Is Harry a Gary Stu? (was: Mary Sue)

[nkafkafi]

No: HPFGUIDX 94745

First, many thanks to Star Opal, who posted this link in the "Mary 
Sue" thread:
http://missy.reimer.com/library/marysue.html

This site is a lot of fun. It is the Original Mary Sue Litmus Test by 
Melissa "Merlin Missy" Wilson, constructed to determine if the 
hero/ine of your fanfic is a Mary Sue/Gary Stu. Since I don't have 
any plans to write fanfic in the near future (but I have several very 
good plot ideas if someone's interested) I immediately tested JKR and 
Harry. The results are below. I paste only the sections in which JKR 
scores Mary sue/Gary Stu points.

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Note: The test was written for Gargoyles fan fiction <Neri shows his 
ignorance: what are the Gargoyles???> but as you'll see it is very 
relevant to HP.

Another note: In any question in which there was even the slightest 
doubt, I let JKR get away with it. For example, here is one of the 
questions:

"If someone tells you he/she doesn't like your character, do you take 
it as a personal attack on you?[1]"

If the answer is positive you need to add [1] point to your total. 
Since we can't be sure of JKR's answer I let her get away with no 
points. Here is another example question: 

"Would you like to be friends with the character if you met in real 
life?[1]"

The answer is almost certainly "yes", but still I let JKR get away 
with no points (hey, I'm feeling generous today).

Ok, lets get on with it: 
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Section 1 - The Name Game

Is the character's name in the title of the story or is the title 
otherwise a description of the character? (i.e. "The Girl Who Could 
Fly")[5]


Section 2 - Physical Attributes

Is the character from the same racial group as you?[1]

Is the character a teenager or in her/his early twenties?[1]

Does the character have an unusual eye color for no apparent reason?
[3] 
Will this be a plot point later?[1]

Does the character have a scar or a strange marking that is noticed 
by another character, but does not actually detract from his/her 
appearance?[1] 


Section 3 - Personal Traits

Was the character adopted or did he/she otherwise live with people 
who were not his/her parents as a child?[1]

Add points for each aspect seen somewhere during your character's 
life:

- sole survivor of a calamity[2]

Did the character have an unusual birth or unusual experience in 
early infancy? (i.e. abducted, placed in a basket and set afloat, 
visited by Three Weirdos, etc.)[1]


Section 4 - Super Powers

Does the character, not being fay, have magical/mutant powers anyway?
[2]
Can the character fly?[1] 
Without the aid of wings?[2]


Section 5 - The Love Connection

{Neri notes: JKR manages to get away with no points in this section!}
 

Section 7 - The Fiendish Plot

Do you tell the story from the character's point of view, all or 
mostly?[1]

Does the character save the day and/or another character's life?[3]
Through magical/mystical intervention?[1]

Do you plan to write many more stories revolving around this 
character?[2]


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{Neri notes: JKR's total is 28 points. We proceed to the evaluation 
phase...}

Possible Points: 170 (assuming some questions obviate the rest) 
Preliminary testing suggests the following basic scoring scheme: 
0-14 Developed character, unlikely MS.
15-20 Borderline character. Characters in this range are potential 
MS's, who can go either way dependent on the author's skill.
21+ Mary Sue/Gary Stu. Proceed with greatest caution.
35+ Reconsider your character and plot. Please.
Neri again: Even though I let JKR get away with everything I could, 
Harry Potter is definitely a Gary Stu. I also suspect, although I 
didn't bother to check it, that Hermione is a Mary Sue. So all of you 
fanfic writers with Mary sues/Gary Stus hidden in their drawers, 
there is still hope!

Neri