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

[lizzyben04]

No: HPFGUIDX 176259

> montims:
> and this is my last post today, I think...  We see two boys in the same
> school year going through this - Draco and Harry.  Draco sees
through the
> horror of LV, and continues only through fear for his family.  He
does not
> experience "a total abandonment of critical thinking, and a total
embrace of
> martyrdom".

lizzyben:

That's why I liked Draco better. :) At the same point, Harry was
proudly proclaiming himself "Dumbledore's Man!" Harry totally
forgets the anger & frustration he felt towards DD in OOTP once DD
decides to pay attention to him again. He's quite literally willing to
jump off a cliff for DD. 

montims:
> Why is it a tragedy for us to read of "what happens when peer
pressure & a
> need to conform
> leads people into making choices & joining groups that they wouldn't
> otherwise support."?  I would have thought it was a necessity for
children
> to realise these things, so we aren't doomed to repeat the same mistakes
> over and over again.  


lizzyben:

Because we actually aren't shown that. When it comes to the Gryffindor
students, using peer pressure to make people join a group is totally
OK. (Witness the coercion & later branding of Marietta). Silencing
dissent or ostracizing someone who questions that group is also
totally OK (Witness the bullying of Zacharias Smith). We aren't asked
to question the "good guys" actions, but simply accept them because
it's "our" group. That's basically a gang mentality - and the text
seems to approve of that when it comes to the appointed "good guys." 

montims:
Unfortunately (*old fogy alert*) people no longer seem
> to admire honour, "fair play", and doing the Right Thing.  If JKR
helps to
> make children more honourable and to think before making allegiances, I
> admire her for it.


lizzyben:

Honor & fair play are often missing in DH - instead, "our" group is
allowed to do dishonorable & unfair things. The Right Thing is what
"we" say it is - and varies based on what is most convenient for us.
There's really no standards at all - beyond allegiance. Allegiance is
the most important thing, and if you are allied w/the right group, you
are allowed total leeway in how you treat others. Instead of making
kids think before making allegiances, IMO it seems to reinforce all
the benefits of conformity, group identification, & allegiance w/an
"in-group".