Harry's Characterization (was: Satisfaction of the story to date )

[Mike]

No: HPFGUIDX 163443

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Ken Hutchinson" wrote:
> > *******************************************************
> > Mike previously:
> > But shouldn't he have shown a little more advancement?
> > Where is that kid that produced a Patronus at 13, held off a 
> > dozen DEs until help arrived at 15?
> > *******************************************************
Mike now: Let me add my compliments to Steve's for Ken's excellent 
essay. And let me preface my response by saying that I don't disagree 
with *anything* Ken wrote. I left my previous remark up above so you 
know where I'm going on this post (eventually). So here goes:
>
>
> Ken:
> Mike I share your feeling on a gut level that Harry isn't ready, 
> that he simply hasn't even begun to learn enough. I would note in 
> passing however that Harry is learning far more than the pages of 
> the book lead us to believe most of the time. Were you surprised by 
> his OWL results? I wasn't but I was. I wasn't because I thought 
> those results were expected of him, that the author planted those 
> expectations in us. I was because I am at a loss to see how he got 
> to that point, the books give us the expectation but then portray a 
> character who would seem to be a very poor student.  <snip>  The
> text of the book is consistently misdirecting us from Harry's true
> potential and actual performance as a student. It is also grossly
> overstating Snape's failings as a teacher.

Mike again:
In this paragraph you have stated the dichotomy of the boy Harry 
Potter which JKR has writ large over the whole series. She writes a 
character that seems to barely be succeeding in everyday life, but 
suddenly draws from some inner power to succeed when the chips are 
down. She never shows us from whence this ability springs, but we 
have plenty of hints that it is there just below the surface, waiting 
to be called upon.

I have always thought that a simple line from Sirius, up in the cave 
during GoF, was a very telling line both for Harry and for JKR's 
Wizarding World in toto. To wit: 

"He's a great wizard, Barty Crouch, **powerfully magical** -..." 
(GoF p.526, US, emphasis mine). 

In JKR's WW, a witch or wizard evidently can have some *je ne sais 
quoi* which puts them in a magical class above the norm. Then there 
are those which far exceed the norm, making them almost a seperate 
species of wizard. Voldemort is there, Dumbledore was probably there, 
and JKR has shown me enough hints to think that Harry is there. Harry 
has "IT", whatever it is. (Some speculation coming here, but the gist 
of "IT" is all over the page, IMO) 

It matters not how young Harry is, once he reaches his 17th birthday, 
the "IT" will become fully fledged. Harry *will* be able to challenge 
Voldemort toe-to-toe because of his inate abilities. In fact, he 
already did it in GoF, in the graveyard. Harry was able by force of 
will to overpower Voldemort during the "Priori Incantatum" wand 
connection. So we know Harry is more powerfully magical than 
Voldemort. (Side question: I wonder if he would have been more 
powerful than a *whole* Tom Riddle?) 

Does Harry realize this? It seems not. He had continually protested 
to Dumbledore that he doesn't have the power that Voldemort has. He 
hasn't internalized the lesson from the graveyard, probably due to 
shock, grieving for Cedric, and a desire to stop the nightmares by 
putting the whole episode out of his mind. But we know it. JKR made 
sure we knew it. And *if* Harry has to harness the *power of love*, 
he will be able to because of the inate magical abilities he 
possesses which put him in a class by himself. I'm sure that Harry's 
magical quality/life force will underlie whatever manipulation, 
trickeration, or magic Harry will do to defeat Voldemort. (I think 
this all ties in to what Ken projects the final book has in store for 
Harry) 

Dumbledore saw it, probably very early on. He tells him, "I never 
dreamed that I would have such a person on my hands." (OotP p. 839, 
US) In this passage Dumbledore isn't talking about Harry's *ability 
to love* yet. He's seen Harry perform in other ways, magical ways, 
that defy his stage in life. Dumbledore knew Harry was **powerfully 
magical**, and suspected that Harry will become more powerfully 
magical than any living wizard. In typical Dumbledore understatement, 
he tells Harry as much in the cave: "You are very kind, Harry... But 
your blood is worth more than mine." (HBP p. 560, US)

So what happened to that boy in HBP? In every other book, Harry's 
magical abilities are the lynchpin to the end results of the 
penultimate or ultimate conflict of the book. He thwarts Quirrellmort 
with his touch, kills the Basilisk with Gryffindor's sword (yes, I 
think one needed magical ability to wield that sword), produces the 
Patronus, outduels Voldemort in the battle of wills, and throws off 
Voldemort's possession with his thoughts. 

What did he do in HBP? Well ... he apparated back to Hogsmeade. Wow, 
what a show of magical ability. He couldn't even handle an 
untransformed Greyback without help, much less land a single spell on 
Snape. Remember, while he's chasing them through and out of the 
castle, Harry thought stopping Snape was the key to rescuing 
Dumbledore. He wasn't thinking revenge as he was catching up to Snape 
and Draco. In his mind was the thought that he could somehow reverse 
events if he stopped Snape from escaping. So where was that inate 
magical ability when *Harry* thought he needed to do something? It 
wasn't there, was it? What happened? How come a year older Harry's 
power has failed him? I hate to think it was all for the storyline, 
but I hasve no other explanation. This is my grievance with HBP, the 
book.

*****************************************************************
To quickly address Anne Squires wonderful post upthread.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/163422

> Anne Squires shyly enters the conversation:
> Mike says that he thinks that JKR should have shown him to be a 
little better prepared. But, since we do not know what skills Harry 
needs or does not need, I say that how do we know Harry is not 
prepared?

Mike:
Actually, I think JKR should have shown us a Harry that makes more of 
an effort to get prepared. I think Harry's lack of urgency in his 
sixth year is a failure of JKR's, not an indictment of Harry's 
abilities. As Steve pointed out:

But from an internal perspective, we have a very different
view. We must ask ourselves 'what should Harry reasonably
do under the circumstance', not how will the story resolve
itself. From Harry's internal perspective, he is the
hopeless underdog, and THAT is truly something he must do
something about. From his perspective he needs to gain
many skills and do so very quickly. In my opinion, to do
otherwize is irrational.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/163438

Mike again: To have Harry spend his sixth year like it was any other 
year at Hogwarts, after he learns of the prophesy, after he knows 
Dumbledore is giving him special lessons, and after all his close 
calls with Voldemort (forgot about those, did he?), is a failure of 
writing on JKR's part, IMO.

> Anne Squires cont:
And I think he is extremely well prepared. Here is a list of what
Harry does have (not in any particular order/ranking):
<please read her list with her link>

Mike:
But Harry had almost all of those already, going into his sixth year. 
The only new things he gained in his sixth year were the knowledge of 
Horcruxes and the Captaincy of Quidditch. Neither of which were the 
result of Harry's efforts to attain. (OK, he got the memory from 
Slughorn, and he took his sweet time getting it, didn't he?) Where 
was Harry's effort to improve himself? Off-screen, I guess. That is 
another failure of writing, IMO.

Chancie:
But however JKR decides to end her story, I'm certian that none of us 
will have predicted it exactly. I can't wait for that book!!!!

Mike:
Actually, I have been so impressed with the quality of writing of the 
people who participate in HP4GU, I'm almost not looking forward to 
the release of DH. Not that I don't want to know what happens, I do. 
But it's almost like I'm getting to read a lot of mini HP stories by 
reading the essays posted here. Thank you, everyone <Bg>