Somethings not right

[Tom Wall]

No: HPFGUIDX 80795

Lori wrote:
Now what I am having a difficult time with is, she abuses 
Harry in this book. NOT emotionally, but physically. Umbridges pen! 
It sent one heck of a message to me, and for little kids reading 
this book as well. She basically is saying it's ok if someone hurts 
you, you don't have to tell an adult, you don't have to tell anyone, 
you can keep it a secret! Secrets are not good for small children to 
keep. Especially if the secret includes someone hurting them, or 
worse things then that. Maybe it's not what she intended but it's 
there none the less. Lori

sarcasticmuppet replied:
Harry's reaction was reasonable considering his relationship with 
Dumbledore at the time. When R&H find out about the pen, they flip 
out and tell him to go to Dumbledore. Harry is having mixed feelings 
about going to Dumbledore about anything considering the cold-
shouldering he's been getting. Should he have told someone? 
Probably, but Harry isn't the type to go tell adults things anyway.

Tom, concurring with sarcasticmuppet, adds:
I understand where you're coming from, Lori, in that because Harry 
didn't at first tell anyone that he was being mistreated by 
Umbridge, a young child might decide similarly not to tell anyone if 
they themselves were being hurt.

However, I think sarcasticmuppet hit the nail on the head: there 
were many reasons for Harry not talking to anyone about this 
treatment. A) He felt that this was a private battle between himself 
and Umbridge - i.e. he didn't want to give her the satisfaction of 
knowing that she'd gotten to him. B) Dumbledore's very conspicuous 
avoidance of Harry contributes to the latter's feelings of 
alienation (which border on feelings of betrayal), so he feels like 
he can't go to Dumbledore. C) When he does reveal the truth to Ron 
and Hermione, they are outraged on his behalf, they tell him to talk 
to Dumbledore, and Hermione brings him the essence of murtlap. D) It 
is completely in character for Harry to not talk about what's 
bothering him. 

This last characteristic is responsible for a great deal of the 
series' development in general. How would Chamber of Secrets have 
worked out if Harry'd been up-front about what he was hearing? And 
there were *lives* on the line in that case. In my opinion, that's a 
*far* more grievous offense, as it involves the safety and well-
being of others. But again, we know why Harry did it - it's because 
Ron tells him that even in the Wizarding World, hearing voices that 
no one else can hear isn't a good thing.

A discerning reader would note that Harry frequently makes bad 
decisions, and tragically, he does so with the best of intentions. I 
never got the impression from these encounters with Umbridge that 
JKR was condoning her behavior, or that she was condoning Harry's 
secrecy concerning it. In fact, I got the opposite impression, 
namely that JKR firmly implied that Harry was wrong for not going to 
someone. She did this by showing us that, when his friends found out 
about it, they gave him encouragement and support, and they ALSO 
suggested that he go to Dumbledore. But because we're in Harry's 
mind (so to speak) I think that his behavior makes complete sense, 
under the circumstances. I may not agree with it, but it makes sense 
nonetheless.

-Tom