Remote Control

[mike_smith]

My job's gotten a little more hectic since I got back from Vegas, which kind of throws off my plans. Nevertheless, I'm too masochistic to stop myself from reviewing this book, so no worries there. It'll just take me till Christmas to finish

Comments

[seductivedark]

That's what I'm getting at. jim_smith was giving me this cockamamie theory that because the books are written in Harry's P.O.V., and written for kids Harry's age, that these kinds of maturity issues aren't gonna be brought up, because it's not foremost on the minds of the tweenager set. Well, that only makes sense if the author were thirteen years old as well.

I do think this will be addressed in book 7. If I recall it right, JKR said she didn't realize how many loose ends she's got to tie up. One of the recent interviews she's been doing. I'm too lazy to look up the link.

but since his main priority is himself...

I think most thirteen year olds in similar situations would have the same priority. But it does tend to get annoying when fans think that, since Harry thinks it and isn't corrected, this is what the author is going for.

If Rowling's goal with all of this is to portray Harry as a devil-may-care anti-hero who shoots from the hip, well, Harry sucks at that too.

For all the reasons you mentioned, plus interviews and the general feel of the books, I agree. Bad-ass Harry isn't her goal. He really is a Good Guy, he just needs to be taught how to be Good.

I have the idea sometimes sneaking around the back of my mind, that Dumbledore and the Order and all of Harry's adult friends, are really the Bad Guys and he's been fooled into believing otherwise. I only get this idea at certain times, and not necessarily at the same sort of stimulation. But with the apparent lack of moral compass, and the apparent lack of instruction on how to behave in a socially acceptable manner, while the Bad Guys' kids at least have some manners, it's hard to push that thought away sometimes.

That's why he was so furious when Snape schooled him in Book Six, because he finally went up against someone impervious to his anger and his sanctimony at the same time.

Just had to repeat that since I love it.

[merenwen_81]

I have heard that OotP are the bad guys theory before and I'd just like to know if you think the Death Eaters are supposed to be good or are there just two sets of bad guys. I have trouble with having the goodies be people who destroy bridges and torture people.

[lisatrix]

I don't think it's that the DE are supposed to be good, just that the 'good guys' aren't that good either.

[seductivedark]

The thing is, other than the Quidditch World Cup scene, I don't recall seeing or hearing of any Death Eater torment of Muggles that isn't also done to WW folk as well. And, as has been mentioned, we almost always see things from the narrator sitting on Harry's shoulder and listening to his thoughts at his ear. He only knows so much.

Yes, I do think the Death Eaters are bad. But then you have the issue of vigilantism with the Order. The MoM seems not to be doing anything effective, but it is the legitimate government of the British WW. So, on that point alone, both sides are to some degree outside of the law. The Ministry comes off as a third side to me, not as one with the Order.

And, I can't see any indication in the books, even in the scenes without Harry - the beginning of PS/SS, the beginning of GoF, and the beginning of HBP - of the Death Eaters being anything but bad guys, some, like Bellatrix, worse than others. But then, there's Sirius, who seems to have the Black family penchant for dramatics and possibly for raging loyalty to his side as well. If I had to base my opinion of the Order on Sirius alone, I would think they were a fanatical group as well, only their morals seem to be more in the Right Place.

But I just think that in my darker moments. I can't see JKR throwing us that one in book 7 without any real build-up. My problem, I think, is the Unreliable Narrator, and all the things this can disguise.

[merenwen_81]

I see your point and agree with it. The Order are not perfect, but they are more fitting for the Good Guy role if the needs to be one. The Ministry is too corrupted and it doesn't seem like you can just vote for a different Minister in the next election if the current one sucks. Dumbledore had his puppetmaster tendencies, but from the information we have so far, he seemed to be the least of these evils.

[jim_smith]

So, if the Death Eaters aren't the good guys and Harry's not the good guy, who is?

[seductivedark]

See, that's the problem. The DEs are shown to be pretty bad, even without Harry there. The Order seems to be the best bet, with the Ministry bogged down in the usual bureaucratic red tape and cozy little niches for its drones. But the Order isn't quite the French Underground with the Ministry as the Vichy (puppet) Gov't, they're outside of the direct command of the legitimate WW government.

It's just this odd feeling I get sometimes, when the Good Guys start behaving like Bad Guys would if someone else, say Marietta, was telling the story. This will probably not pan out.