The late Harry Potter

[festuco]

No: HPFGUIDX 130317

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <bboyminn at y...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Katherine Coble <k.coble at c...>

> I have speculated that it's possible for Harry's story to have a
> bittersweet ending. That yes Harry lives, but not without deep abiding
>  scars. Not without a terrible price paid to the hero's soul.
> 
> Part of that price could be to some extent an abandoning of the wizard
> world. Right now, as an escape from the Dursley's, the wizard world is
> the place where he finds peace. But how much piece will he have after
> Voldemort's defeat. Look at how much Harry hates his hero's status
> among the public now, and think how much attention and pressure he
> will feel after defeating Voldmort. Politician will want to use him,
> the public will never stop hounding him, never stop pounding him with
> their adoration. It's possible that once this is over, Harry will be
> so weary that all he wants to do is forget about it and live his life
> in peace, but what peace will he find in the wizard world? What peace
> would Frodo find if he return the the Hobbits? What peace would Ender
> Wiggin have found if he had returned to earth? Sadly, sometimes the
> pain of being a hero is so great, that you can never go home.

I like your point about the hero not being able to get back from wher
he started. This is very true, but I don't think it will be as bleak
for Harry. I think Harry will manage in the WW, and I don't think his
situation can be compared with Ender's. Ender was a child who
unwillingly became a mass murderer by exterminating a species. Also
Ender was completely alone, was deliberately isolated from all
friendly human contact, was made into a little killing machine. Harry
is growing up, is very much aware of the threat he is in, and actively
wants to stop this evil. One of the strenghts of Harry is that he has
friends.  He ia also not easy to manipulate. Politicians who want to
use him, will have a very difficult time, because the way Harry is
developing, a mature Harry will not let himself be used. As for fame:
it is fickle, and people will forget. I dont' think Harry will have it
easy, but not as hard as Ender. 

One of Frodo's problems is that from the beginning he was very much
aware of the burden being his, and his alone. The others helped, but
could not really share the burden. What kept Frode going was his
vision of the Shire. But: he went away and found out that he had
changed when he came back, and so had the Shire. You cannot go back to
the past. Harry is not going away, nor is he coming back. Harry is
growing up in the world where the fight is. He has no ideal world
where he wants to come back to, to find he has outgrown it (like a lot
of soldiers have). Harry's fight is in the world, and as the world
changes, so does he. 

In Harry's case, there is much more sharing, and much more common
ground. Harry is not the only one to have suffered by the hands of LV,
he is not the only one on the death list. He only now knows that he is
instrumental in defeating LV, before that though he was 'the boy who
lived' he knew this was not because of anything he himself did, so he
did not perceive himself differently from others. Plus that in most
fights he has had, he never was alone. So I think his emotional
support network will give him opportunities to cope Frode and Ender
never had. 

I can imagine him living somewhere more or less isolated, but I can
easier imagine him to become a professional quidditch player an have a
couple of years of pure fun before he figures out what he wants to do
with the rest of his life. Though I cannot imagine him becoming
Minister of Magic, that sounds far too boring for someone like him. 

Gerry