Harry is dull

[Amy Z]

No: HPFGUIDX 45873

Pip squeaked:

> But as for asking questions: Yes, he does ask questions – about 
> unimportant things. Important ones – well, Harry has to be angry, 
or 
> in real danger, or the adult has to encourage him. Otherwise, no.

Oh, this is a definite trait, yeah.  His lack of curiosity (or 
unwillingness to ask) about personal stuff like his family is 
legendary on this list, and although it obviously serves an authorial 
purpose (JKR doesn't want us to know yet what James and Lily did for 
a living, etc.), still, that's who the character is, and it can't 
(IMO) be dismissed as "She *has* to make him like that."  Harry's 
evolution into someone who is more willing to trust the trustworthy 
adults around him is one of my favorite topics.

Furthermore, this ingrained habit of not asking questions causes some 
serious problems.  Harry thinks about asking Lupin about the Grim way 
back on Halloween, but he refrains because he thinks Lupin already 
thinks him a coward; if he'd asked the question, Lupin would've 
instantly realized that Sirius was already tracking Harry and the 
story would have been very different.  (Again, it would also have 
been a lot shorter--but the point is that Harry's reticence causes 
him a lot of trouble.)  He thinks about telling Dumbledore what he's 
been hearing in CS, but as in PA, hesitates because of what 
Dumbledore will think of him, and as a result, several people nearly 
get killed before the mystery's wrapped up.  

Stepping back to see the big picture:  Harry doesn't ask as many 
questions *of adults* as most kids would--as Ron and Hermione want 
to, for example--even though I still think he's far from a cowed 
abuse victim.  But what I was reacting to was the idea that his 
curiosity and initiative have been beaten out of him (which I suppose 
would make him dull); they haven't, and he knows they haven't.  He 
doesn't see adults as much of a resource, because he doesn't trust 
them; but he doesn't sit around waiting for others to take charge, or 
for a crisis to hit.  He's curious almost to a fault, and when he 
wants to know about something, he dives in to find out. 

> In CoS, he again `goes with the flow' until he finds himself 
hearing 
> the balilisk threatening to *kill*. 

I'm not sure what standard we're looking for here.  When Harry first 
hears the voice (CS 7), he doesn't march into Dumbledore's office 
demanding what invisible creatures inhabit the school, or head for 
the library to look up Beings With Creepy Voices.  But neither does 
he just shrug and say "oh well, maybe we'll find out eventually."  
He's frantic, presses Lockhart, heads straight back to the dormitory 
and lies awake so as to be able to talk to Ron about it, and the 
chapter ends with his staring at his canopy trying to figure it out.  
There are a lot of scenes like that, in fact:  Harry trying to 
understand something that all the adults would tell him is not his 
problem.  And, of course, then plunging in, almost getting himself 
killed, and saving the day.

So if the question is "is he afraid to ask adults questions," I'd 
agree that he is (never *completely,* but much more so at the 
beginning of the series).  If the question is "is he afraid to ask 
questions, period" or "is he reluctant to take charge" or "has he 
learned to keep his head down and stay in survival mode," I'd say no.

> Ron suggests the car. Nick 
> invites him into coming to the Deathday party.

Oh, sure, of course other people suggest, persuade, lead him, etc.  I 
didn't intend to say that others *don't* initiate actions and 
decisions, but rather that Harry *does.*  
 
> I'm not arguing that Harry isn't a leader. Harry *is* a leader. But 
> he doesn't *see* himself as one, and one of his biggest problems is 
> that it generally requires something quite dramatic to make him 
take 
> charge. 

I'm just not seeing this.  In ordinary conversations with Ron and 
Hermione, he is constantly making decisions or suggesting their 
course of action.  I can't say that any one of them stands out as the 
one who just sits and waits for someone else to take charge or 
something dramatic to prompt action.

See, there's a difference between describing, or consciously seeing, 
yourself as a leader (which Harry does not) and having all the 
attributes that make one a leader (which Harry does).  He takes 
charge at the drop of a hat, which shows an inner confidence despite 
his genuinely humble opinion of himself.

> And I don't actually think Harry is boring, or ordinary, though I 
> can quite see that you might have thought that from my original 
> post. 

>From this bit, for example?:

Pip:  "And since that's how he sees himself, and he's the pov 
character, 
that's what we see. Boring. Ordinary. Follows his friends 
suggestions, rarely makes his own."

;-)

I'm teasing, but I take your point.  Many readers do see him this way.

One of the things that makes a character interesting to me, both as a 
literary construction and as a person, is tension between his vision 
of himself and:  his old vision of himself, his new vision of 
himself, other characters' perceptions, the author's intentions for 
him, or the reader's assumptions.  Self-delusion, self-doubt, inner 
conflict, and change all draw this reader like a magnet.  Harry has 
these things in spades.

"Dull" is hard to define.  I agree that heroes tend to be dull and 
boring, because characters bore me if they're hopelessly brave and 
just stomp around waving swords and delivering Dirty Harry lines 
before doing something really, well, heroic <looks darkly at 
ActionFigure!Harry that the Director-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named keeps 
telling us is the New Harry>.  Harry's courage would be a little too 
much to take if it came too easily; after all, this kid has more 
physical courage in his left pinky than most of us summon in a 
lifetime and that could be comic-book-ish if not done right.  But 
instead, his courage is compelling because we know he's scared out of 
his wits but does all this gutsy stuff anyway.  And we know he thinks 
he's ordinary.  And we know he doesn't tell himself "I can handle 
this, I'm the Boy Who Lived"; the best he can assure himself with 
that heritage is that he might "get lucky again" (PS/SS) and that 
he's "not completely useless" (PA).  All of that creates a lively 
contrast between his self-image and his actual ability and actions.  
I know we're on the same page here . . . I'm not arguing, just 
expanding.

One thing Harry seldom is is funny.  It took me until about a month 
ago to figure that out, and the reason I was so slow is that the 
narration is funny, so I tend to impute humor to him when it isn't 
really coming from him.  He isn't devoid of humor; he says and thinks 
funny things now and then; and he isn't humorless, the way Hermione 
is often portrayed to be; but he's mostly straight man to Ron, who 
gets all the good lines.  Maybe that's one thing people mean 
by "Harry's dull"?

Amy Z

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Paul Wellstone 1944-2002
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