The redeemed individual in HP

[elanor-x.livejournal.com]

Declaration: I do not agree with all statements made in this article and, as a non-American, am hardly a political expert, so this link does not mean endorsement of any 'non-HP things.'

Why is this article worth reading?

What stood out to me was the interesting reading of OoTF. It has always been my least favorite HP book. After waiting for years for its publication, I remember practically suffering and wanting to shut the book down every time Dolores Umbridge or Harry's anger made an appearance.  Since one of the two, of most often their combination, are ubiquitous in OoTF, you may imagine the 'joy' of reading.

Renee Gorman's interpretation of Harry's evolution in OoTF at last reconciled me to this part of the series.

QUOTE from the article

Harry’s frustration stems from both the fact that he knows the truth and that he is being punished for his virtue: an injustice that is difficult to swallow. But he is also battling with his loss of popularity and celebrity. Though Harry consistently claims to hate the limelight—and though he genuinely does at times—he also secretly prizes his famous persona.

When Harry makes the reckless choice to leave Hogwarts and save Sirius after seeing a vision of Sirius captured by Voldemort, he has the following heated exchange with Hermione, the wisest of his peers.

“OK,” she said, looking frightened yet determined, “I’ve just got to say this—”
“What?”
“You … this isn’t a criticism, Harry! But you do … sort of … I mean—don’t you think you’ve got a bit of a—a—saving-people thing!” she said.
He glared at her.
“And what’s that supposed to mean, a ‘saving-people thing?”

Hermione hits a nerve here. But Harry ignores her warning and charges ahead to try to save Sirius. But, consciously or not, at this moment, Harry is also trying to save his own famous heroic persona. He gets his wish. After Sirius dies and Voldemort flees from a battle with Dumbledore, the truth is revealed, and Harry is once more the apple of the magical world’s eye—but it does not make him happy, after all.

This is partly because of his grief at losing Sirius, but also because that part of Harry that secretly prized acclamation dies along with his Godfather. It is no coincidence that this book is called The Order of the Phoenix because Harry emerges from the ashes of this tragedy a better man. Sirius had to die so that Harry could sacrifice himself for the right reason and finally defeat Voldemort.

Comments

Re: Redemption in the HP books

[tygershark.livejournal.com]

Upon giving this further thought I was reminded of the circumstances surrounding the town of Coventry, England during WWII. The story goes that Churchill knew of the impending attack and allowed it to happen in order to protect the secret that they had cracked Enigma at Bletchly Park. The official word is that it's a myth, whether it's true or not I do not know but it reminded me that no one lives in a world of black and white. But it brings me to a point I had overlooked.

If the story was true was Churchill right or wrong in what he chose to do? Well, that could depend. If I was living in Coventry at the time or had a loved one who lived there and they or I was killed then I would definitely feel it was wrong. But how many other people would have died if the Nazis knew the British had cracked the code. There are no easy answers in war it's all shades of gray. Wartime leaders have to make very tough decisions that are mostly paid in the lives of people who trust those leaders to protect them. If a leader has to sacrifice one or more of their people, hopefully, those leaders will sell those lives as dearly as possible. As Obi-Wan said "many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."

Re: Redemption in the HP books

[sunnyskywalker]

Yeah, that is a sticky one. I think sometimes we forget that when a choice is the lesser evil, that means it's still at least a little bit evil. Just because there were no good options and so maybe it wasn't anyone's "fault" exactly doesn't mean it didn't do harm.