Is Harry feeling guilty for being alive ?

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 117548



Alla wrote :
" First let me clarify - under not normal I only meant to be more 
heroic than the normal person would."

Del replies :
Same for me.

Alla wrote : 
"You are saying that "heroes" as characters do not appeal to you, 
correct? Well, fair enough. "

Del replies :
It's not exactly that they don't appeal to me. Rather, they don't have
the same kind of appeal. I find it much harder to closely identify
with them. And because they are different to start with, I don't have
as much compassion when they do get in trouble : after all, they are
heroes, so let them deal with problems like true heroes, not like real
people. That's for the down side, there's an up side too, but it's OT
here.

Alla wrote : 
"Funnily enough, usually I don't have much use for them either. But 
suprisingly, Harry is not an obvious type of hero for me."

Del replies :
Harry is *not* a Hero for me. He is the story's hero as in "central
character", but he's not a Hero. That's why explanations centered on
"he does it because he's the hero" don't go well with me.

To me, Harry is a normal person thrown into abnormal circumstances,
just like any kid thrown into a war for example. They are everyday
heroes, if you prefer.

Alla wrote : 
"First reason is because I am not sure whether he survives, so even if
 he prevails over Vodemort (which is pretty much a  guarantee, I
think) he may lose his life and even though Dumbledore talks about
death sa next great adventure and I am sure JKR will reunite him with
his loved ones, I will still consider that he loses at  the end  if he
dies."

Del replies :
This doesn't really come into the picture for me. It's rather the drag
the existence of LV puts on his daily life that matters to me. It's
the fact that LV killed his parents, and now tries to kill him. But
this doesn't make a Hero, it just makes a tragic character. On the
other hand, Harry also has true friends and loyal supporters, so his
life is not a complete tragedy.

Alla wrote : 
"Secondary exactly because Harry is both a normal boy and more
"heroic" than normal boy. I do like when author does that and I much
prefer Harry to be that way. I can both identify to his normal
qualities and admire his "heroic" side, his "old soul" as JKR once said. "

Del replies :
That's the part I don't like.
I would like it if it were *conscious*. I would like it if we saw
Harry make decisions beyond his age because he's wiser than kids his
age. But that's not what happens. We just see Harry jumping into
situations without much thinking and luckily getting out of them
without too many scratches.

Alla wrote :
" Actually, who says that wanting to save the world could not be a
"normal" quality? "

Del replies :
*Wanting* to save the world is a normal quality. Systematically going
against much stronger people than you is not.
Every day RL example : many kids want to have peace in the school
yard. But how many do we see that walk up to every single bully they
see, no matter how much bigger than them, fight them, always come out
quite unharmed, and repeat the process the next day, even when nobody
cares about or approves of what they do? Pretty rare.

Alla wrote :
"You said that one cannot be both Frodo and Legolas. True, but what do
you make of Aragorn? He is a normal person and a hero."

Del replies :
Aragorn is hardly a normal person IMO. He is the one prophesied to
come and he's suspected or known this for most of his life. He was
raised by Elves. He is loved by an Elven princess. And most of all
he's *experienced* : he's not fresh out of innocence. He's had
*decades* to ponder his role in History and to prepare for it. When
duty calls, he stops and reflect before jumping. He *knows* he's a
prophesied hero and he *chooses* to fulfill that role, putting aside
whatever else he might want.

Normal people would be the other humans : Faramir and Boromir for
example (two of my very favourite characters, along with Eowyn). Two
brothers who both want the same thing (saving their world) but who
make radically different decisions for a number of reasons, like the
way they were raised, their own temperament, their knowledge and
understanding of the situation. As a result, one makes a tragically
wrong decision, while the other reaches a wiser and better conclusion.
They are just humans, trying to do their best, and willing to
sacrifice some things to attain their great goal : every day heroes.

That's how I see Harry. But this means that he *cannot* have a True
Heroic side, otherwise he becomes more like Aragorn (whom I associate
more with the Mythical Creatures like Gandalf and Legolas than with
the normal people like Faramir and the Hobbits).

Del