Choices

[jwcpgh]

No: HPFGUIDX 86482


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, B Arrowsmith 
<arrowsmithbt at b...> wrote:
> Thinking outside the box.
> Is that still  part of management jargon?
> 'Cos I've been playing at something along those  lines.
> This was triggered by a couple of exchanges I've had recently with 
> Geoff and his persistent, nay, worrying obsession with LotR. So 
don't blame me, blame him.
> 
> What does almost every so-called epic have that  hasn't yet  
appeared in HP? (Apart from the femme fatale who introduces the  
hero to unspeakable (yippee!) sexual practices.)
> 

Laura:
Dream on, Kneasy.

Kneasy:
> The Temptation of course.
> The offer/realisation that power can be his for the taking. All he 
has to do is resist the persistent  blandishments of those urging 
> peace, love and a macrobiotic diet and step to the other side.
<snip>

Laura:

Yikes-a Kneasy/Geoff alliance?  This worries me.  :-)

In an epic, does the hero always have to be tempted?  What about 
heroic (or at least admirable)figures in an epic who aren't 
necessarily the hero of the story who resist temptation, like 
Aragorn and Faromir?  What about heroes who give in to some form of 
temptation but are heroic anyhow, like Lancelot?

Yeah, Harry may act in some fashion on his anger towards DD, but I 
don't see that as being tempted towards the dark side.  Harry 
doesn't show any interest in power for its own sake at any time 
during the books; indeed, he shows a consistent reluctance to plumb 
the depths of his powers.  He might well have had the ability to 
kill Sirius in the Shack (or Bella in the MoM) but he couldn't bring 
himself to do it.  I'd say this is due to a combination of a strong 
moral foundation and some fear of what he might actually be capable 
of.  He remembers the consequences of unintended magic in the RW and 
has learned in the WW that he can do startling things when under 
duress, so he doesn't feel that his magical abilities are entirely 
under his control and that scares him.  

This would differentiate him from Tom Riddle, who many of us 
theorize was delighted to find out that he had magical powers and 
immediately began exploring their possibilities.  Harry sees himself 
as a human being first; Tom sees himself as a wizard first.  In 
becoming LV, Tom leaves behind his humanness and gives himself over 
entirely to the power of his wizardry.  

But, hey, Kneasy, thanks for bringing a bit of sunshine to our day!