Harry's character development: Static or Dynamic? Was: Saving Private Draco

[Zara]

No: HPFGUIDX 183723

> Potioncat:
> Questions:
> 1. Is static and dynamic simply types, without value? 

Zara:
Yes. Having every character be dynamic would, as Montavilla said, 
make things too chaotic. 

> Potioncat5:
> 2. Is there some literary rule or tradition that a character should 
> be one or the other? 

Zara:
Rules are made to be broken, of course. But typically, the 
protagonist of a book is dynamic. I would say that HP conforms to 
this rule, and Harry is a dynamic character. He grows in 
understanding, it seems to me, going from a very black and white view 
of his world, to one more nuanced. His attitudes towards characters 
including his father, Sirius, ALbus, Snape, Regulus, and Voldemort, 
change and develop over the course of the series, for example.

Villains and/or antagonists are often also dynamic. I'd say in HP, 
Snape and Draco are examples. Snape ahs a dramatic, 180-degree shift 
in loyalties we learn about long after the fact; in addition to 
which, I think an argumenb can be made for a further evolution of his 
attitudes as evidences by some of the later bits of "The Prince's 
Tale" and his abandonment of the keep Harry alive for Lily plan in 
favor of Albus's plan. Draco goes fromt eh arrogant wanna-be Death 
Eater to the desperate young man who will do what it takes to keep 
himself anfd his family out of harm, but has no desire to cooperate 
with Voldemort.

It is usual for other characters than these two categories to be 
static. I think HP breaks this rule, but then it is a seven book 
series with many young characters, so I think it can do so without 
confusing us. Neville's growth being one example.