DD and Delores - Harry's Choice

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 163150

---  "eggplant107" <eggplant107 at ...> wrote:
>
>  "lupinlore" <rdoliver30@> wrote:
> 
> > if Dumbledore is God, sign me up for
> > the First Church of Satan. Sorry, 
> > but his failure to protect Harry 
> > from abuse really is, I think, 
> >that contemptible. 
> 
> I know trying to make villains out of heroes (Harry 
> and Dumbledore)and heroes out of villains (Snape) is 
> a cottage industry in literary criticism circles,... 
> Yes Umbridge did abuse Harry, but despite what you say
> Dumbledore was not God and ... had very little control
> over what happened in his school. 
> 


bboyminn:

I have to agree with EggPlant, how can we blame Dumbledore
more that the victim himself does? How can we blame 
Dumbledore for Umbridge's actions when Harry doesn't. He
places the blame squarely where it belongs; on Umbridge.
I don't see Harry mad at Dumbledore, so I don't see why I
should be.

Further, Harry had a chance to turn Umbridge in. His 
friends encourage him to tell McGonnagall or Dumbledore,
but to Harry this was a test of will between himself and
Umbridge. He refused to let her see him weak. He refused
to let her see him flinch. Anyone who has gone to Catholic
School knows that this is a typical attitude and a typical
war waged between the schoolboys and the Nuns. 


> As for the Dursleys, you seem to think in the fight 
> between them and Dumbledore the power was all on his 
> side, but the Dursleys had a very powerful card to play.
> ..."Harry can't stay with us anymore" and Harry would 
> die, ...
>
> The man can't win.
> 
> Eggplant
>

bboyminn:

Again, in as much as she said, I agree with EggPlant. But
I also see another aspect which I have spoken of recently.
It is very easy to make judgements from a distance. From
his outpost at Hogwarts, when Dumbledore gets wind that
things are unpleasant at the Dursleys, he can just keep
reminding himself that Harry is safe and protected there.

Once Harry starts Hogwarts, his contact with the Dursleys 
is limited to two month of the year, and further his 
contact with Dumbledore and other members of the Order is
increased. Now, to all concerned, Harry becomes less of a
distant concept, and more of a real live boy that they have
personal contact with and care about. The limited time 
Harry spends at the Dursleys acts as a buffer. But when 
Harry suffers trama beyond the endurance of anyone, the 
Order steps in an warn the Dursley to 'cool it'.

Harry's early life is in the abstract and in the past.
Even Harry seems to take a 'what's done is done' approach.
He is ready to move on. He has no fondness for the Dursley,
but he doesn't seem to really truly hate them either. To
some extent, I think he pities them, being so hopelessly
and superficallay trapped in their middle class existence 
of image over substance. He has SOOOO outgrown the 
Dursley, and when Ron and Herione come to stay in the
next book, I think we are going to see this very clearly.

So again, how can we blame and call for punishment of the
Dursleys to a greater degree than Harry does? Whether
techincally right or wrong, I'm content, if Harry's 
content.

Steve/bboyminn