Why Do You Read the HP Books?

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 142948

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "iris_ft" <iris_ft at y...> wrote:
>
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "ibchawz" <ibchawz at y...> 
wrote:

Ibchawz:
> "I have seen criticism of Harry Potter's character and moral fiber.
> Comments I have seen include him being arrogant, lazy, rebellious,
> amoral, immoral, plagiaristic, disrespectful, incompetent, etc. If
> Harry, as the main character, is really this bad a person, why do 
you
> read the books?"
 
Iris:
> Good question! It's probably because with all his defects, Harry is 
> terribly human. Actually, he's holding a mirror and he shows us our 
> own reflections. We feel upset because he's not perfect, which 
isn't 
> very comforting. On the other hand, we are secretly happy to see 
> he's like us. His defects are there to remind us how fragile and 
> fallible we are. His qualities give us hope. We face him exactly 
the 
> way we face the human kind.

Geoff:
I'm not upset because I don't want a hero who is perfect because I 
can't identify with him.

I can identify with Harry because I can see so many things that he 
experiences which I remember from my own teenage days and, for 
example, I can see him making the same mistakes and wrong assumptions 
which I did.

Ok, so he's "arrogant, lazy, rebellious, amoral, immoral, 
plagiaristic, disrespectful, incompetent". How many of us, hand on 
heart, can claim that we haven't been down those roads ourselves at 
times?

Nope, I enjoy having a "real" Harry for company....