Choices Versus Heredity--Harry as Gryffindor's Heir (was Re: Harry and the Phoenix)

[Nicole L.]

No: HPFGUIDX 43554

> bboy_mn said:
> 
> Blood vs Choices-
> 
> There seems to be a belief that if Harry is the
> Gryffindor heir that this cancels out Dumbledore's 
> statement that choices are more important than 
> blood. But I don't see it that way.  Let's face it,
> there are people born to the roll of king or queen
> who are scum, in many cases possessing only marginal

> sanity. 
 
I am in total agreement with this. Just because you
are the heir to something does not mean that you do
not have free will to make your own choices. We are
all heir to something or other, whether it be a bad
temper that we've inherited from a parent, or curly
hair, or whatever. However, it is our choices that
set us apart. As bboy_mn said, someone who is born
king or queen can choose to be a fair ruler, a
despotic ruler, etc., etc., etc. IMHO, the argument
that Harry can't be Gryffindor's heir because it
would eliminate the theme of choices just doesn't
apply.  To some extent or another, we are all free to
choose to do whatever we want. Harry's being
Gryffindor's heir would not make him an exception to
this rule. If he is Gryffindor's heir, this may make
Voldemort see him as a threat but I don't believe that
it predestines Harry to do this or that. I think that
what he ends up doing will be up to him to decide.

> I think Harry is being contrasted to Draco who
> believes he is born to privilege. He believes things

> are automatically and unquestionable due him, 
> because of his blood. Dumbledore's message to Harry 
> is that you have to earn your 'privilege' in life no

> matter what you blood.
 
Again, I agree. Perhaps this is another reason why
Dumbledore did not want Harry growing up in the WW. 
He did not want Harry to be famous, true, but perhaps
he also did not want Harry growing up with the
knowledge that he is Gryffindor's heir. Further
support of the idea that Harry is Gryffindor's heir
has been discussed; the Sorting Hat giving Harry the
sword of Gryffindor, the red and gold sparks that
shoot from Harry's wand the first time he picks it
up,etc. Your heredity doesn't necessarily have
anything to do with who you become. Look at the
Unabomber. It was his own brother who turned him in.
Obviously, in this case, the fact that they shared the
same heredity did not relegate his brother to the same
fate as the Unabomber himself. 
 
> The Chosen One-
> This is also a valid option and comon in fairytales.
> It could be that among all the drops of Gryffindor 
> blood out there, the chosen one, the crown prince is

> selected or predicted perhaps by the reading of the
> stars, or the Gryffindor who purely and unselfishly
> displays the characteristics of a true Gryffindor, 
> or perhaps by searching and finding the 'holy 
> grail'; the completion of a quest, or perhaps by the
> approval, bond, and friendship of a gold and red
> pheonix. 
 
I am in support of Harry as the "Chosen One". I
truly think all canon points to it. As has been
discussed endlessly, just why did Voldemort want to
kill James and Harry but not necessarily Lily? Why is
Voldemort so intent on obtaining Harry's blood for his
rebirthing ritual (and I don't believe it's because of
the protection thing and Pettigrew doesn't seem to
believe it either)? Why is Voldemort so intent on
getting rid of Harry? Personally, I think it's
because Harry is standing in his way. Voldemort knows
there is something very special and very dangerous
about Harry and he is very eager to see Harry
eradicated from the face of the Earth. In fact, I see
this need to rid himself of Harry as consuming
Voldemort. So far, the consequences of Voldemort's
reappearance in the WW haven't been as severe as I
would have expected. Yes, he does murder Cedric, the
old Muggle man, and Bertha Jorkins but if Voldemort
were truly focused on taking over the WW, wouldn't a
lot more people have died by now? I know other parts
of the world have come to understand this but I think
that we in the U.S. only recently learned that if
someone wants nothing more than to rid the Earth of
you and your kind, s/he will kill indescriminately and
in mass quantities. In his/her mind, the more
opposition they are able to eliminate, the better. 
 
> Again, the point is here, that the Heir to 
> Gryffindor could be a 'chosen one' selected not by 
> purity of blood or direct descendance but by being 
> the purest, truest, and noblest Gryffindor at heart.

> Kind of romanic, don't you think?
> 
I like this idea too. I'm in support of either theory,
whether Harry is *the* heir of Gryffindor or if he's
chosen because of his purity, courage, and sacrifices.
Either way, I do not think the integrity of the
choices versus heredity argument is weakened.  (In
fact, if Harry is the heir because of the choices he
makes, even more support is lent to this idea. What a
reward for noble behavior!) After all, isn't
Dumbledore ultimately giving Harry the choice of
whether or not to act and, if Harry does choose to
act, how he will go about doing so?

~Nicole, who is sorry that she fell behind with her
digests but is glad she finally caught up!


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Finance - Get real-time stock quotes
http://finance.yahoo.com