Harry and special abilities (was Occlumency and Shield Charm)

[frost_indri]

No: HPFGUIDX 89427

Hitomi:
<<snippy>>
  Harry is incredibly strong- willed, and I think it ignorant of 
readers, who don't believe Harry has special abilities.  

Frost:  
  I'm sorry their  words annoy  you, but you shouldn't insult people 
just because they don't agree with your vision of the character.  

>> 
 And I'm going to keep repeating this quote in my signature, because 
the Harry-bashing is annoying me to death.  Why on earth are you  
reading a series named after him, if you don't like him? (Not to  
mention, how can you not love Harry?  His character is beyond  
beautiful.)
>>

Frost:
  I can only speak for myself, and I will.  Harry may be a beautiful 
character, but it is because he is flawed.  As an artist,  I know 
that while most people tend to like things that are perfectly 
symmetrical, it is that which is unsymmetrical that is more 
interesting, and more worth your time to wrestle with.  Harry is not 
perfect. Actually, he annoys the crap out of me sometimes.  He makes 
mistakes. He's not in perfect balance. He's not wonderfully 
blessed.   I would point out that he's been rather thoroughly 
cursed. ;)  

	  If he were so specially gifted, as you seem to see him, I 
would be bored.  How many times have I read about perfect 
characters, or characters  who "aren't perfect" but are still 
somehow always in the right.  Wonderfully gifted characters don't 
come up against real struggles; certainly not ones I can identify 
with.  I find amazing beauty in a character who is no more gifted 
than those around him, and yet he strives and through his struggles, 
becomes something more.  I think Harry does have some gifts and 
talents, but no more than other people.  I would hate for him to 
become a "ubercharicter."  The type who runs into a battle and then 
you know that the battle will be won.  I've already read that story, 
a thousand times.  It's boring. Worthless. 

	Harry is flawed, and it is his flaws that make him 
beautiful. Might I point out that the greatest characters in English 
lit. were all flawed?  MacBeth, Lady MacBeth, Othello, Iago, 
Shylock, King Lear, Captain Ahab, Don Quixote. (ok, so you can tell 
I'm a Shakespeare buff -_-' But I remembered two who weren't written 
by him!).  Even in more modern writings it is the Flawed characters 
that bring the most beauty.  It is through internal struggle that we 
explore the questions of humanity, and that show us the beauty in 
our existence.

  I think its fair for us to be frustrated with Harry. JKR has 
managed to make him very human, very real.  And to say that he is 
special because he has extra talent just steals that away.  

 	 As you may have noticed from other posts, I'm not willing 
to say that Harry is completely without talent, but I don't think 
he's any superman either. I think he has places where he's good at 
things, and places where he is bad. I don't think he is going to be 
a natural Legelmens, he doesn't have the focus of mind.  He is 
bloody stubborn, which does translate into a certain amount of will-
power, but that is as much a flaw as it is a strength.  I think that 
is an interesting insight on the part of JKR.  It pleases me 
greatly. ^_^  

	Most of all, the Harry bashing that you complain about is in 
a way, some of the greatest praise JKR can get.  They aren't 
complaining about how poorly Harry was written. They are complaining 
about him as though he were real; a person that they know and want 
to kick the crap out of for being a brat. (ok, maybe that is a 
little strong, but you get my point.)  

Hitomi:
 > JKR in responding to a reader asking her which character she 
missed most when done writing (at Royal Alber Hall interview with 
Stephen  Fry): "I really miss all of them, but I suppose I'm going 
to have to  say Harry, because he is my hero and there is a lot of 
me in Harry."
>>

Frost:
  That just means that she loves him, warts and all.  And being a 
hero... heh.  I think she's a woman who has enough insight to see 
beyond the "muscle" and see what is truly heroic about a person. 
That doesn't require them to be perfect.  I mean, really who would 
you rather read about?  Superman or Batman. I'd pick Batman any 
day.  Batman is my hero, and he's the dark grumpy guy without any 
superpowers, (beyond his Bottomless bat-wallet.)  Hero's don't have 
to be perfect.  They just have to show something that we admire and 
strive for. 

Just my two knuts.  *looks up*  hmmm
 make that a sickle.

Frost