Harry "Winning"/Harry Can't Plan Ahead

[Linda]

No: HPFGUIDX 60353

  Aldrea wrote:

> Harry Can't Plan Ahead
> 
> One of the things I noticed about GoF- Harry cannot plan ahead, 
the 
> boy just can't seem to do it.  For two of the three tasks, Harry 
> knows what he'll be facing.  During the months he has to prepare, 
he 
> procrastinates his planning and it is only because of Crouch's 
> cunning that Harry is prepared at all.  When it comes to quick-
> thinking and reacting, Harry is of course excellent at that.  But 
> planning?  Nope, doesn't seem very skilled in that area.  Also, I 
> believe(in the first book?) there's a reference to a chess game 
> between Ron and Harry, at which Harry "loses spectacularly".   
> Perhaps one of the reasons for this loss is Harry's inability to 
plan 
> ahead, a must in chess.  It seems Harry is short-sighted in more 
> areas than his eyes. ;)


     Me(Linda):

          IMO it was not a lack of planning skills that Harry 
exhibited in GOF, it was actually a very common reaction to the 
situation he found himself in. The only task I saw any (seemingly) 
procrastination in was the second but let me start from the first 
task so I can lay this out.

          There was no procrastination in the first task at all. All 
the champions were told about the first task was that it was 
designed to test their daring and they would not be told what it 
was. How was Harry, or for that matter,  any of the other champions 
supposed to prepare for that? Once Harry knew what he would be 
facing however, he was in the library the very next day with 
Hermione, searching for spells that might be useful.

         Skipping to the third task, as soon as Harry found out 
about the maze HHR spent every moment they could looking up curses 
that might be useful and practicing them in every empty classroom 
they could find. No procrastination there.

          I will agree that Harry did *seem* to procrastinate in 
figuring out the egg in the second task but I still don't think that 
was actually the case. I read it more as a feeling of helplessness. 
Personally, I doubt that any of the champions would have figured out 
that they needed to open the egg underwater without help. IMO, the 
second task was the most difficult for Harry because he simply did 
not have the knowlage of the magical world or the traing of the 
other champions. It wasn't procrastination that kept Harry from 
following Cedric's clue- it was that stubborn pride of his. When he 
did finally figure it out he spent so much time despirately 
searching for a solution that when Dobby came to him in the library 
with the Gilly Weed, he was asleep on abook and late for the task.

          I guess my point is that once Harry knew what needed to be 
done, he jumped in immediately. He planned ahead as best he could 
with the knowlage he had. I think that was the entire point of GOF 
as far as what JKR wanted to communicate to the reader about Harry's 
character.

          Sidenote: The chess match you are referring to in book 1 
is the one in which Ron is teaching him to play the game. Chess is 
not just a game of strategy it is a game of improved strategy 
through experiance.


   Just my two knuts- Linda