Harry's "arrogance" (Was: Evil Snape)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 154370

Renee wrote:
> Believe it or not, I don't mind Harry being wrong. I never liked his
> judgmentalism, and untarnished heroes aren't particularly
interesting. His main flaw just doesn't fit my definition of arrogance.

Carol responds:
What about "self-certainty" rather than "arrogance"? It seems to me
that Harry and Hermione (and Snape) share a reluctance to believe that
they might be wrong despite having been proven wrong on several
occasions. In Harry's case, the certainty that he's right is most
evident with regard to Snape but is not confineed to him.

Rather than listening to others and conceding that he might be wrong,
Harry tends to argue for his own position or silently continue to hold
it. (Do I need to cite examples here? Just as Hermione relies on books
and logic, Harry relies on his senses and his gut reactions. Both are
capable of error, but both retain a conviction of their own rightness
and moral rectitude.) I understand perfectly well why Harry (and
Hermione) would do so; it's a common flaw in teenagers (I was "right"
and anyone who disagreed with me was "wrong" until I was at least
twenty). And Harry (IMO) has a psychological need to solve problems
through action rather than through logic that compels him to insist on
rescuing Sirius Black (and everyone else's hostages in the Second
Task). These explanations (along with an upbringing that drove him to
rely on himself rather than others to solve whatever probelems he was
facing) may partially justify Harry's tendency to believe that he's
right and everyone else is wrong, but they don't negate the existence
of that tendency. It's very hard to argue with Harry when he thinks
he's right, as the tears in Hermione's eyes on several occasions testify.

I agree that untarnished heroes aren't interesting. If Harry doesn't
have flaws, he can't change and develop over time. In short, he can't
grow up. The same is true for Hermione, who, I hope, will find that
Luna (whose opinions she despises) is right about something and she,
Hermione, is wrong.

Carol, noting that pointing out flaws in the hero of the novel does
not mean that we don't love him, any more than a father who reprimands
his son for lying or smoking or swearing doesn't love him (contrast
Dumbledore and Vernon Dursley as father figures)