Harry's developing behaviour - average or unique?

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 118574


I often wonder whether it reflects the demographic structure of HPFGU 
but to me it is  noticeable that threads regarding Harry's 
development and the question of boys' behaviour seem largely to be 
posed and answered by women members of the group. As a result, I 
sometimes feel that this puts a wrong spin on the matter because 
looking at the matter from my perspective, I feel that wrong 
conclusions are drawn as to whether Harry's behaviour is fairly 
normal or unique to him.

What is my perspective? Firstly and obviously I am a male and was a 
teenager some little time ago (my current age being 21+). 
Additionally, I have had a great deal of experience dealing with 
young people. For over 30 years I taught in South London at the same 
school. Over the years it moved from being an 11+ to 16 boys' school 
to a 13+ to 18 mixed and then finally to a 12+ to 16 mixed so I was 
dealing with teenagers for my entire professional career. I also have 
three children, now grown up, of whom two are male and, although I 
took early retirement several years ago, my wife and I still work 
with teenagers in our church Boys' Club. 

So, is Harry's journey from 11 to nearly 16 unusual? Is the move 
from "Too Good" Harry to CapsLock!Harry a reasonable progression? And 
do we expect him to calm down and become pleasanter after this? I 
would say yes and want to set out comparisons between Harry's 
progress and that of a typical real world guy.

We meet Harry as a naïve, uncertain 11 year old in 1991. At that 
time, many boys of that age would be in the same situation. Up to 
that age, their thinking had been very much guided by their family; 
they usually conformed to the structure of the family. Boys of that 
age still see the world very much in black and white; things are good 
or bad. I remember, when my school was about to change from 11+ 
intake to a 13 year old intake, having a conversation with my 
Headmaster, who was a very wise old bird – definitely in the 
Dumbledore mould. I said that I could see potential problems with 
boys coming in at Third Year level because we usually gained the 
loyalty and support of the First Years without any hassle but I could 
anticipate that, being two years older, they would probably be more 
streetwise and likely to question what was going on. My headmaster's 
perceptive comment about the First Year boys was something 
like "True. When they are at the age of 11, they haven't lost their 
sense of wonderment or magic."

In my opinion therefore, Harry was not unusual at this age. He was 
quiet and reserved, not many close friends. So was I. I was a bit of 
a swot; I enjoyed finding out about things and wasn't particularly 
athletic. Harry also wasn't completely angelic. Although he kept his 
head down, metaphorically and physically, at Privet Drive, he 
obviously had his views which were sometimes a little "wicked". We 
see him in PS thinking of Dudley as a pig in a wig and he allowed 
himself to visualise Dudley resembling one of the gorillas at the 
Zoo. When he is annoyed or stressed, his wandless reflex magic 
surfaces from time to time. In COS, he has great fun frightening 
Dudley with his wand and he certainly produces a couple of sarcastic 
replies for Aunt Marge in POA. So there is certainly a spark present 
waiting to be triggered off!

What about him in OOTP? I said earlier that at 11, things are black 
and white. It is as we approach our teens that the grey areas begin 
to creep in. People we have looked up to as marvellous – maybe even 
parents or grandparents – suddenly have occasions when they let us 
down, embarrass us and try to continue directing our lives as they 
did when we were younger. Teens want room to flex their muscles – 
physically, behaviourally and socially – and like to spend time 
pushing at the barriers and seeing if they can be prised open a 
little further. And with it can come the tempers and the outbursts. I 
know about that – I had red hair (then!). Both my sons went through 
spells like this in their mid-teens. My elder son was dreadful; we 
didn't dare take him anywhere. He was angry, moody, sullen and anti-
social. Today, he is happily married and working towards a doctorate 
in Theology  as a mature student. My younger son lived on a short 
fuse for years (as did our nerves). Something would displease him and 
there would be a minor volcanic eruption. He would address us in 
capital letters and then stomp off to his room; you could tell by the 
diminishing sounds of doors being slammed hard where he was. He is 
now a highly-paid computer consultant used to making measured 
decisions for companies. OK, so Harry had extra reasons for blowing 
his top over and above the usual pressures of adolescence but much of 
what he does and thinks are in part the normal behaviour and 
development of average teenage males.

Will Harry revert to being like he was before his outburst years? No. 
But he will return to being more civilised. He will not return to the 
unquestioning and naïve Harry of 11 but he will be the experienced 
and worldy-wise Harry of 17 or 18 growing into adulthood. This is how 
it works out in the real world and I see this as being the same for 
the Wizarding World. Let's stop trying to label Harry as a freak and 
consider him as a normal teenager for whom the screw has been turned 
a notch or so tighter than normal.

Geoff
http://www.aspectsofexmoor.com