Birth, Doubt, Fear, Pride, Disillusionment

[susanbones2003]

No: HPFGUIDX 79725

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "mightymaus75" <mpjdekker at h...> 
wrote:
> 
> 
> One of the things that struck me most when I read OotP was the fact 
> that the book seemed to have a very clear-cut theme: 
disillusionment. 
> It made me wonder if not perhaps each of the Harry Potter books has 
> one single defining theme. It seems to me that they do; In each 
book 
> Harry faces a new obstacle, overcomes that obstacle, and goes back 
to 
> the Dursleys a little wiser and a little stronger. 
>SNIPPAGE: 
>> Book 5 – Disillusionment. During the book Harry finds out that his 
> role as the hero who always neatly solves everything isn't that 
> simple. In life it doesn't always end with a happy ending, and 
Harry 
> certainly cannot solve everything by playing the hero. There is of 
> course also Sirius' death. The fact that Harry leads the Dursleys 
out 
> of the train station at the end of the book seems to suggest he has 
> overcome his disillusionment, and that he's now more confident with 
> his own role. As a visualisation of this theme there is the 
> Disillusionment charm at the begin of the book.
> 
SNIPPAGE
>> -Maus

I want to take issue with the idea that Harry is always playing the 
hero. I think that is a red herring sort of charge to make against 
him. He has been in situations in the past that demanded he take 
action and he did. In some instances he was drafted. In POA, it was 
only him (and Hermione) who could effect any different outcome (at 
least as it was presented to him by Dumbledore). In GOF, he never 
asked to be placed in the Tournament and he did as he was told to do 
for the most part. It was only at the end that he tried to be 
honorable and it got him thrust into a horrific situation. The first 
two books demonstrate his most heroic acts. No one asked him to 
confront Lord Voldemort but he saw himself as having unique knowledge 
and felt he must act. Playing the hero is something calculated to 
gain attention. Harry never did that. He wanted to save people, Ginny 
for instance. He'd have gone along with Ron to the Chamber had 
circumstances not separated them. Harry never played the hero. Maybe 
he miscalculated the best course of action in OOP but he never played 
the hero.
Jennifer