Cheering on Harry (was : Re: Who is the adult (Was: Who's to blame ...))

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 100800

darrin wrote:
> I really do wonder about people who find such fault with Harry, who 
> seem to speak of Harry with such disdain, who adore everything about 
> Snape and sometimes, the other Slytherins

Del notes :
Not liking Harry doesn't automatically equate with loving the
Slytherins. I don't care much either for Harry or for Snape.

Darrin wrote :
> It makes me wonder what they get out of the books, if they are 
> cheering for the bad guys.

Del replies :
What has that got to do with anything ?? I don't have to cheer for the
hero to get something out of a book (or movie or whatever). In "Robin
Hood Prince of Thieves" I always cheer for the Sheriff and still enjoy
myself tremendously.

Darrin wrote :
> The Slytherins ARE the bad guys.
> 
> They aren't the underdogs. They aren't misunderstood. They aren't 
> just waiting for a big old hug from some goth teen to redeem them.
> 
> They are thinly veiled cariactures of Nazis and KKK and Hitler Youth 
> rolled into one.

Del replies :
Erm... I think you've got things slightly wrong here, Darrin. It's the
*Death-Eaters* who are all of that. Not the Slytherins. And I hope you
don't assume that all Slytherins are bound to turn into DE, because
that would be basically saying that 11-year-old kids can choose to be
evil for the rest of their lives, which they can't.

May I remind you that if Harry hadn't met anyone before he put on the
Sorting Hat, he would most probably have ended up in Slytherin ?

No matter how bad some past Slytherins have turned out to be, I can't
help but wonder about the justice of a system where innocent kids can
be sorted into a House that is detested by the entire rest of the
school. How much of a chance do they really have to make friends
outside of Slytherin ?

Darrin wrote :
> I'm sure there are those who would find fault with me saying this, 
> but the books are titled "Harry Potter and..."
> 
> Not "Draco Malfoy and..." Or "Severus Snape and..."
> 
> So maybe I give Harry more slack than other characters. Not only 
> because he has gone through more grief at a younger age than any 
> other character -- I'll grant that Snape was bullied in school, but 
> did he have to fend off a version of V-Mort four times in five 
> years? -- but because at the core, he's the guy to root for.

Del replies :
You're mixing up several things that don't necessarily go together.

First, we don't know that Harry has suffered more than any other
character. He himself admits that Neville's fate is worse than his own
in many respects. Of course Neville didn't have to face LV, but so
what ? Facing LV isn't necessarily the worst thing that can happen to
someone.

Second, the books are entitled "Harry Potter and..." because they are
told from Harry's POV. That doesn't mean he's necessarily the absolute
hero of the series. If I wrote my diary but it turned out in the end
to be the story of how my sister became famous, it would still be *my*
diary.

Third, Harry might have done a lot, but he didn't do it alone. All
alone, he wouldn't have managed much, if anything. Fighting LV is a
team effort, and Harry needs all the others just as much as they need
him. All alone, Harry is doomed and LV wins.

Del