Producing a Patronus + reaction to a Dementor

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 89308

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "suehpfan" <stanleys at s...> 
wrote:

Frost: 
> >  snip> 
>   I like him, but not because he's a great perfect person.  I like 
> > him because his struggles remind me of my own, and that really 
lets 
> > me feel his humanity.

Sue:
> I was going to pull myself out of this argument but for the sake of 
> making my perspective clear, I will post one more time and then 
> return quietly to lurking.  
> 
> My opinion of Harry has never been that he is perfect.  No one is.  
I 
> only feel that the perspective that he is inately evil is off the 
> mark.  He used an unforgivable curse, bad choice, not a bad 
person.  
> He also saved the life of Peter Pettigrew when he could have 
allowed 
> him to be murdered.  It would have been SO easy for a cold person 
to 
> allow that to happen, who would Harry have seen as more deserving 
of 
> the death penalty?  It seems to me then that as it would be biased 
> and one sided to see Harry as perfect in every way, it is equally 
as 
> one sided to see him as evil.  He is HUMAN and he is YOUNG.

Geoff:
I have come out in support of Harry on a number of past occasions as 
not being either evil, ruthless or on the opposite side a perfect 
Christ figure.

The following is part of a comment I originally made in message 78099 
which also involved a discussion on belief but summarises my feelings 
about Harry as a character.

"Again, to finish, Dumbledore points out to Harry in COS that what we
are is a result of our choices, not our abilities and this again is
part of the core of real Christian belief. 

Harry reminds me so much of myself in many ways when I was at that 
age, looking for answers, being impatient, not listening to wiser 
counsels, making a pig's ear of things but I believe that I finally 
reached decisions which have given me a full and satisfying life 
because I made the right choices at the right time. I am sure that 
many contributors to this group will snort and say "Rubbish" because 
they do not share my view of life - and they have a perfect right to 
do so. My point is that people who are at the stage of making choices 
for themselves at crucial moments could do far worse than looking at 
the advice Harry receives from all directions and the ultimate (and 
sometimes flawed)choices he makes".