Harry's innate abilities

[Nicole L.]

No: HPFGUIDX 45130

Melody said:
> I think we are splitting hairs on whether or not
> these two kids have talent.  I believe they made and

> sold records based more on their father's fame than 
> their own.  That is just my pure opinion and should
> not be used by me to say that they *definitely* do
> not have talent.  I'm sorry.

I have to agree with Melody here.  I don't think that
you automatically inherit whichever talents your
parents happen to possess.  We are all genetically
unique (unless we have an identical twin) so we all
possess our own traits and talents.  For instance, I
am a writer but neither of my parents are.  As far as
I know, my grandparents are not writers either.  My
dad is an excellent gardener but I have
unintentionally killed every single plant I have ever
possessed.  I think the same goes for Harry.  After
all, his parents were Head Boy and Head Girl and, thus
far, Harry has shown no signs of having inherited the
school skills that his parents possessed.  Harry's
mother was said to be skilled with Charms and while we
have canon evidence that Hermione is skilled with
Charms, we have none indicated that Harry is.

> 
> Talent, to me, is something more extraordinary than
> just skill.  We inherit similar skills as our 
> parents because we inherit their physical 
> characteristics.  Like Hagrid's large body.  He 
> completely inherited his size and girth which is 
> very helpful in his gameskeeper skills of dragging 
> Christmas trees around the place.  It is skill that
> he can wrestle trolls.  It is just his large size. 
> Frankly, our parents raise us up exercising our 
> bodies in the ways they learned which produced thier

> skills.

Again, I agree with you.  This goes hand-in-hand with
what I wrote above.  My strongest talent is writing. 
My dad is an extremely talented gardener.  Harry is
talented at flying, evidenced by the fact that he is
able to manage his broom much more quickly than any
other student and is able to catch Neville's
Remembrall in mid-air the very first time he mounts a
broomstick.  Harry also has some particular talents
with magic, evidenced by his ability to produce a
Patronus.  It's also important to remember that while
Harry may have inherited some of his father's physical
traits, contributing to his Quidditch abilities, he
also inherited some of his mother's physcial traits,
which could either temper or enhance the physical
attributes he inherited from his father.  

> 
> Skills can be honed.  Talent cannot.  Talent is more
> ethereal.  It just comes and goes as it pleases into

> lives.  One cannot explain why Beethoven was so 
> talented in composing.  No one in his family had
ever
> written music, and no one has since.  It was a sort
> of "genetic" anomaly that touched down and left in 
> the same generation.

Yes, agreed again.  However, I think skills can only
be honed to a certain extent if there is no talent. 
For instance, I am horrible at math.  I can practice
and practice and practice but it will never come
easily to me.  On the other hand, my husband is a
natural with math and I call him the human calculator.
 I can hand him a can of beans at the grocery store
and it takes him about two seconds flat to calculate
the price per ounce.  If Harry didn't possess some
natural talent with magic, I don't think he would have
been able to produce a Patronus.  Now, we don't have
any solid evidence that if Hermione were to practice
really hard she wouldn't be able to produce a Patronus
as well but I think that it's important to note that
much is made of Harry's ability to produce one,
indicating that this is not the norm with children of
his age.  Hey, I can shoot hoops but I am definitely
not a candidate for the WNBA.  I leave that to women
who can not only shoot hoops but also possess some
innate basketball talents.

> I agree. I could practice for hours and never be
> flexible enough to be a gymnast (though God knows 
> I've tried).  I forget not everyone can carry a 
> tune.  It is so ingrained in me to sing.  It is 
> just, even though I can carry a tune, I do not have 
> talent in the field.  I can sing for hours and never

> sound like Kelly Clarkson or Celine Dion.  The 
> ability to carry a tune is not an extraordinary 
> feat.  Which is where, I guess, public opinion 
> enters.  Part of talent is whether or not we agree 
> it is talent.

This is what makes us all individuals though, right? 
If every single person in the world possessed the
ability to play golf like Tiger Woods, paint like
Monet, sing like Luciano Pavarotti, and write like
Jane Austen, life would be pretty boring.  There'd be
no need to appreciate "talent" because everyone would
possess it.  The reason why talent is so admirable is
because it is fairly rare.  Not everyone can figure
skate like Michelle Kwan, so that's why people admire
her.  I think JKR does a lovely job at representing
this.  Harry is talented at Quidditch, Ron is a
talented strategist, and Hermione is intellectually
talented.  Their unique talents make them interesting
and, even though Harry is usually the one to stand
alone and defeat the bad guy in the end, it usually
takes the combined talents of Harry and his friends to
be able to reach the final stages of the battle.

> So now to bring it all back to Harry Potter Reality
> where we all live...it is told that Harry has talent

> for quidditch.  It is something that came easy for 
> him and distinguishes him from other students, 
> players, and seekers.  Most sports are based solely 
> on physical attributes.  Harry is small and sleek 
> which aids in his abilities.  He has searching eyes 
> which actually are not that "good" since he does 
> have to wear glasses.  I guess Harry's talent is 
> that he is fast.  He cannot help it and it is just a

> gut reaction.

I think you've pretty much hit the nail on the head. 
I'm paraphrasing here but I remember JKR writing
something about "You wouldn't guess it by looking at
him, but Harry was really fast."  This is how he's
able to escape Dudley.  I think his being small and
thin contributes to his swiftness, making him more
aerodynamic when he's on his broom.  Were he as big as
Hagrid, I highly doubt he'd be the master Seeker he
is.

> 
> Sigh, I hope this better explains why I disagreed
> with you.  My head is swimming with ideas that I 
> hope I explained correctly.

I thought you made several good points.  I understood
your point.  :)

> 
> Melody
> Who is on cloud nine today.  Her first love, and
> only competition with Harry Potter for her 
> attention, Beauty and the Beast came out on DVD
> today with extra footage.  :)  "Heaven. I'm in
> Heaven..."

~Nicole, who is also on cloud nine because Beauty and
the Beast was *finally* released on DVD.  It's her
favorite movie and she had "Beauty and the Beast Fest"
tonight.  She laughed, she cried, she gave thanks that
she finally has a DVD of her absolute favorite.  :)


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