Things I like/hate about HP - was Re: Things I like about Harry Potter

[AyanEva]

No: HPFGUIDX 128010



--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "phoenixgod2000" <jmrazo at h...>
wrote:
> 
> In the interest of saying some positive things about HP I have 
> composed a partial list of things I like about Harry Potter.  Enjoy
> 
> 1. Harry is an awesome character.  
> 
> 2.  Animagi are a neat concept.
> 
> :::snip a bunch:::
> 
> 22-29.  Fleur Delacour.  I have a crush on her something bad. The 
> combination of sexy accent and unearthy beauty?  How can I resist?
> 
> 30.  The world of Harry Potter is so interesting and so filled with 
> promise I'm going to be writing fan fic for that world for the rest 
> of my life.
> 
> phoenixgod2000 out!

I'm really late and wrong but I want to add my lists in too! So,
without further ado, here are all of the things that I like about
Harry Potter. The ones that I can remember anyway. I'll warn you now
that this is long.

1) Severus Snape, first and foremost. (Yeah, I'm sticking up for him)
I don't like him in the least, but I do love him. My favorite
characters aren't necessarily the ones that I actually like, but the
ones that are complex and contradictory. I'm just dying to get inside
their heads and see what makes them tick because they're behavior is
so unlike that which would be considered "normal." Which usually
means, I end up liking the darker characters and then I'm thoroughly
disappointed that they've died in the end. For instance, I actually
like Darth Vader because he was far more complex than Luke Skywalker
(could anyone be more whiney?!) *shrugs* 

2) In Book 5, the excellent characterization of Harry Potter as a
grumpy teenaged boy who's been through some ish. It was an excellent
bit of writing; even if I did hate Harry by the end of the whole
thing; I still haven't read Book 5 again! Of course, I don't really
hate Harry, but he was irritating like none other.

3) Also, Book 5 is a great set-up for the next two books. Look at all
of the issues and questions it's inspired on HPFGU! Not to mention,
new insight on old questions. It keeps the party going.

4) All of Book 4. I LOVE that book. It was adventure, action, mystery,
but most importantly, that's when things really took a turn to the
dark side. I mean, sure Book 3 is when it begins, but Book 4 is when
you know that there's no going back.

5) HPSS/HPPS. That's where it all began! That's also when Hogwarts and
Harry were wide-eyed with wonder and carefree: Before the latest
prophecy and before Cedric or Siriu

6) Albus Dumbledore, both pre and post-OOTP. Cheerful old bat in the
first 3 books, hints of something else by the end of the 4th book, and
manipulative and unforgiving in Book 5. Unforgiving as in, he does
what he has to do to win the war, even if it means sacrificing a few
people. I detest that sort of ruthless thinking, but I don't see what
choice they really have. Voldemort's certainly not going to take a
time-out so that Harry can have a bit more time to get himself together.

7) Tom Marvolo Riddle. No, not Lord Voldie, but Tom. It was really
cool to see a bit of what he was like as a student in Book 2. I find
it memorable, but of the vast difference and subtle similarities
between Tom and Voldie.

8) Pre-OOTP rivalry between Harry and Draco. It was fun! Now Draco
just comes off as childish. 

9) Draco. See Severus Snape. There has to be more to Draco than what
we've seen. I want to know what it is! What's his relationship with
his father, what does he really think? All of the fanfictions out have
raised so many interesting possibilities for all of the characters. I
want to see if any of them play out.

10) Pre-OOTP Harry. When he wasn't so irritating that I wanted to
smack the crap out of him.

11) Ron Weasley. He's you're everyday kind of guy. He'll rise to the
occasion, but he's not super-smart like Hermione and not a wonder-boy
like Harry. He's just Ron and very refreshing because of his
average-ness. If anyone from the US watches the Disney Channel (yes,
I'm 21 years old and I still watch the Disney Channel) there's a show
on there called Kim Possible and she has a side-kick named Ron
Stoppable who reminds me a lot of Ron Weasley. The description that
the commercials give is "Kim Possible: The girl that can do anything!
And Ron Stoppable: The boy that might do something!"  It's not meant
in a mean way, it's just elucidating the juxtaposition between Ron
Stoppable and Kim Possible. Or in this case Ron Weasley and Harry
Potter/Hermione Granger. (Sorry for that random "elucidating" and
"juxtaposition": I couldn't think of any other way to phrase what I meant)

Ok, we'll leave the list of "Things That I Like" at 11 items because
I've still got to fit "Things That I Don't Like." So, here now, are
"Things That I Don't Like About HP."

1) Vying for first place are Sirius Black and Luna Lovegood. We'll do
them one at a time. I hate Sirius because I think he was something of
a bad influence on Harry. He's reckless, impulsive, arrogant, and has
a wild temper. Wait. Before you say, "Well, you like Snape and he was
the same personality traits," I know. But here's the difference: Snape
has many more layers than Black. Severus Snape's complexity redeems
him. If Black had had something more head-scratching than the fact
that he opted out on his family's dark tendencies, I'd probably be
quite a fan. He doesn't. I like him for a short moment in Book 3 when
it looked like Harry would be able to live with him. I was happy for
Harry. And I didn't always hate Sirius Black. I used to like him,
until I found that Snape intrigued me more. It's hard to like both
Sirius and Severus at the same time, so somewhere along the way, I
ended up switching sides. 

And now for Luna. I don't really have a reason for hating Luna, but I
do hate her with a passion that rivals my hatred for Sirius. I think
part of it is that I see her as an outside threat to the Trio. I don't
want anyone to be added to the Trio. Neville's OK, because he was
there from the get-go. I mean, he was involved even from Book 1 when
Hermione stunned him after he tried to stop them from leaving the
dorms after hours (I hope I got the right book). And because I've
grown to generally like Hermione, although she does snoop around way
too much, I don't like the threat that Luna poses to Hermione in
replacing her as Harry's counsel (see end of Book 5). I found myself
irrational in my intent to side with Hermione in every confrontation
between her and Luna. Which is funny, because I think that's the point
that JKR is trying to address. The dismissal of things that don't
appear logical isn't always beneficial. It's a good point to make, but
I still hate Luna, the irritating prat.

2) Post-OOTP Draco. He's become a bit one-dimensional and irrelevant
in this book. I want to see more of Draco and I think things might get
interesting since Lucius is in Azkaban.

3) Static Ron. Ron's character didn't evolve in Book 5, so now he's a
bit out of kilter with Harry, Hermione, and Neville. He's got the same
problem as Draco's character. Sirius became a bit of a static
character as well and he died. I'm really hoping this isn't an omen.
If Ron died I'd cry because his character had so much potential and I
really like him. I always thought that Ron got left out quite a bit.
If Draco dies, it won't be a big loss, but it will be disappointing
that JKR didn't do more with him.

4) Lord Voldie. He was a disappointment as far as super-villains go.
C'mon, his grand plan is to lure Harry to the ministry and attack with
a bunch of bumbling Death Eater who can't even best a bunch of kids.
The initial Freddy Krueger-ish part of his plan was pretty clever,
with the fake visions and all of that, but then it just got stupid. 

5) The Baby-Headed Death Eater in the Ministry. That was unbelievably
creepy and disturbing. For some reason, it still bothers me. 

6) So many as yet unanswered questions! It's really going to drive me
crazy. Of course that's also what I like about the books, but anyway.

7) James Potter. I don't hate him, but I'm very disappointed in
MWPP-era James. While I wasn't all that surprised because I'm of the
belief that what Snape says usually has some buried grain of truth, I
did expect James to behave better while in school. I mean the Trio
breaks rules, but usually for beneficent, or at least benign, reasons
and they don't go out of their way to pick on people. Harry is
certainly not like his father was in school. *chides Severus for
continually believing that Harry is*

8) Nymphadora Tonks. I don't hate her so much as distrust her. I can't
quite put my finger on it, and maybe it'll turn out to be nothing, but
I wouldn't let her near any sensitive information. 

9) Argus Filch. OMG that man drives me crazy. Although, in the movies
Mrs. Norris is super cute. I'm a cat person (I even named one of my
kitties "Draco"; unfortunately for her, my kitty is a girl. I wasn't
allowed to name her sister Severus because the opposition hates the
character of Severus Snape but was a bit more ambivalent towards Draco
Malfoy. Out of revenge, I named her Party Boy.)

10) Without a doubt, the Dursleys. Can a bunch of people be any more
unlikable? Although, I want to know more about Petunia growing up with
Lilly, how much she knows about the wizarding world, and what
transpired between her and Dumbledore.

11) Godric's Hollow. Just how did Lilly Potter sacrifice save Harry
from Voldie's curse? I'm sure plenty of other parents jumped in front
of their kids when the death eaters came charging; they didn't
survive. Why was this time different? And did James die that night? In
the movie, that scene that was specifically left in, whose arm is
that? It can't be James', he was already dead. I remember JKR saying
that the key to the whole series is in Book 3, I think it has to have
something to do with Godric's Hollow. There's just so information that
could be hidden there.


Whew! And now my list is done! I'm interested to know if I'm the only
one that doesn't like Luna Lovegood. I seem to be in the minority!

AyanEva