[HPforGrownups] The Useless Character of Harry Potter

[Jason Packer]

No: HPFGUIDX 69495

 josie421 at hotmail.com 
> writes:
> 
> 
> > Harry Potter is boring.
> > Harry Potter is dull.
> > Harry Potter never comes around to doing anything.
> > He isn't particularly talented, not charming,
> smart, friendly, witty, 
> > good-looking, funny, or even evil or conspiratory.
> > In fact, Harry Potter has no function except
> carrying the whole 
> > frickin' story upon his ruddy adolescent shoulders
> (...)
> 

First post in ages, so please stick with me while I
trot out this old excuse for JKR...

Anyway, Harry Potter may well be a bit dull, to you
and I reading the book, but we must recall that
everything we see tends to be from inside Harry's
head. Are you "all that and a bag of chips" to
yourself? If so, congrats, your self-esteem must be
marvelously high. Mine's not, and there's not a day
that goes by that I think I'm cool, intelligent, witty
or any of that.

Base an opinion on Harry on the reactions of those
around him. Ron and Hermione are entirely loyal and
would do anything for him. Ginny had a girlish crush
on him before she knew him, *and it stuck around after
she knew him better* [for a while anyway-- more of my
thoughts on that later...].

Very nearly everyone, when they're not thinking he's a
rabid nutcase, thinks he's the cat's whiskers. Except
Malfoy et al-- they think he's a cocky, arrogant
know-it-all, when in fact he's just got a good soul,
and tends to fight for the little guy.

I don't think Harry's boring. I think *Harry* thinks
Harry is boring, but that he's hardly the best one to
judge such things.

J