Uber-perfect Cedric / Other Characters

[vojoca <vojoca@yahoo.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 51563

Marie wrote:

We may find out something not-so-nice about Cedric in the following 
books, but I would be somewhat surprised if we did. I know it can be 
a bit annoying to have uber-perfect characters, but I think Cedric 
was portrayed as being so perfect precisely *because* JKR knew he was 
going to be the first student death. To me, it's somewhat analogous 
to Beth in _Little Women_ -- she's somewhat idealized because you 
later feel more sorrow at her death. 
[edited]


and now me:

Well, maybe *not* something no-so-nice, just something that would

make him less veela-like/god-like.  The annoyance, when it comes down 
to it, is because I didn't get a chance to know more about him.  All 
we basically had were Harry's thoughts on him - and I know that 
there's really no way Harry could have gotten to know him, them being 
in different houses and Harry busy fighting evil and all.  I don't 
argue with the fact that Cedric is innocent.  And all of the other 
qualities Harry sees in him are very admirable (well - except 
the "brainless" one.  But Harry was just saying that because he was 
mad
Cedric beat him to Cho Chang, after all ;-p)  I just wish JKR 
would have put something in the books that made Cedric less like a 
god and more like a human being. 

About Cedric's death:  I was *very* shocked when he died.  It was so 
fast.  I remember when I was first reading the book, it shocked me so 
much that I sort of snapped out of the dream-like state I get into 
when I read the books. I had to read that part again a few more times 
just to make sure that I wasn't reading it wrong.  And it made me 
sad.  But not sad because Cedric was *innocent* - sad because I 
didn't get to know him, and I really really wanted to.  *sigh* I'm so 
selfish.


Marie wrote:

Well, we at least got one less-than-ideal view of Cedric through 
Harry's jealousy (brainless etc). And I think that Cedric's 
essentially good nature goes with the themes of innocents (unicorns) 
dying first from PS/SS and Dumbledore's final speech in GOF:
[edit]


and now me:

The "brainless" comment Harry made about Cedric I tend to dismiss, 
because of the fact that he only said that after the fact that he 
found out Cedric was going to the Yule Ball with Cho.  And we know 
that Cedric's is not brainless - His name would never have come out 
of the Goblet if he was.  Actually, if my memory serves me right, 
anything negative Harry has to say about Cedric is if it has to do 
about Cho Chang.  Cho Chang annoys me too
in the same way Cedric 
annoyed me:  Because I don't know anything about her.  If she dies 
before we get a chance to see what she's like, I will absolutely go 
bonkers. 


Marie wrote:

If we later find out that Cedric had skeletons in the closet, it 
would cheapen that moment on re-reading it. It could happen, of 
course -- we've been set up to assume things are innocent/innocuous 
before when they weren't (Scabbers leaps to mind), but I hope it 
doesn't. 


and now me:

Like I said earlier, his secret or whatever doesn't have to be 
bad/evil.  Just something that would make him more human, like for 
example a practical joke he once played on his friends or something.  
Maybe in the next book there'll be a part about people fondly 
remembering that great guy Cedric.  "Remember that time I woke up and 
found all my socks hanging from the chandeliers in the Hufflepuff 
common room?"  or something like that, instead of what we got in the 
earlier books.  I really doubt it, though.    

Cedric's father OTOH
he's like the opposite of  Cedric, with all his 
boasting and show of emotion.  He annoys me, too.  =)   

Come to think of it, most, if not all of the characters annoy me in 
one way or another.  The ones we don't really know annoy me because I 
want to know who they are;  the bad guys annoy me because I want to 
know why they become bad guys;  the good guys annoy me because until 
the end of the book, I'm just - well, suspicious of every single one 
of them until the end, when of course we'll all know everything. (So 
maybe "annoyed" is not the right word..."impatient" might be the 
proper word for me *laughs*)  Which is the exact reason why I love 
the books so much.  Why I love all the characters.  I have a love-
hate relationship with the whole series!  To the point that I get 
emotional about it, and I'm not afraid to let the world know!!  Yes, 
I'm crazy, I know  =)




vojoca
-who knows people think it's crazy to be so attached to the HP 
books.  Maybe other HP fans don't think so, but other people 
certainly do; especially those who witnessed the heated argument my 
friend and I had at work about Prof. Dumbledore in book five, which 
ended in him storming off and me crying.  *laughs sheepishly, and 
hides face in shame*   =)