The crying thing (was Harry does cry Re: Of Sorting and Snape)

[juli17 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 175718

 
I honestly don't get the whole crying debate. 

 
1. Harry does cry sometimes. Those instances have been pointed out.  And
when Dumbledore turned away rather than watching Harry cry, he was  giving
Harry his privacy, which is what Dumbledore understands Harry (who is
less comfortable with crying than most, given his background) would  want.
He's being respectful, not implying Harry's tears are shameful, IMO.
 
2. No one cries a great deal *except* Cho. Not Gryffindors, not  Slytherins,
not Hufflepuffs, not Ravenclaws. Or, to put it more correctly, we rarely  see 
anyone crying IN FRONT of Harry. The one time we see Snape cry, he is
doing so *privately.* (Which makes him giving this memory to Harry all  the
more amazing, IMO.) From everything I've seen in the books, Slytherins  are
just like students from all the other Houses, far more likely to vent  their
anger in front of other students than to cry in front of other students.  (And
of the "cryers," two who have shed tears in the books are  Gryffindor--
Dumbledore and Hagrid--and how odd neither seemed uncomfortable or
ashamed at doing so). Which brings us to...
 
3. JKR's writing about crying reflects her culture and upbringing. In  Britian
and in America it IS more acceptable for people to express anger in  public
than to cry in public, *especially* for boys/men. This isn't very  healthy, 
but
it is the way it is. So why would the WW in Britian be any different than  the
surrounding Muggle society in Britian? 
 
4. Do you know any teenage boys who are comfortable comforting a  crying
girl? I don't. Like most teenage boys, Harry would rather not deal  with 
someone
else's sadness or grief, because he doesn't know *how* to deal with it,  how
to make it "better." Thus that Ginny isn't as openly emotional as Cho  strikes
teenage boy Harry as a good thing, as it doesn't put him in the position  of
feeling confused and helpless. Presumably as he matures and gets  more
life experience, he'll learn to deal better with crying. Though he may  never 
be 
comfortable with it, as some people, especially those who grew up where 
crying was a bad (or in Harry's case, totally useless) thing, never  do.
 
Julie, who can't see at all how crying, not crying, being comfortable  with, 
or
being uncomfortable with crying has any relation to one's House or  reflects
on any particular House.







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