Harry and special abilities (was Occlumency and Shield Charm)
Hitomi
japanesesearcher at yahoo.com
Fri Jan 23 20:21:09 UTC 2004
No: HPFGUIDX 89481
In response to Del's comments I'll say this, and then I'll leave
this thread alone, as I seem to continually NOT be able to make my
point clearly or accurately, and I don't want to dig myself into an
even deeper hole.
The post I made before my last one on this thread, to be perfectly
honest, I am quite ashamed of. It was rude, opinionated, not at
all open-minded (which I always hope to be), and only served to
drive home the point of those who don't share my opinion. Because
Del, you were right, in that we will simply have to agree to
disagree. I do NOT worship Harry, I simply love his character. At
the end of the day, he's what I go back to read these books for.
You don't have to like him, nor share my opinion; I would hate it if
you did, it would make this list rather boring. I have ALWAYS seen
Harry as simply human, NOT Superman (for some reason people seem to
think I do see him as the cliche Mary Sue - I hate Mary Sues). But
I think there are qualities about him that I do strive for in my own
character, but that's only because I relate to him, as a HUMAN
being. As I said before, human meaning inherently flawed, and born
into original sin. I don't want Harry to be perfect, I love him as
JKR has written him, and that is as the typical flawed human being,
with their own special talents and assortment of weaknesses (which
we all have).
Though you will never get me to understand how anyone can see Harry
as a cruel character (sometimes I feel like I'm reading a different
book), I do understand how you can not like him. So I'll leave it
there. I'm usually pretty eccentric in my choice of characters I
like, I always gravitate towards those who have huge flaws, yet
overcome them by the fact that they love others more than
themselves. Altruistic, to an extent. Ender Wiggin, as I
mentioned before, Holden Caulfield (Catcher in the Rye, Salinger),
Tom Joad (The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck), Adam Hall (The Chamber,
Grisham), Arthur Clennam (Little Dorrit, Dickens), to name a few in
common literature others may know of. And you can't say that Harry
doesn't put another's life before his own.
In the end, I simply agree with Rowling (as I said before, and will
risk redundancy for closure): "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."
Oh, and those quotes I gave come from the perspective of a thirty-
year-old Ender, after the fact of his childhood ;)
~ Hitomi
"Maybe we're the fools, for thinking we know things. Maybe humans
are the only ones who can deal with the fact that nothing can ever
be known at all" (Xenocide, Orson Scott Card 317).
"I'll tell you what *I* think. I think you don't grow up until you
stop worrying about other people's purposes or lack of them and
find the purposes you believe in for yourself" (Ender from Xenocide,
Orson Scott Card 413).
"People should only be blamed or praised for what they meant to do"
(Xenocide, Orson Scott Card 430).
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