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

[with-rainfall.livejournal.com]

When I say stage sets, I mean that she has all these great magical devices and technologies, like Devil’s Snare, but then never does anything with them. They just dangle there, unfired Chekhov’s guns. A lot of the best children’s books will be very tightly plotted. I’m thinking of Rodda here - a lot of her plot points in her Rowan of Rin books come back around, full circle. She’ll have things come up in Book 1 that are then given a completely different perspective in Book 2 or 3 - or little clues throughout the text that indicate people aren’t really who they say they are.

JKR comes really close to doing this with the excellent obstacle course in PS: she takes Ron’s chess ability and uses it to help him get past the game, and Harry’s Quidditch talent to help him catch the keys. What I meant by sets is that she could’ve brought Norberta back to help Harry kill LV (just an example). She could’ve had Harry bond with Fawkes to help him kill Voldie; hell, what happened to the Mandrakes? Instead each book seems very self-contained and episodic.

Hmm... interesting. I can see that. Harry himself starts off as an everyman character - a calm, quiet, politely curious kid who seems genuinely invested in attending Hogwarts. The idea is for everyone (every kid) to wish they were Harry and lived at Hogwarts.