Voldemort *inside* Harry's head (mind)? (Was: Re: Wanting or presenting: Was: Sn

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 93486

Jenjar:
The voice has perplexed me too. I was actually noticing it as a
voice of reason and discretion.  <snip> It really seems the voice was
trying to help him. <snip>

I found an instance of an unhelpful voice on page 778 <snip>

This confuses me even more.  The *unbidden* voice clearly isn't
helping Harry.<snip> I just can't figure it out.  I have so many 
questions- Where are these voices coming from?  Are they all the same
voice?  What is the voice or voices purpose? <snip>

Laura:
<snip>
All the other instances in the books of a "voice"  in Harry's head I 
think of can be chalked up to that little voice *everyone* has in
their head . . . Everybody *does* have that voice, right? *looks
around* (Although, there is an interesting passage in OotP in which he
has an entire *conversation* with it, quoted at the end of this email,
if anyone's interested.)

<"Small and truthful voice" conversation snipped. Excerpts appear
below, in my post. Carol>


Carol:
 First, I hope I have the attributions correct here. If not, please
accept my apologies.

I wanted to comment on the "small and truthful voice inside [Harry's]
head, with which he has as Laura points out, an entire conversation.
This is quite clearly an example of Harry talking to himself; the
voice refers to itself as "I," but that "I" is as much Harry as the
Harry who is answering it, addressed by the voice as "you," as the
following excerpts illustrate:
 
"Harry screwed up his face and buried it in his hands. He could not
lie *to himself*" <snip>

"'*I'm* better at Quidditch,' said the voice. 'But *I'm* not better at 
anything else.'" 

"'Well, Ron and Hermione were with *me* most of the time,' said the
voice in Harry's head.
 
"'Not all the time, though,' *Harry argued with himself.* 'They didn't
fight Quirrell with me. They didn't take on Riddle and the Basilisk.
They didn't get rid of all those Dementors the night Sirius escaped.
They weren't in that graveyard with me, the night Voldemort returned ...'"
<snip>
"'But maybe,' said the small voice fairly, 'maybe Dumbledore doesn't 
choose prefects because they've got themselves into a load of
dangerous situations ... maybe he chooses them for other reasons ...
Ron must have something *you* don't ...'

As I've tried to indicate with the asterisks (for italics), Harry is
speaking, apparently aloud, to himself, though the voice identified as
"himself" is inside his head. Both perspectives are Harry's own, but
the "small voice" is clearly his better self, calm and fair, opposing
the Harry who wants to sulk because he hasn't been selected as
prefect. The voice, to me, suggests the "still, small voice" of
conscience, the internalized sense of right and wrong that all of us
have but that we don't always listen to. (Not to sound like Gollum,
but Myself and I have these conversations all the time, and Myself
usually wins eventually because she won't leave me (I) alone until I
do what she wants. And we do sometimes speak aloud, or at least the
"I" half of us does.) Call it the Ego and the Superego if you prefer.
(The Id, fortunately, is not involved in the conversation.) But
clearly, this voice has nothing to do with Voldemort or budding
schizophrenia. Its purpose is to help Harry to be happy for Ron.

Whatever may be the case with the other voices that Jenjar is
referring to (and my opinion of the moment is that they're probably
figurative), this particular instance seems to be a perfectly normal
instance of a teenage boy getting himself to see reason. Too bad he
doesn't do it more often.

Carol, who is not listening to herself tell her to get off the
computer and take a shower