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WARNING: Spoilers. (more) Harry Potter
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WARNING: Spoilers if you have not read the entire Harry Potter series!
Does anyone else find it funny that though the books are about Harry, he is actually one of the weakest characters? And he's so self centered (especially starting in book four) it's scary...
submitted by Brynne, age 14, Flying away on
(July 1, 2009 - 9:46 am)
(July 1, 2009 - 9:46 am)
Well, we don't want him to be a Gary Stu, so it's kind of a good thing.
(July 1, 2009 - 1:52 pm)
It's just kind of annoying sometimes. He always seems to think the other characters are all out to get him.
(July 1, 2009 - 3:09 pm)
Well... a bunch of them are. And it's pretty easy to be paranoid when an evil wizard is out to kill you.
(July 1, 2009 - 4:37 pm)
Well, that part I sort of get.
(July 1, 2009 - 5:08 pm)
I agree! He's actually pretty boring and kind of the stereotyped 'hero.' He doesn't have much of a personality either. I like the more nuanced characters better.
(July 1, 2009 - 5:06 pm)
(July 15, 2009 - 12:11 pm)
And I read a piece where someone was saying Voldemort is flat and stereotyped. I agree. In fact, those two characters are so big in the series, and they're like, the flattest and most unoriginal.
(July 1, 2009 - 5:07 pm)
I happen to like him a lot, and don't think he's a weak character. What exactly makes you think he's self centered?
(July 2, 2009 - 8:27 am)
Well, he's always mad at everybody, for one thing. Usually because of something he thinks THEY should have done better, THEY should have told him, etc.
(July 2, 2009 - 10:03 am)
If he wasn't self-centered, he'd be a major Gary Stu. I think I prefer reading about someone who's self-centered than someone who's perfect, wouldn't you?
(July 2, 2009 - 1:13 pm)
Not necessarily.
(July 2, 2009 - 6:34 pm)
This will look stupid once it's posted, but I wonder who just replied?
(July 4, 2009 - 5:36 pm)
I don't think so at all. Harry's anger at everyone at times shows he has flaws, and he is usually depressed because his parents are dead and a bunch of other people are dying for him, and that generally might put people in a bit of a bad mood. Also, obviously JK Rowling had to make him sort of the strong hero type, because he wouldn't really be able to defeat Voldemort if he was a total sniveling coward, unless he had some dramatic change of heart at the end, and I feel like that would be unoriginal and corny. Either way, nearly everything in that respect has been done. And, I think Voldemort is pretty original. The horcruxes thing especially makes him seem really wicked, because the thought of tearing your soul into pieces, would be like ripping apart your...self.? Also, Ron is the one that thinks Harry is self centered in book four. And that's also just another flaw if he is, that makes him un-gary stuish.
(July 4, 2009 - 5:26 pm)
Well put, JFB. Harry may not be the most original, per se- I mean, he started out all shy and nice and then became outgoing and liked, then the brooding stage, and then tragic hero who has to save the word, followed by happily ever after, but that doesn't make it any less interesting because JKR can spice up even the dullest fantasy cliches. And while he may be a bit self-centered, I think a lot of JKR's characters are- Hermione, Dumbledore, Percy (well, he's supposed to be, but still). Etc. But as I said before, that doesn't take away from the overal terrificness of the story.
I wouldn't say Voldy's flat at all- the Horcruxes, as JFB said, were very original, and Voldy's personality, for lack of a better word, overall is actually rather witty, once again for lack of a better word (see Chamber scene in CoS, graveyard scene in GoF, and almost anything in books 5-7). In fact, for fantasy the books are about as original as it's possible to be without completely killing the fantasy genre (*coughsparklingvampireswithnofangscough*).
(July 5, 2009 - 6:00 pm)
I see your point. :) The thing is, it doesn't really matter because the rest of the plot is so good.
(July 6, 2009 - 10:47 am)