Academic dishonesty.

[colebiancardi]

No: HPFGUIDX 139544

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "eggplant107" <eggplant107 at h...>
wrote:
 
> 
> Even if you're right, even if it was wrong to switch books it was
> certainly not VERY wrong, and we can tell the difference because we
> have seen things that are VERY wrong, like tying a 14 year old boy to
> a tombstone and torturing him so badly he wanted to die, or animating
> a corpse to kill for you, or making a child carve words into his hand,
> or murdering Dumbledore. Right or wrong if I were Harry I am certain I
> would feel I had earned that book, I would feel I deserved it.  And if
> that's the worse thing he does in his life then he's a saint. 
> 
> Eggplant

I don't believe in the theory that what one does should be measured
against what other people have done.  LV is an evil dark lord,
Umbridge was an evil bitch, and I won't get into Snape's character
except to say he is a sadistic, sarcastic bastard.  

Harry should have his own *moral* compass.  Was it cheating to use the
book?  Obviously, regardless of what you & I think about it, in the WW
it certainly seems like cheating - makes you wonder what McGonagall
would have said about it if she found out that Harry was using someone
elses notes to achieve his sucess without giving the owner proper
credit.  He never told any authority figure at Hogwarts about it, he
only tells Hermoine & Ron about it(no one else), never returned the
book when he was given a replacement, he switched books when Snape
demanded to see what books he had.   Snape calls him a liar & cheat
and quite frankly, I do believe he was right - as Harry went out of
his way to deceive Snape - and don't start in with the Snape killed DD
bit.  At this point in the book, that hasn't happened.  Harry does not
have a knack for foretelling the future.  And Snape's actions have
nothing to do with Harry's own moral compass.

Do I think what Harry did is *normal* for a 16-year old boy?  Yes. 
However, he should have handed the book to Snape when asked.   Do I
believe Harry knew potion-making better than Hermoine?  No.  He
followed a better set of instructions;  instructions that were worked
on and rewritten by young Snape - Snape is the one who knew what he
was doing and why things worked - not Harry.  If Harry had to make a
potion on his own, he couldn't do it.  Snape at that age probably
could have, based on his reworking of the notes in the book.  Harry
doesn't *deserve* the book - he deserves an education.  Which he did
not learn a darn thing about potions by using Snape's notes, except
how to follow instructions properly this time. 

Harry has his faults.  They are much lesser than those mentioned, but
those people are MUCH older than Harry & have a lifetime to achieve
those dasterly deeds.  Harry is just starting out and I do hope he
gets a better grip on his moral compass in book 7.   Currently, Harry
can do wonderful things, but he is just as capable of doing horrible
things as well.  He needs to dampen his hatred - Hate breeds Hate and
that is one thing LV knows & thrives on.  Not to parallel Star Wars or
anything, but going down that *dark* path may lose his soul forever.  

Again, I don't think what Harry did was God-Awful, but it does show a
lack of moral fiber.   

but that is just my 2 knuts

colebiancardi
(at my HS, if I used someone else's crib sheet and took credit for it,
I would have been put into detention)