Harry and the importance of Quidditch

[Ali]

No: HPFGUIDX 88300

Quidditch is very important to Harry and so for the reader, for two 
fundamental reasons. Firstly, understanding and even obsessing over 
Quidditch is a way to show he belongs to the WW. His support of the 
Chudley Canons, a mediocre team, rather than the fashionable 
Tornados, perhaps seals his original bond of friendship with Ron, 
the first person who really seems to have accepted him as an equal. 
Thus, with his Quidditch team support, the reader can see the 
importance Harry places on friendship..

Secondly, Harry is good at Quidditch, very good. In the words of 
Professor McGonagall

 "The boy's a natural. I've never seen anything like it." P. 112 PS 
UK edition.

Harry is not a natural scholar. He carries the burden of fame for a 
past he cannot remember, and constantly zigzags between fame and 
infamy. Yet, with flying, with Quidditch, he feels he can justify 
his famous name:

"In a rush of fierce joy he realised he'd found something he could 
do without being taught – this was easy, this was wonderful".

Harry doesn't really believe that he has any strengths, but

"What was he best at? Well, that was easy, really –

"Quidditch" he said" GoF p.301

When Harry flew in the first task in GoF,

"He realised that he had left not only the ground behind, but also 
his fear 
 he was back where he belonged 
" p.310

Thus, Quidditch allows Harry to justify his fame to himself but it 
also allows him to forget it and all his worries.

In contrast to his school work, Harry does work hard in Quidditch, 
he practices hard and reads up about the theory, showing that when 
Harry is dedicate to something, he can apply himself.

Harry's Quidditch talent is recognised and encouraged by his adult 
mentors. Rules are broken to allow him to play Quidditch in the 
first year and to have his own broom. The gift of the Firebolt 
allows Harry to realise his talent more fully than if he had to 
continue with a slower Cleansweep, like Ron. 
Quidditch also gives Harry a link to his dead father, James who was  
a good Quidditch player. When Sirius gives Harry the Firebolt, it 
somehow connects Harry to the life he might have had – with his 
father and godfather -to one of his most enjoyable past times now, 
Quidditch.

Of course, because Quidditch is so important to Harry, JKR 
constantly deprives him of it:

 In CoS, Quidditch is cancelled because of the Basilisk menace. In 
GoF there is no Quidditch season because of the Tri-Wizard 
tournament, and of course, Umbridge knowing what Quidditch means to 
Harry, gives him a lifelong ban in OoP. In PoA, Harry's enjoyment of 
Quidditch is threatened until he can gain mastery over the 
Dementors. 


To date, Harry has never truly been beaten in Quidditch. When 
Hufflepuff won in PoA, it was because Harry was facing the 
Dementors. Arguably, despite his lack of attention at that point, 
Cedric would not have won if the Dementors (and Sirius) and had 
diverted Harry's attention.

Despite Harry's ability, he seems never to have considered Quidditch 
as a post-Hogwarts Career. Perhaps this is because he knows that 
Quidditch can only ever be a diversionary hobby, but JKR has choosen 
not to explain this.

With Umbridge removed, it would seem likely that Harry's lifelong 
ban has been lifted. Now, we must wonder will Harry ever be captain 
of the Gryffindor team and will he ever be beaten?


Ali