Sirius Black-What a Guy!

[marinafrants]

No: HPFGUIDX 44336

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Nicole L." <nplyon at y...> wrote:
> I don't think that Sirius was looking at Harry as his
> chance for redemption.  In fact, I don't think Sirius
> wants to be redeemed at all.  I think he holds himself
> accountable for the deaths of the Potters and I think
> that he feels he deserves whatever torture and
> punishment that he gets.  I do think that he wanted to
> make it up to Harry for his not being there throughout
> Harry's life but I think that Sirius is more focused
> on Harry's needs than his own.  To me, to say that
> Sirius wanted to redeem himself by taking care of
> Harry implies a certain selfishness on Sirius's part
> that I do not believe exists. 

I don't think there would be anything selfish about Sirius wanting 
to be redeemed.  (I'm talking about redemption in the moral sense, 
mind you, not in any religious sense.) Of course he holds himself 
accountable for James and Lily's deahts -- if he didn't, there 
wouldn't be any need for redemption. Redemption isn't about escaping 
punishment or denying guilt -- in fact, admitting guilt and 
submitting to punishment is often a neccessary part of the process.  
But so is making amends and doing one's best to repair the harm 
done.  Yes, Sirius is focused on Harry's needs.  But I think he's 
very sharply aware that by helping Harry he's atoning for his past 
mistakes.

> One thing that bothers me about analysis of Sirius is
> that I feel that people often overlook his state of
> mind.  He has just spent 12 years in a place that
> basically sounds like hell on Earth and the only
> reason he managed to escape was because he was bent on
> seeing justice done with respect to Pettigrew.  When
> he appears in PoA, he has had no human contact for 12
> years and has basically been psychologically tortured
> that whole time.  A person is not going to be normal
> or of the most sound state of mind after something
> like that.  

I agree.  When people wonder why Sirius didn't do this, that or 
other sensible, rational thing during PoA, I always think that the 
question they should really be asking is why isn't he still in his 
cell in Azkaban, drooling on the floor and making goo-goo noises?  
The fact that he's functioning at all is remarkable.  That he 
occasionally acts irrationally or flies off the handle is hardly 
surprising.

Marina
rusalka at ix.netcom.com