRH after SS/PS and he doesn't seem ambitious. We know so little 
about Lily that it is hard to find a parallel, but James may not 
have noticed Lily until his fifth year or later. It's an interesting 
theory but one with holes, and it may be too predictable.>>

I think you're going a little far with what I said.  I don't mean that the characters are carbon copies of their predecessors, merely that they fulfill similar roles in Harry's and James's lives.

Harry/James is the Leader.  Draco/Snape is the nemesis from the opposing house.  Ron/Sirius has the similarities you mentioned, but I would also say that Ron parallels Peter.  This theory does not require that every single character have a counterpart, however, nor that having one counterpart excludes having another (see Ron).  As you said, that would be predictable and, frankly, disappointing.  I'd be the first person to caution against trying to equate characters exactly, as they are all, in the end, unique individuals.  Harry, for example, is a combination of James and Lily through pure genetics.  I do think that parallels are useful for predicting the actions of characters in certain roles.


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