What JKR Finds Important - Harry's Anger

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 116049


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Kethryn" <kethryn at w...> wrote:

> Del replies :
> 
> <snip>
> 
> ... Antosha, you explain very clearly why Harry should indeed
> be disturbed. My only problem is that Harry *starts the book* 
> already disturbed ! ... barely a month later, and suddenly Harry is 
> being unfair to his friends, he's bullying Dudley, and he's being 
> generally extremely moody and bad-tempered. This is not necessarily
> unrealistic, but it prevented me from getting into the book, because
> I felt it wasn't the same Harry anymore. ...
> 
 
> Kethryn now -
> 
> The Harry that we left at the end of GoF was still in shock and, to
a good bit, denial.  ...  To me, his progression from shock and denial
melded into anger rather seamlessly between the two books, ....  So,
we go from "shocky and in denial" Harry to "really angry at the world"
Harry in a matter of an offscreen month or so...not that big a leap
for me to make considering the circumstances we can infer from
previous encounters with the Dursleys regarding his home life.  And no
one likes to be kept in the dark and fed a lotta ....


bboyminn:

First to Del's point that "...I felt it wasn't the same Harry anymore
...". You are right, he is not the same Harry any more, and he can
never be the old innocent, having keen adventures with Ron, Harry ever
again. He has been kidnapped, tortured, almost killed, seen an
innocent fellow student killed because of Harry's choices, and seen
Voldemort come back to life. It's a whole new world now, and like it
or not, it's a whole new Harry; how could he possibly not be
profoundly changed by such events. 

Indeed, it is innocents lost, and OotP is the transitional phase
between innocents lost and adulthood gained. Harry now, as of the end
of OotP, has no choice but to grow up. A tremendous weighty burden has
been laid on his shoulders, and he can either crumble and die, or grow
up and carry on. Of course, the hero will grow up and carry on, but
that's an extremely tough transition to make in anyone's life. 

Further, Harry is completely isolated and alone at the Dursleys. The
boy who challenged and escaped Voldemort more times that any living
person, and in his mind, is thrown to the side and left to rot. At
Hogwarts, Harry had his friends around him to give him comfort. Even
if he doesn't talk to them about what happened, having them there
gives him a sense of safely and security. But after school, he is
essentially cast out on a desert island; no support, no reassurance,
no friends, no information, just isolation, nightmares, fear, worry,
and nothing but his disturbed thoughts to keep him company.   

Consider the events after they visit Mr. Weasley in the hospital. Look
at how fast Harry thought desent into irrational or distorted
hyper-rationalized thinking. To Mr. and Mrs. Weasley he is a hero, but
in a matter of minutes Harry has convinced himself that he is a
murdering monster that is a threat to everyone around him. By that
time in the story, Harry emotions have been further amplified by
Umbridge and Snape. But it gives us a clue as to how Harry's mind must
have been working when he was dumped at the Dursleys without the
slightest consideration for his fragile emotional state. 

Left alone in total isolation with no company or emotional support,
anyone's thinking would have desended into the depth of dispare and
anger inside of a month. Without anyone to lend perspective to his
emotional trama and turmoil, it's no wonder his blood was boiling. 

Further, his anger was amplfied by a sense that Ron and Hermione were
together, and that things indeed were going on, but those /things/
were being intentionally kept from Harry. 

In addition, the first chapters of OotP do describe how Harry go into
that state. No support, resistance from the Dursleys, no information,
no contact with anyone, empty pointless letters that hint a what he is
missing, force to hide in the dirt to catch a bit of the TV news.
Given a month to stew in these /juices/, how could anyone not be angry
and frustrated. 

The worst part is that it didn't have to be that way. What harm would
have been done by telling Harry if he had any problems to go to Mrs.
Figg? If he knew she was a Squib or a friend of Dumbledore's, Harry
would have at least had someone to talk to. In addition, would it have
killed them to set up a meeting with Ron and/or Hermione? What harm
would afternoon tea at Mrs. Figgs cause? None, and the safe human
contact would have done Harry a lot of good. This is my frustration
with the events, and I suspect, ever growing on a daily basis, Harry
experienced the same frustration. They left an emotionally tramatized
kid in total isolation to stew in his own emotional juices, and then
they wonder why he is angry and frustrated. I'M ANGRY AND FRUSTRATED,
it I had a chance, I'd kick Dumbledore's butt from here to Sunday and
back.


> Kethryn continues:
> 
> So, I don't think that Harry was overreacting.  Well, he was, but
that is an adult judgement. ... I guess I empathize with Harry because
of how close we are personality wise (odd since I am a girl *G*) but,
god knows, if we had to live with each other, it would be WWIII in the
house.
> 
> Kethryn


bboyminn:

It should be clear by now that I'm in sync with Kethryn which is
slightly disconcerting because Del and I are frequently of similar minds.

I see Harry's transition as realistic, but unsettling. I'm frustrated
to see Harry so frustrated, when I can clearly see that it didn't have
to be that way. If anyone in the book had given it a seconds thought,
they would have made arrangements for Harry to have some kind of
support and guidance through those first few very tramatic weeks when,
as any rational person would have realized, Harry's emotions are
overwhelming him. 

Seriously, right now my blood is boiling just thinking about it. Given
that, how could Harry's blood NOT be boiling when he was the one who
had to live it.

Just a thought; a frustrating thought.

Steve/bboyminn (was bboy_mn)