[HPforGrownups] Re: Harry and Morality

[Ladi lyndi]

No: HPFGUIDX 57304


--- Troels wrote:
> I /like/ Harry's flaws - he is sufficiently
> unbelieveable as
> it is and that might be why I prefer to
> emphasise his faults
> rather than gloss them over, which I feel you
> are doing here.
> I relish it when Harry is stupid or immoral -
> it makes me
> better capable of believing in him.


Lynn:

I don't think people are trying to gloss over
Harry's faults as much as to defend him against a
Zero Tolerance attitude.  At least that's the
impression I've gotten from some of these posts. 
It's as if people expect Harry to never make a
mistake, to never break a rule, to always be
perfect and when he isn't, the only explanation
for his not being expelled or given a harsher
punishment is because he's Harry.

Unless someone has never broken a rule or has
never received a lighter punishment than they
perhaps should have (e.g. getting a warning
rather than the speeding ticket; a month's
grounding (i.e. house arrest) instead of the 'for
the rest of your life' that they probably
deserved), it seems to me to be hypocritical to
demand that Harry receive these punishments to
make the books more realistic or that because JKR
doesn't impose these punishments she's making a
moral justification for rule-breaking.  It's
these things that help make the books believable.

Consequences for offenses are as individual as
the person administering the consequence and the
person receiving the consequence.  As a parent,
the consequences for an offense isn't set in
stone but is fluid depending upon how much is
learned from the actual offence.  If my daughter
has learned what she did wrong and understands
why it is wrong, there will be a consequence to
reinforce the lesson but it will not be the same
as a consequence for doing the same thing over
and over and not learning.  That's how I see
Harry.  He receives punishment and usually in
such a way as to develop his moral values.  It
may not have been the consequence I would have
given but, as I said, it's a very individual
thing.  I've yet to meet two sets of parents who
agree on the exact same consequences for all the
exact same offenses.

It also appears that people are expecting adult
maturity and understanding from a kid.  While as
an adult I may not assist someone who has broken
the law, as a kid it was natural to help a friend
get out of trouble.  You don't think about the
fact that the person has broken the law; you
think about the fact that a friend is in trouble
and you want to help.  Learning that there are
times when friends must face the consequences for
their actions is something that comes with
maturity, a maturity 11 year olds usually don't
have.

Yes, Harry and Ron did steal a car.  What I find
interesting is that people seem to forget that
Harry's first thought was to go and wait by the
car for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.  Harry let himself
be led by Ron into doing something wrong because
he, at that time was panicking.  He and Ron then
didn't think things through and let the
excitement of flying the car cloud their
judgment, such a kid thing to do.  Harry does
learn a valuable lesson when he realizes he let
down someone he respected.  So, some of the
lesson appears to be taken away when apparently
most in Gryffindor applaud their actions,
including those that should know better, until
the Howler.  Then the lesson he had learned about
disappointing people was reinforced.  

Yep, I agree that Harry knew going into Hogsmeade
was wrong and that he was hoping he wouldn't get
caught doing it too.  It was actually his doing
that that made me start liking Harry because it
was such a kid thing to do.  There was no moral
anything, no panicking, just pushing boundaries. 
Now I can pontificate and say how wrong it was
and he shouldn't have done it, he should have
known better, but it is something that is so
natural for a kid to do, using their own
reasoning as to why a rule doesn't apply to them.
 (Heck, adults do that all the time, e.g. I'm not
going to wait for the walk signal because it's
raining and I'm getting wet so I'll ignore the
law and cross the street anyway.)  While Harry
didn't get punished as some may have liked, Harry
did learn a huge lesson which developed his moral
conscience in a way expulsion, detention or point
taking just wouldn't have done.  And isn't that
supposed to be the point, learning and
developing?

Perhaps a difference is that I don't see these as
faults but rather as being a more realistic
character.  It's a natural part of development in
all phases of life to make mistakes or to make
wrong choices.  It's from our mistakes that we
usually learn the most and develop because of
them.  I also think JKR has written these
characters at a more reasonable maturity level
than others appear too.  I like that Harry's not
perfect and I'm not going to pick on the kid for
being a kid.  Instead, I'm going to enjoy him
when he breaks the rulesm, regardless of why he's
breaking the rules, and applaud when he grows and
develops.  JKR has written these books in such a
way that kids can see themselves, relate to a lot
and, hopefully, learn but not making the same
mistakes Harry & Co. make.

Lynn



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