On the perfection of moral virtues

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 168738

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Marion Ros" <mros at ...> wrote:
>
> So often I hear from readers the excuse that they don't 
want their 'heroes' to be perfect, that they like to see the 
characters 'warts and all', that they would think 'morally 
perfect heroes to be unrealistic', and they are absolutely 
right about that. 

> However, the bone I have to pick with the 'heroes' of the 
Potterverse is not that they are morally imperfect, rude and 
self-absorbed little brats, but that they *stay* morally 
imperfect rude and self-absorbed brats. They only grow 
bigger, not better.
> Good children's books have *never* given us morally 
perfect children as the heroes of the story. Well, not in 
the past hundred years of so. Not that I can remember 
anyway. But they did give us morally imperfect children 
who *learned* from their experiences. That was usually 
one of the points made in the story.
> 

Pippin:
One of the things I like about the books is that despite Dumbledore's
little sermons at the end, they're not like After-school Specials. People
do not Learn Their Lesson and live happily ever after. Sor far, Hermione 
is always self-righteous, Ron struggles with feelings of inferiority,
and Harry  rushes to judgement. But they are learning to cope.

It's hard to notice right now, because while JKR spent the first four books 
building her characters' strengths,  the last two have  ruthlessly exposed
their weaknesses, but they have grown. In each of the first four books,
the beginning chapters reveal a spiritual weakness which Harry 
overcomes by the end.  

In PS/SS he goes from thinking he's helpless to believing he can help 
himself. In CoS he learns the value of  faith in his friends.
In PoA he learns he doesn't have to let his
sad memories overwhelm him (are you listening, Severus?). At the
beginning of GoF he can only flee from the Death Eaters, at the
end he learns he can face Voldemort himself straight-backed and
proud though he has no hope of victory.

But as you say, he's still judgemental and he's still learning when it's
appropriate to be good-mannered and when it's more important
to let people know what you think.  He's struggling with his
depression and anger.  IMO he's going to win, but it won't be
easy.
 
I think that he's going to need all the strength of character he 
built in the first four books to overcome the weaknesses he
reveals  in the last three. And I think he will, though his faults 
will never be completely eradicated.

Pippin