OOP-Harry & Unforgivables
Ali
Ali at zymurgy.org
Tue Jul 1 11:16:00 UTC 2003
No: HPFGUIDX 66393
Bohcoo wrote:-
Some of us are upset that Harry attempted the Crucio spell. . . Has
it hit anyone else that, due to the prophecy, Harry is going to
have to -- HAVE to, no choice in the matter -- use Avada Kedavra?
Andrea replied:-
<<< I fully expect Harry will use the curse, though not necessarily
on Voldemort (as that might backfire). Harry's natural (or perhaps
taught by the Dursleys) tendencies are showing through and with the
loss of his idealisation of the his father and the death of Sirius
he had very little reason left to be a 'good kid' and follow the
rules (or social conventions).>>>
Ali responds:- I really disagree with this assessment. Harry has
lost his childish innocence and his mentors, but I do not think
that the behaviour we witnessed at the end of OoP is going to be
indicative of post-OoP Harry.
OoP Harry spent the year on the edge. He was still recovering from
the psychological wounds of the Graveyard scene. I wonder how a
teenager is meant to react to and recover from such an event? There
must be limits, even for our Harry. Instead of having help and
understanding, he was left in the lurch by Dumbledore and ridiculed
and even tortured by some in authority. As such, his actions - loss
of temper and fighting etc show the extreme stress he is under at
the time, when he is in case going through normal adolescent hormone
changes. This does mean that is how Harry will continue to be.
Harry's use of the Cruciatus Curse was I think forgiveable under the
circumstances. If Harry was tried in a court of law (well in the law
that I know, not Wizarding Law), he would be be found not guilty due
to temporary insanity. He had been pushed to the edge with the death
of his Godfather, and was *not* in his right mind at the time. Even
at this stage though, his Cruciatus was not very effective,
as "righteous anger" doesn't hurt for long. As Bellatrix tells him,
he needs to mean it (p. 715 OoP UK). Harry had seen Bellatrix
threaten the Cruciatus curse on Ginny, he had seen her use it on
Neville, he had seen her cause Sirius' death - and then gloat about
it.
I believe that his talk with Dumbledore marked the end of his
uncontrolled anger. He has at last been given the reason behind his
suffering. If only Dumbledore had "walked his talk" in GoF:-
"Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with
acceptance can there be recovery" p.590 UK edition. Harry has to
know what depths he is capable of plunging to, now he knows this, he
can begin to control himself.
In OoP, we saw Harry's pychological props taken away; his father
wasn't the wonderful idol that he imagined, Dumbledore wasn't
Omniescient and always right, and Sirius was stuck in stasis, stuck
between brother and father figure, in a past whcih belonged more to
James than it did ti Harry. Harry has had to move on through his
journey.
Andrea again:-
<<< Not that I think he's going to be using the curse left and
right but I don't think he'd have a moral problem doing it.
Remember, he only saved Pettigrew because Pettigrew said that his
father (James) wouldn't have let him (Peter) be killed. That
reasoning? Not going to fly anymore. Harry's seen what his father
is capable of doing out of mere boredom.>>>
Harry used his own moral compass when he saved Pettigrew. He
ascribed his feelings to those of his father. I do not think that he
will have to feel differently, just because he saw a different
version of James. He disliked the James he saw, afterall. What it
does mean though, is next time Harry has to make a decision like
this, he will have to make it knowing that it is because of what he
thinks, rather than what he believes somebody else would think. This
is Harry entering into manhood and accepting views and actions as
his own.
Andrea:-
<<< Sirius or Dumbledore might have been able to reason him but, of
course, Sirius is dead and Dumbledore has been shown to be quite
capable of screwing up. Harry doesn't trust Dumbledore half as much
anymore and therefore Dumbledore has lost a lot of his hold on
him.>>>
Harry has indeed lost the mentoring. Did anyone notice that these
two main influences were white (Albus) and Black (Sirius)? Harry has
had to learn that the world is full of shades of grey, he has learnt
this to his cost, but this does not mean that he is about to go out
of control. He has had to sink to use the Cruciatus, so that he can
rise above it. Harry is not a whiter-than-white character. He is
himself made of shades of light grey and very dark grey. I do
believe that the Cruciatus curse has marked the bottom of the depths
to which Harry will plunge.
I am not sure that Harry will use the AK curse, if he does it will
be through righteous indignation, rather than murderous intent, and
I'm not sure that will be sufficient. I do not however believe
though that Voldemort will be vanquished through AK. Voldemort
understands the hate necessary to cast that spell, he does not
understand the love which successfully resisted it - that is Harry's
real weapon.
Ali
More information about the HPforGrownups
archive