Some Sirius Black Questions.

[elfundeb]

No: HPFGUIDX 36376

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "dicentra_spectabilis_alba" <bonnie at n...> 
wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at y..., "nyarth_meow" <rshuson80 at y...> wrote:
> > Apologies if this has been covered before, but I was wondering if 
I'm 
> > the only person who thinks Black isn't quite all that he appears? 
> > OK, all I have is gut-feeling and no real evidence, but I'm 
> > interested to know if anyone else has the same?
> 
Dicentra took a deep breath and responded: 
> 
> Ok, first of all, these and other Sirius issues were hammered out
> about a month ago: go back and see what you can find during 
February.
> 
> But because there are only 38,000 posts for the average newbie to 
sort
> through and because the Sirius FAQ isn't up yet, I'll give you a 
brief
> summary on what you've asked. 
> > 
> > As for his emotional stability, most folks agree that he's a 
volatile
> person to begin with, or at the least he's suffering from
> post-traumatic stress syndrome. Notice, however, that in GoF he's a
> perfectly sane, logical person.
> 
My two Knuts: 

I think it is the sane logical Sirius that appears in GoF, more than 
any other, that has raised questions in many minds, at least mine, 
about Sirius.  The Sirius of the Prank, and the Sirius of PoA (till 
about halfway through the Shrieking Shack), is indeed a very volatile 
person, a person of unthinking action rather than calm reflection.  
He then pulls off a sudden transformation, which led some folks to 
question whether he has sociopath/psychopath tendencies, able to pull 
out the charm when necessary.  In GoF he seems so calm, so 
thoughtful, so methodical, in fact the antithesis of the spontaneous, 
uncontrolled person he was portrayed as in most of PoA.  Surely 
someone who was as wild as Sirius appeared to be at Hogwarts, who 
rode around on a (possibly Muggle) motorcycle, and who spent 12 
years -- virtually his entire adulthood -- at Azkaban could not have 
had the life experiences to display the maturity he shows in GoF.  As 
a result, I think the question whether Sirius really is what he seems 
is very legitimate; I've harbored my own suspicions about him.  in 
fact, on first reading, I had concluded that Harry's desire to live 
with someone so seemingly unstable as Sirius reflected nothing more 
than a desperate desire to leave the Dursleys and spend time with 
someone who knew his parents.

On further reflection, and after reading all of the February posts 
(in arrears), I have backed off the sociopath assessment (though I 
have not entirely ruled it out).  Instead, I wonder if this is not 
simply a case of making Sirius serve too many conflicting purposes in 
the plot.  The Sirius of PoA had to appear dangerous to be a 
believable murderer, so his personality is presented as highly 
volatile -- and it can't be fully explained by post-traumatic stress, 
because some of the episodes that are revealed that support his lack 
of reflectiveness, such as the Prank, occurred before his 
imprisonment (unless, of course, someone invents a traumatic home-
life backstory for him).  But the Sirius of GoF is Harry's mentor 
figure, so he has to be thoughtful and rational, not to mention 
sacrificial in staying in such a dangerous location in order to 
protect Harry.  This is so different from his portrayal in PoA that I 
just don't find him that believeable as a character.  Or maybe it's 
just my P.A.C.M.A.N tendencies, thinking the Sirius of GoF is too 
good to be true.

But then again, maybe it's just that his life-debt to Harry has had 
the untoward effect of suppressing his volatility.

Debbie, still unable to decide about Sirius