The Greek tragedy of the Weasley family - Remember the letter...

[holly_phoenix_11]

No: HPFGUIDX 80260

Dear Alshain, 
I would like to answer your request of comments and thoughts by 
commenting on your words, if you don't mind. Quoting just makes it 
more comprehensible, IMO.

You say:
Percy's views of right and wrong has something of legal positivism in
> them (IMO), the law must be obeyed because it is the law. You can't
> disobey it just because you think it's wrong. You can't go against 
the Ministry of Magic and undermine its authority just because you 
think Voldemort is back. His position would be the one of Kreon, 
while the rest of the Weasleys would side with Antigone and the right 
to rebel against unjust laws and rulers.

Me, holly :
 Remember the letter Percy sent ot Ron? Although it was depicted as a 
letter full of concern of a big brother towards the younger brother, 
I find it hard to imagine that a person who grew up with those 
people, Arthur and Molly, considers it right to tell them off to Ron, 
simply because he is all grown up now and has an opinion. He does not 
try to convince Ron that their parents are wrong or that the MOM is 
right because it represents the law, he just tries to convince him 
that he should set aside family and friends, because they do not have 
the power they used to do. His concern is that Ron should not be 
associated with people that lose their powers (DD) or with people 
that will not help him to a quest of more power (Harry and Arthur). 
He does not even try to show the slightest respect to the people that 
brought him up, as he talks about his parents in what I feel is an 
air of contempt for the "mess" they are involved in. He is trying to 
persuade Ron by showing contempt for his parents and for a person 
that he himself respected, when he thought he held a great deal of 
power.


You say:

> And the tragedy is that both parties' values are right. Breaking the
> law creates chaos, blind obedience to it is the stuff that
> totalitarian regimes are made of. Right or Wrong is easier to 
resolve
> than Right or Right. 


Me, holly :
Judging from my own experience of this ancient drama (I am greek and 
was taught this drama at school), Kreon's point of view is 
characterised through the ages as the ultimate suppression to the 
natural law. Not to want to bury someone in ancient Greece was at 
least characterised as heresy, no matter what he/she did in life. 
Kreon was not at all right, and Antigone's effort can be translated 
as the struggle to obey laws (even if they are moral) while under the 
threat of death. Kreon was the dictator above the laws, and Antigone 
was the voice of right and lawful to the eyes of the gods, whose laws 
were aboce all others.

As for dear Percy, I wouldn't be against this kind of behaviour if it 
was triggered by his urge for the truth or the law. But Percy's 
attitude during the whole book is that of a man thirsty for power, 
who despises the people deprived from it. Why send back the sweater, 
knitted by the hands of your mother? Even if she is wrong, she is 
still your mother. There is no reason for that kind of actions, 
unless you don't want to be associated with people of this sort. And 
that is what Percy said (maybe not with those exact words). 

Thank you for your attention
holly_phoenix_11