Sirius confusing Harry and James

[jeffl1965]

No: HPFGUIDX 78441

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "jwcpgh" <jwcpgh at y...> wrote:
>  
> > Jeff wrote:
> >   Ah, I'm glad that I saw this!! I was about to mention this as 
> well. 
> > Both Snape and Sirius made this mistake, but as polar opposites. 
> > Snape hates Harry because he sees James in him, and Sirius 
*loves* 
> > Harry because of this,and yes, he wants his best friend back. >  
> <snip>
> 
> Laura:
> 
> If I may be so immodest as to quote myself from a tbay post earlier 
> today:
> if you look at 
> it from his POV, you can see where he had good reasons to think 
that 
> Harry really was like James. Think about it: whenever Sirius 
> encounters Harry, Harry shows bravery, audacity, leadership, 
> intelligence and resourcefulness (in the Shack and during the 
> Tournament in particular). Harry, like James, is absolutely loyal 
to 
> his best friends and he detests the dark arts and everything about 
> them. If Sirius and Harry had had the chance to live together under 
> normal circumstances, in which neither one of them was under 
> emotional pressure, Sirius would have come to see that Harry was 
his 
> own person. As it is, it seems natural and reasonable enough for 
> Sirius to identify in Harry qualities that he valued in his best 
> friend-we're always looking for our friends in their children. 
> 
   Yes, I would agree with that totally. In some cases, its ok, I 
guess, but in this it is not. Both Snape and Sirius are stressing 
Harry out due to their narrow views of him. I do fault Snape for 
doing that, but I can see his point, and I guess that if I were in 
his greasey, dirty robe, I'd feel the same way. Sirius' view isn't 
really bad, but it would certainly have caused Harry more stress as 
time went on, if he wasn't allowed to come into his own. 



> What do you think?  As for Snape, he had decided that Harry was 
James 
> redux before ever meeting him, and nothing Harry could have done 
> would have changed his mind.

    I agree with this totally. Snape will *never* change his view of 
Harry. He's hated James, and the name Potter for so long, I seriously 
doubt that he could ever change his mind. Even if Harry saved his 
life, the greasy git would still look down his long crooked nose at 
him.




--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Donna" <deemarie1a at y...> wrote:
>  
> >   <snipped>
> This is very true.  JKR has kept Harry's reactions true to his age 
> and how he was raised.  I was quite impressed at how she 
accomplished 
> this.  Anyone in Harry's position would be angry most of the time.  
> He doesn't really know a loving environment and has to deal with 
> that.  He has only just begun to learn how to handle people who 
care 
> deeply for him.  
> 
    That's so true. Harry's *never* had a real friend before. He 
tried to buy Ron's friendship with the candy, and he really loves 
Ron, as much as Ron loves him. Harry just can't really deal with 
friends yet, as he's so unacustomed to having any, and his poor 
social skills that he learned at home, have taught him only how to 
deal with things in anger. It is amazing that Harry doesn't swear. 
I'm sure that he heard a lot of it at home, and you can bet Dudley 
cussed him alot. But instead, Ron has the dirty mouth, but having 5 
older brothers, one comes to expect that. :)
 

> It's no wonder his anger bubbles so quickly to the surface.  It has 
> through all the books.  Notice how he reacts to the Dursleys.  That 
> sniping carries over into his relationships at school.  Although he 
> is softening in his close relationships, he still has problems with 
> authority.  And even that problem is totally in character with a 15 
> year old.  
> 
   Agreed. Harry's very confused and socially/emotionally challenged. 
I would imagine that he'll be a late bloomer, but he'll really 
blossom into a fine man one day. If his faults don't cause his 
undoing, that is.

  Jeff