Was Death an easy choice for Harry to make WAS: Re:Back to Slytherin House

[lizzyben04]

No: HPFGUIDX 176179

> Marion (delurking for a minute before diving under again):
> 
> So true. The scary bit is that the whole series is a story about a 
young boy who is told exactly what evil is and which part of the 
human race embodies that evil. He is told that he alone can save his 
people from this evil. He does so, even joining a secret society and 
a secret army, training himself and others to defeat Evil. He gets 
told that in order to defeat Evil he is to sacrifice himself. He is 
told that there is an afterlife and that, if he is courageous there 
will be rewards in the afterlife and loads of people who will 
welcome him in that afterlife with open arms.


lizzyben:

Yes, it's beyond creepy. Teenage Harry & friends are a mirror of 
teenage Snape & Regulus. The Order is a mirror of the Death Eaters. 
One group is "good" & one is "evil", but the organization & 
structure is very similar. Young Regulus idolizes LV the same way 
that Harry idolizes DD. Young Snape joins a group of "Death Eater 
wanna-bes"; Harry & friends form a group of "Order wanna-be's". Both 
groups are absolutely devoted to their charismatic leader, both 
groups use peer pressure to gain converts & silence dissent. It 
is "cool" to be in the DA, just like it was "cool" for a Slytherin 
to hang out w/the DE crowd. 

The charismatic leaders take these teenagers when they're still 
idealistic, inexperienced, & stupid, and demand absolute loyalty. 
The Mauraders joined the Order when they were in their teens, as do 
Harry & co; and almost all the DE joined while still in their teens. 
They are all told that they are part of the Elect (pure-bloods, 
Gryffindors), the ones whose mission is to fight Evil in the form 
of "the other" (Muggles, Slytherins). They join an underground group 
to fight the "others", and fight the official government. And all of 
them are willing to lay down their lives for their Leader, w/o ever 
knowing that Leader's real plans or agenda for them. It's almost a 
bit like a cult. It is quite a bit like a terrorist group.

Marion:
> And then, just as he has been told to do by his bearded master, he 
highjacks a jumbojet and flies it into the Twin Towers.
> 
> Uh.
> 
> No, he takes a few packets of Sarin and steps on the train to 
Tokyo during rush hour and..
> 
> Uh, well, you get my point.
> 
> Dumbledore has all the characteristics of a Bin Laden and a Shoko 
Asahara.

lizzyben:

I got a definite "suicide bomber" vibe after reading DD's "Vengence 
is yours"! speech to Harry in HBP. Here's this kid, who just wants 
to play Quidditch & snog Ginny, and DD is hitting every button in 
order to convince him to become a martyr instead. He tells Harry - 
you must kill him! You'll never rest until you've done it! Do it for 
your family, your people, your honor!!! Until Harry gets a "flame" 
burning inside him & swears that he wants to be the one that will 
take this person out. Oh, and DD also brings up Sirius' horrible 
death in order to encourage vengence & hatred in Harry - then, when 
Harry vows to take out as many Death Eaters as he can, DD pats his 
arm awkwardly. Good boy. DD lies to Harry, manipulates him, inflames 
his passions, but never ever tells Harry his real agenda. He's using 
Harry's idealism, his inexperience, & his desire to please. Worst of 
all, he's using Harry's love to inspire him to hate. It reminded me 
of the speeches that terrorist leaders & tyrants use to whip up 
their followers. 

Marion:
> Harry Potter is just as courageous as a terrorist bomber. You have 
to admit, suicide bombers are pretty courageous. They willingly lay 
down their lives for an ideal, to fight what they think is Evil.
> Yup, suicide bombers are pretty courageous.
> I just don't think them very admirable, that's all.
> 
> Marion (going back to thesis and lurkerdom)

lizzyben:

You've articulated exactly why that part was so horrifying to me. 
Yes, Harry is brave, & yes, he's making a sacrifice. But he's not 
doing it as an independent act, he's doing it because his Leader 
wants him to. And Harry never even tries to consider if there might 
be another way to do this, never even considers that his Leader 
might be lying to him about this. (And why wouldn't he? He knows now 
that DD did lie to him in the past.) He doesn't *think*. He just 
follows DD's orders, obediently, blindly, fanatically. Just as he 
had been trained to do.

Yes, in this universe DD & the Order actually *are* good, and 
the "other" actually *is* evil, but it's also an eeire insight into 
what happens when the "other" becomes totally dehumanized & 
demonized. About what happens when peer pressure & a need to conform 
leads people into making choices & joining groups that they wouldn't 
otherwise support. About just how far good people are willing to go 
when their society, their Leader, their friends, indoctrinate them 
in an ideology at an early age. Harry's death march was courageous, 
but it was also a total submission to his Leader & his ideology, a 
total abandonment of critical thinking, and a total embrace of 
martyrdom. In this story, we can get inside of a torn society, & get 
inside the head of a good person as he is indoctrinated in its 
hatreds & rivalries, watch as he begins to accept the evil of "the 
other" & shut down his humanity, listen as his Leader encourages his 
vengence & hatred, see how his Leader encourages him to risk his 
life to show his personal loyalty & goodness, up till the point that 
the good person willingly dies in the service of his Leader & his 
ideology. Personally, I consider it a tragedy.


lizzyben