In this sense, Harry grows up. This is a coming of age story more than anything else. At least, that's how I read it. The "good" versus "evil" debate is more of an adult one (IMO).
It's true, he's certainly not static. The reason I agreed with the essay is it seems Harry's issues -- particularly jumping to conclusions and his hatred of Snape -- are resolved without any struggle on his part. Jumping to conclusions? It's OK! He happens to be right! Except where Snape is concerned, at least -- which brings us to No. 2, and ... well, that just went away for no apparent reason. I don't mean when he viewed Snape's memories; I was struck long beforehand that his raging anger at the end of Half-Blood Prince had petered out. We get that one moment of him yelling "Snape!" when we learn who sliced off George's ear, but that's it. I expected him to have to work through this, and it was odd that he didn't.
It's the same with his flashes of dark-ish behavior. Back in OotP, when his interaction with Dudley made me think of Snape at his most sarcastically bitter, I thought: Oh, this is really clever, Rowling's making her hero more like the anti-hero -- what possibilities. Then you have him gleefully using Snape's questionable spells in HBP (I flinched when he cast something -- can't remember what now -- at Filch just because he could). And finally the Cruciatus in DH, which bothered me more than the botched one in OotP because the second time, Harry is in full control of himself and treats it as a bit of a laugh. All this ought to be leading somewhere, but it doesn't. Harry is Goodness Itself because ... just because. "All was well."
Maybe I'm being too harsh? I'm not a Harry-hater, really -- I don't want him exposed as a terrible person. I just wanted these things to be dealt with, rather than swept under the carpet.
Anyway, I completely agree with you that most kids, even older ones, don't identify with Snape. Why should they? I think you have to be older to personally understand the appeal of a flawed character slouching toward redemption.
I was struck long beforehand that his raging anger at the end of Half-Blood Prince had petered out. We get that one moment of him yelling "Snape!" when we learn who sliced off George's ear, but that's it. I expected him to have to work through this, and it was odd that he didn't.
You're exactly right. It did seem, at the end of HBP, that Rowling was setting us up for a major confrontation between Snape and Harry. And it never came. Now that I think about it that way, I'm pretty disappointed! Not in her characterizations, exactly ... but in her plotting. It's just another one of those instances when she seemed to promise a story that didn't develop. I read over a transcript of her most recent Q&A chat (post-DH) and someone asked about the character who was supposed to develop magic late in life. Her response was something like "Oops, wasn't able to fit that in. Sorry." And I thought, wow, that's something I'd do in a fanfic (if I ever finished). But I didn't expect Rowling to do this! Makes me realize I expected a little too much. I guess, if I were being objective, I'd have realized this last year when I went to the NYC book reading. When she read an excerpt from HBP just after John Irving read an excerpt from "A Prayer for Owen Meany," I remember thinking - Wow, Irving is pretty damn good. I didn't think - "Wow, Rowling isn't nearly as good." But I think that was the reality of it. ;-D Don't get me wrong. I'm still a fan of the book, the series, and Rowling. But the more we continue these conversations, the more I'm forced to admit that the story could have been much stronger. I guess what I'm trying to articulate (badly) is that there are some disagreements over the characterizations (should Snape have loved Lily, should Harry have been so angry, should Hermione have been so whiny, etc.). I think this is the author's choice, and if a reader doesn't like those characterizations, that doesn't necessarily mean the author lacks skill ... only that reader and author see things differently. But then there are some issues that readers have that really stem from flaws in the storytelling. I think Harry's strange lack of anger toward Snape in much of DH is one of those problems because the author told us he was angry but then didn't really show that anger as being important.
Wow, I took a really long paragraph to tell you what you just told me. And I'm criticizing Rowling for the way she writes? ;-D
Maybe I'm being too harsh? I'm not a Harry-hater, really -- I don't want him exposed as a terrible person. I just wanted these things to be dealt with, rather than swept under the carpet.
No, you're not being too harsh. This makes complete sense.
It's true, he's certainly not static. The reason I agreed with the essay is it seems Harry's issues -- particularly jumping to conclusions and his hatred of Snape -- are resolved without any struggle on his part. Jumping to conclusions? It's OK! He happens to be right! Except where Snape is concerned, at least -- which brings us to No. 2, and ... well, that just went away for no apparent reason. I don't mean when he viewed Snape's memories; I was struck long beforehand that his raging anger at the end of Half-Blood Prince had petered out. We get that one moment of him yelling "Snape!" when we learn who sliced off George's ear, but that's it. I expected him to have to work through this, and it was odd that he didn't.
It's the same with his flashes of dark-ish behavior. Back in OotP, when his interaction with Dudley made me think of Snape at his most sarcastically bitter, I thought: Oh, this is really clever, Rowling's making her hero more like the anti-hero -- what possibilities. Then you have him gleefully using Snape's questionable spells in HBP (I flinched when he cast something -- can't remember what now -- at Filch just because he could). And finally the Cruciatus in DH, which bothered me more than the botched one in OotP because the second time, Harry is in full control of himself and treats it as a bit of a laugh. All this ought to be leading somewhere, but it doesn't. Harry is Goodness Itself because ... just because. "All was well."
Maybe I'm being too harsh? I'm not a Harry-hater, really -- I don't want him exposed as a terrible person. I just wanted these things to be dealt with, rather than swept under the carpet.
Anyway, I completely agree with you that most kids, even older ones, don't identify with Snape. Why should they? I think you have to be older to personally understand the appeal of a flawed character slouching toward redemption.
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You're exactly right. It did seem, at the end of HBP, that Rowling was setting us up for a major confrontation between Snape and Harry. And it never came. Now that I think about it that way, I'm pretty disappointed! Not in her characterizations, exactly ... but in her plotting. It's just another one of those instances when she seemed to promise a story that didn't develop. I read over a transcript of her most recent Q&A chat (post-DH) and someone asked about the character who was supposed to develop magic late in life. Her response was something like "Oops, wasn't able to fit that in. Sorry." And I thought, wow, that's something I'd do in a fanfic (if I ever finished). But I didn't expect Rowling to do this! Makes me realize I expected a little too much. I guess, if I were being objective, I'd have realized this last year when I went to the NYC book reading. When she read an excerpt from HBP just after John Irving read an excerpt from "A Prayer for Owen Meany," I remember thinking - Wow, Irving is pretty damn good. I didn't think - "Wow, Rowling isn't nearly as good." But I think that was the reality of it. ;-D Don't get me wrong. I'm still a fan of the book, the series, and Rowling. But the more we continue these conversations, the more I'm forced to admit that the story could have been much stronger. I guess what I'm trying to articulate (badly) is that there are some disagreements over the characterizations (should Snape have loved Lily, should Harry have been so angry, should Hermione have been so whiny, etc.). I think this is the author's choice, and if a reader doesn't like those characterizations, that doesn't necessarily mean the author lacks skill ... only that reader and author see things differently. But then there are some issues that readers have that really stem from flaws in the storytelling. I think Harry's strange lack of anger toward Snape in much of DH is one of those problems because the author told us he was angry but then didn't really show that anger as being important.
Wow, I took a really long paragraph to tell you what you just told me. And I'm criticizing Rowling for the way she writes? ;-D
Maybe I'm being too harsh? I'm not a Harry-hater, really -- I don't want him exposed as a terrible person. I just wanted these things to be dealt with, rather than swept under the carpet.
No, you're not being too harsh. This makes complete sense.
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~dances around joyfully~
~realizes that you've been convinced that DH isn't quite as enjoyable as you thought it was; feels guilty~
I don't feel as disappointed with DH as I was with the Star Wars prequels, so I suppose it could be worse. Perhaps I'll go read some John Irving.
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