Harry's bravery (was: The Sorting Hat)

[iris_ft]

No: HPFGUIDX 87350



Hi all,

Kathryn wrote:
"(
)Harry never struck me as particularly brave (because he never
seems scared of anything or to appreciate the danger he's in most of 
the
time, if you don't recognize danger then it's difficult to actually 
be
brave. Doing something you don't know is dangerous isn't brave - 
stupid
possibly - but not brave). And remember the first time we really get 
to see
Neville's bravery he is standing up to the Trio not loyally 
following them
around. Harry on the other hand is *incredibly* loyal - possibly the 
hat
felt he wasn't hardworking enough to qualify for Hufflepuff."

Then Kneasy replied:
"Harry we agree on. This links back to a thread from a few months 
back on
the nature of bravery; he's more driven than brave. He is ambitious. 
He also has some of Voldy's traits stuck in him from Godrics Hollow, 
or at least DD implies as much. He uses an Unforgiveable curse. And 
in OoP he is not growing up to be a nice person at all. He could 
easily be Slytherin. In fact, according to the Hat, that's where 
he'd do best."

Not brave, Harry? Okay, I admit that I missed the thread on the 
nature of bravery; so if what I'm about to write is nothing new, I 
apologize.
First, I'd like to quote some canon.

Philosopher's Stone (Bloomsbury paperback):
« - Well, that's it then, isn't it? Harry said.
The other two stared at him. He was pale and his eyes were 
glittering.
- I'm going out of here tonight and I'm going to try and get to the 
Stone first.
- You're mad! said Ron.
- You can't, said Hermione. After what Mc Gonagall and Snape have 
said? You'll be expelled!
- SO WHAT? Harry shouted. Don't you understand? If Snape gets hold 
of the Stone, Voldemort's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was 
like when he was trying to take over? There won't be any Hogwarts to 
get expelled from! He'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for 
the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn't matter any more, can't you see? 
D'you think he'll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor 
win the House Cup? If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, 
well, I'll have to go back to the Dursleys and wait for Voldemort to 
find me there. It's only dying a bit later than I would have done, 
because I'm never going over to the Dark Side! I'm going through the 
trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop me! 
Voldemort killed my parents, remember?».

Maybe my favourite moment in the whole series. Harry's perfectly 
conscious of the danger he has to face when he decides to go through 
the trapdoor in order to find the Stone. What he says shows also 
that he is not that ambitious, or at least that he senses what kind 
of ambition he has to serve.
And if being a Slytherin doesn't mean necessarily that a person is 
evil (Phineas is cynical, rough, shifty, but he "works" for 
Dumbledore), on the other hand, an unpleasant behaviour doesn't mean 
necessarily that a person has to be a Slytherin. Harry shares some 
characteristics with Voldemort, but he never uses them in a wrong 
way. Moreover, we have to consider how he happened to share them: 
after an inhuman mugging. We mustn't make confusion between a victim 
and a torturer

He uses an Unforgivable curse in OotP? Yes, but he does it in a 
moment of extreme helplessness and he doesn't manage to cast it 
correctly. He has just lost his godfather, he's traumatised; it 
could be easy to find in the hatred he feels towards Bellatrix 
enough strength to Crucio her. But he fails, because even I such 
circumstances, he has not enough hatred in his heart to cast 
efficiently that kind of spell.  
He's not a very nice person in OotP? Well, as I wrote last summer, 
he's depressive, which doesn't mean however that his behaviour is a 
reflection of his deep personality. He was the witness of a murder; 
he suffered kidnapping, torture, what looks like a rape and finally 
had to duel with Voldemort. After what he spent one month and went 
back to school without any psychological support, without knowing 
why his friends didn't give him news, why Dumbledore didn't talk to 
him, didn't look at him; he had to face sarcasms and suspicion, etc, 
etc
I don't know how he could be cute and gentle with such a burden. 
A depressive person is always disturbing; a depressive person is an 
accentuated reflection of our own disorders, of aspects of our own 
personalities that we don't like to consider, or that we are afraid 
to face.
But Harry doesn't cop out. He fights; he tries to find something 
that could help him not to sink into despair. He doesn't find a 
solution every time he needs it, but he's still there. Bravery is 
not only a matter of behaviour and consciousness up against a 
danger. It's also a matter of resistance when life is a burden. And 
since the beginning, Harry shows an undeniable bravery. 

Amicalement,
Two Knuts,

Iris