Sirius Black (Harry Potter)

[gaeta]

Title: "Have You Seen This Wizard?"
Author: gaeta
Spoilers: Through OotP (and beyond?)
Email: glowagle@yahoo.com

Comments

[iamspecial]

I realize this is about a month after you posted your essay, but I just wanted to say that I think you did a brilliant and very balanced job defining Sirius. I agree with your characterization of him wholeheartedly. He's a man of contradictions: arrogant bastard, yet utterly loyal friend; rakish and sometimes cruel prankster, yet charming and highly intelligent.

You spoke about Sirius' immaturity and instability (especially in OotP), which I think is a very significant part of his character. In my opinion, this is a direct result of his time in Azkaban. Locked away when he was barely more than a teenager, Sirius was unable to undergo normal development in the next thirteen years; emerging a thirty-five year old man who still retained much of the mentality of an adolescent. In GoF, realizing that he is responsible for Harry, Sirius makes a concerted effort to act like an adult; but the events immediately preceeding OotP, which to Sirius would seem like both imprisonment and being treated like a child, encourage him to regress, as you put it, back to teenage Sirius; emphasizing the more extreme elements of his personality.

Anyway, those were my thoughts on your essay. Very well done, he's an intriguing character.

[gaeta]

Thank you so much for your comments. I don't mind at all that someone is still reading my essay a month later. In fact, it's quite nice to know that it hasn't just been swallowed entirely into the black hole of old LJ entries.