[HPforGrownups] Re: Philosophy of Dumbledore (was:Moody's death...)

[Sharon Hayes]

No: HPFGUIDX 179556


________________________________________
From: HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com [HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Pippin [1kf.lists at earthlink.net]
Sent: 04 December 2007 06:49
To: HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [HPforGrownups] Re: Philosophy of Dumbledore (was:Moody's death...)

> Betsy Hp:
> As an author though, building a world where good and evil are going
> to battle for ultimate victory, it's probably a good idea to have
> some sense of what differentiates your good guys from your bad
guys.
> And I don't think JKR bothered with that.

Perhaps JKR's sense of what differentiates good guys from bad guys was
summed up in Dumbledore's comments to Harry, when Harry was concerned
that he could have been sorted into Slytherin. Harry chose Gryffindor.
We can be good or evil, depending on the choices we make.

Pippin Fowler

Sharon:
To my mind, it makes the books that much more interesting to have to work through all the confusion and mistakes that the characters undergo, to try to figure out the difference between good and evil. Why should the author just hand it to us on a platter?  Surely the mark of a good novel is the depiction and development of characters who can seem real to us -- ie. flawed, confused, irrational, sometimes immoral, making mistakes--even BIG ones--then suffering because of it.  Where would the plot be if she gave us the good and evil stuff up front.  We need to work for it and that is half the fun of the books. Harry is so dense at times it makes me want to scream! But would I want him all-knowing and wise from the start--no way! The fun part is how he gets through everything in spite of his denseness, how he manages to fulfil his destiny in spite of his impulsiveness and his inability to listen to the advice of others.  Hermione is a royal pain, overly cautious, and drives me nuts as well.  But how could she be otherwise?  I don't want a MarySue. Hermione makes lots of mistakes in spite of being so smart and her antics help the plot along nicely.  So I wouldn't change anything about the books in terms of how good and evil are depicted.  Even the Gryffindors doing Unforgivables near the end. Harry perfoming Crucio just shows how human he is. He has suffered so much in his short life-- my god if you think about it the boy has been abused left, right and centre.  Finally he snaps.  It seems reasonable given the circumstances.  McGonagal too.  Sometimes you ahve to fight evil with evil.  Mind you Harry never once even considers using the Avada Kedavra, even when faced with Voldemort. That speaks volumes about his morality if you ask me.