What's annoying about Harry, IS he a procrasinator? and IS he incurious?

[Amy Z <lupinesque@yahoo.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 51596

Tom wrote:
> 
> > > What I find most annoying about Harry is his
> > > incredible stubbornness, his procrastination, his
> > > belief, along Snapian lines, that despite everyone's
> > > efforts to safeguard him, he's above the rules. 
> > > And I can't *STAND* the way he refuses to listen to 
> > > reason once he's had his mind made up.

Marina wrote:
  
> > See, maybe I'm just strange, but these are precisely the 
qualities 
> > I find most endearing about Harry.  

and Elkins wrote:

> I 
> find the particular flaws that you mentioned far more endearing 
than 
> I do annoying.  If Harry weren't flawed, he'd make me wanna womit.  
> But of course, mileages vary.

I feel a Psychological Theory coming on . . .

Here it is.  I too find those characteristics of Harry endearing, and 
I think I know why:  I share most of them.  The fact that a character 
who is heroic and largely loveable shares many of my flaws makes me 
feel comforted somehow, and closer to him.  If, on the other hand, a 
character has flaws that I do not tend to share but in fact have had 
to endure from others, I lose sympathy fast.  Ergo, watch out, anyone 
who picks on younger siblings.  Fred, George, I'm talking to YOU.

OK, not that profound.  Few Psychological Theories are.  And like 
most Psychological Theories, you could easily turn it on its head; 
perhaps I should despise Harry for procrastinating because reading 
about the Second Task makes my stomach clench from memories of too 
many desperate all-nighters.  But I find it cathartic.

Elkins went on:

> Actually, the flaw of Harry's that I find by far the least 
> sympathetic is his utter lack of curiosity.  

Lack of curiosity?  Utter?  Harry?

Yeah, he's notably uninterested in things that one would think are 
irresistible, like what his parents were like and what's in the 
Chamber of Secrets, but "utter" is rather, well, absolute.  

-He likes exploring new places like Diagon Alley.

-He asks about Dementors (PA 8, 10).  He asks what Arthur does at the 
Ministry (CS 3).  He asks Hagrid what Quidditch is and about the 
Houses (PS/SS 5).  He asks Ron about his family (PS/SS 6).

-He says "what?" a lot when he hears something he doesn't 
understand.  Not a mark of raving inquisitiveness, I grant you, but 
there are those who would passively let such things go over their 
heads.  Instead, he bothers to ask what a Grindylow is, what 
splinching is, etc.  He is not, in short, *in*curious.

-He looks in the Pensieve even though it means opening up a cupboard 
in the headmaster's office (that's far enough into the realm of 
curiosity to consitute outright snooping).

-He follows Snape into the forest (PS/SS 13).

-He tries to find out who Nicolas Flamel was.

etc. . . .

Amy Z