What did you like about Harry Potter?

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 183816

> Winterfell replies:
> 
> I also thought it was a good question in light of how many comments
> lately have been negative.  Some readers forget how amazing a 
character Harry Potter actually is.  Some readers become upset w/ 
such things as Harry casting a crucio or Imperio spell in DH.  These 
readers said it was inconsistent w/ how these spells were portrayed 
and represented in previous books. I could care less if it was. These 
are fictional characters, not real ones and not a morality lecture.
> 
> One of the things I like most about Harry Potter was him acting in 
ways contrary to what we'd expect him to if he was a totally 
consistent character.  I loved him casting the crucio and Imperio 
spells.  DH was set during a Wizarding War and Harry's casting these 
spells helped defeat LV in the long run. Did Harry turn into a DE or 
become a dark wizard because of casting these spells? Of course not.  
His overall good and decent character didn't seem corrupted by what 
he did, and I didn't doubt for a moment that it would.
> 
> I also enjoyed Snape's character in the Harry Potter books 
immensely.  but Snape is one of the most inconsistent characters in 
modern fiction.  Funny though, his inconsistencies don't seem to 
bother some readers nearly as much as do those of other characters. 

Magpie:
Having read a lot of discussions about DH and the use of Crucio, I 
don't think I've ever read anyone saying they have a problem with 
characters behaving inconsistently in DH. (I do remember some people 
feeling that Hermione was OOC in HBP, though I didn't agree.) The 
inconsistancy some people have not liked about Crucio is that they 
thought it was presented as one thing and then suddenly that meaning 
didn't matter, which has nothing to do with Harry himself behaving 
consistently. I would actually disagree with you that the characters 
in this series aren't consistent--they're remarkably so, imo. They're 
not one note, but they're not particularly inconsistent. Certainly 
not Snape. He's the same character in every book--his consistancy is 
even highlighted in a scene in DH. The fact that he was a Death Eater 
and then was not a Death Eater due to a change of heart explained in 
the book doesn't make the man inconsistent any more than Harry is 
inconsistent because he fancied Cho and then didn't fancy her. Their 
basic characters actually remained very strong throughout (and in 
Snape's case we didn't know that basic character until DH).

The problems many have with the Crucio is actually more along the 
lines of exactly what you said: "Did Harry turn into a DE or become a 
dark wizard because of casting these spells? Of course not.  His 
overall good and decent character didn't seem corrupted by what he 
did, and I didn't doubt for a moment that it would." They take issue 
with the idea that being a good and decent person means you torture 
without it suggesting a corruption of your character at all. For many 
that's sort of a backwards way of looking at it.

Which is, for me, a very interesting conversation to have about the 
book and in general, which is why what some people would 
call "negative comments" for me are the life's blood of the 
community. 

-m