Is Harry feeling guilty for being alive ?

delwynmarch delwynmarch at yahoo.com
Wed Nov 10 14:14:01 UTC 2004


No: HPFGUIDX 117540


Alla wrote :
"Of course it is not the normal reaction of eleven year old boy, but 
this IS the normal (I would even say typical) reaction of the young 
hero in the fantasy quest.

Will in the "Darkness rising" series for example also discovers his 
powers when he is eleven years old and does many heroic things at this
young age.

This is part of the appeal of Harry's character to me. In some ways he
is a normal, I would even say typical boy, but in some ways he is a
typical hero. He is real, but he is not completely real as a character.

Take Ron for example. he is a GREAT character and I like him, but he 
IS a typical boy, way too down to earth for me.

If I want to read the book about character like Ron, I will choose  
more reality- based book. Am I confusing?"

Del replies :
Not confusing, no. I just feel differently. I personally don't like
the obvious heroes, the characters that don't react like normal
people. I dislike it even more when their authors try to make them
pass as normal people, except in exceptional circumstances.

So to me, either Harry is normal or he's not.

If he's normal, then I want to understand why he does exceptional
things, and I can relate to him.

If he's not normal, then I feel free to hold him to a higher standard
than normal boys, and I don't care much about him on a personal level.

To use an analogy : one can be either Frodo or Legolas, but not
alternatively one and the other. I relate to and admire Frodo, and I
worship Legolas as some kind of magical and wondrous creature (even
before the movie ;-P), but I can't do it the other way around. And
while I can understand and excuse all the little flaws in Frodo's
character and actions, I couldn't take them in Legolas. Inversely, I'd
have taken Frodo's death as the very personal death of a real person,
but the death of Legolas as the death of the last dodo : a loss to the
world at large by principle, but nothing very personal to me.

Let me illustrate with the first book. In the first book, Harry is
first presented as a very normal boy who thinks little of himself.
Then he discovers he's a wizard with a peculiar past story. The boy
who thinks he's nobody and turns out to be someone special,
everything's fine until then. Then he meets Ron and Hermione, and the
friendless little boy becomes a part of a trio where everyone
completes the others. Again, very normal. In the end, they end up
working together to defeat the villain. Their cooperation, coupled
with Harry's special thing (the protection from his mother), leads to
their victory. This was a very satisfying book for me : a tale about a
nobody who discovers that he's a special somebody with a special
talent, and that with the help of others he can accomplish great
things. It's very typical, and everyone can relate to it : everyone is
a special somebody with a special talent, who can accomplish great
things by cooperating with and relying on others.

But now this story seems to be shifting from "Harry has a special
talent" to "Harry is different (superior)". I just don't like that.
The whole point of the HP books for me was that Harry is normal. He
*has* a special talent, but he *is* normal.

Moreover, I'm not so sure that JKR intends Harry to be so special. The
Prophecy doesn't say that Harry will be some kind of Wizardus
Superior. It just says that he will have a special power.

This is why I'd rather find a *normal* explanation to why Harry acts
exceptionally : so I can keep identifying with Harry. I want him to be
Frodo, not Legolas.

Alla wrote : 
"Also, to ME to read the series as if Harry was basing his decisions 
ONLY on his guilt would be destroying his image as a young hero and I
don't want to interpret the books like that.

As I said , to ME the guilt is there, but there are other factors he 
hs basing his decisions to fight."

Del replies :
You're reading too much into what I said.
I did mention that Harry loves his friends. Harry also wants to do
what he thinks is right. He wants to prevent the bad guys from gaining
power. All sorts of good reasons and incentives.
What I'm saying is that Harry does more than other kids with the same
kind of motivation would do. And I'm wondering if that additional push
to act wouldn't come from an unconscious sense of guilt.

Again, if that push just comes from the fact that he's a hero, then
that would spoil everything for me because this last step between
intention and action is precisely where most normal people stop. I
need to feel that Harry doesn't do special things just because that's
what heroes do.

I'm not sure I'm making much sense :-)

Del








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