On the perfection of moral virtues

[lizzyben04]

No: HPFGUIDX 169467

Marion:
> But back to the previous alinea.
> Has Harry ever changed in all those years in attitude? Has he
> grown as a person?  Personally - and this is my beef with the
> series -I can't see *any* change. Harry was a judgemental, self-
> absorded, rude eleven-year-old and six year later Harry is a
> judgemental, self-absorded, rude sixteen-year-old.
> I'm still waiting for Harry to *learn*.
> I'm hoping Harry will finally, *finally* realise that he *needs*
> to change, to learn, in Book 7.


What worries me is that I'm not sure JKR thinks he *needs* to
change. In interviews, she describes Harry in such glowing terms
that I wonder if she's describing the same character. She says that
Ginny, who hexes & rams people she doesn't like, is her favorite
character. I'm actually starting to wonder about her judgment. When
I'm starting to agree with SNAPE's judgment more than JKR's,
something is off here. The heros seem to have become more self-
absorbed & foolish over time, not less.

To me, it seems like the books give lip-service to "tolerance"
and "unity" while actually embodying the opposite. For instance, I'm
still patiently waiting for a good Slytherin. In the first few
books, it was easier to overlook Harry's Sytherin-hatred, because I
assumed that the books would become more complex, and introduce
some "sympathetic Sytherins" to lessen this bias. Now, 6 books
later, Sytherin still equals evil. That's so incredibly simplistic.
What's worse, because Slytherin = evil, behavior by Gryffindors
towards Slytherins is automatically excused because they're "the bad
guys." Draco's ferret bouncing, Montague's vanishing, etc. I find
this actually disturbing. Gryffindor apparantly = good, no matter
what one of them does. I feel disturbed when Ginny rams into
Zacarias Smith, but I'm not sure that JKR thinks that we should. And
that really bothers me. What's the lesson here - It's OK when "we do
it"? That's total moral relativism. It teaches that you can
instantly label someone based on their background or party, and feel
justified by any immoral actions you take against that person.

lizzyben04