Good & Evil in the Potterverse (was Harry Agonistes (

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 99277

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "naamagatus" 
<naama_gat at h...> wrote:
> <snip> 
> > I didn't explain that well. I don't mean that the  characters in 
> > Tolkien, Lewis and Star Wars don't struggle with moral 
issues.  What I mean is that when Aragorn says, 'Good and ill 
have not  changed since yesteryear; nor are they one thing 
among Elves  and Dwarves and another among Men,' nobody 
thinks he's talking nonsense. And a similar sort of universal 
morality  prevails in the Star Wars movies: the Jedi have been 
upholding  one ideal of peace and freedom accepted across the 
galaxy for  thousands of years
> > 
> > But Rowling's world doesn't have that kind of unity. 
> > 
Naama:
> Now it's my turn to ask, are we reading the same books. I don't 
see  any ambivalence at all regarding Right and Wrong in the 
Potterverse.  IMO, JKR holds a universalistic concept of morality, 
and Aragorn's  quote, "Good and ill have not changed..." could 
easily have been said  by Dumbledore. <<


Can you imagine Gandalf or Aragorn seeking alliance with 
Giants who "half-kill each other every few weeks"  and decorate 
themselves with human bones?  Would they offer rights and 
freedoms to the Orcs?

JKR may well believe that there is a constant moral ideal and 
that everyone should aspire to it. Dumbledore does his best to 
influence others. But he does not assert the power to make other 
men see the truth, nor does he condemn out of hand those who 
do not see it as he does. 

The message of the Sorting Hat's new song, and of 
Dumbledore's closing words at the GoF feast imply to me  that 
any aim, no matter how noble, may become corrupt once we 
close our hearts to those who do not share it. Now I could be 
wrong, and it may be that JKR has introduced this idea only to 
show us how wrong-headed it is. We'll see. 

 To me  JKR seems to be saying that while we are threatened by 
the truly perverse, we would do better to stop expecting that 
everyone conform to our ideal of morality and concentrate on 
fighting perversity together.

Pippin