I don't think he knows he's a good guy. He's just doing his damndest *not* to become what the other guy is.
Eh, yes, perhaps. But the bottom line on Harry is that he can look at people like Draco, Snape, etc, and pass judgement on them. He can, and does until the end of the last book in Draco's case, look down his nose upon them and say quite assuredly "I will never be you." He's got issues, no one's denying.
But he never really has to worry about being Voldemort - not really. You can argue on whether or not Chamber of Secrets was about that, and I will certainly give you that JKR probably intended it to be. But there I think she fell flat, because she stresses the differences between the two as much as humanly possible.
Yes, Harry is flawed, there's no denying that. But he knows, whether because of Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione, Hagrid, and so on and so forth, that he'll never become Voldemort. The most he has to worry about is being James Potter circa his fifth year.
Edmond Dantès is fascinating not only because he's acting for vengeance, but because he's completely convinced himself that he's acting in the name of justice and the higher good. If you asked him, it's not because he wants revenge. It's because he deserves justice for what happened to him.
Yes, but even he wouldn't say that he's going about it in the most legitimate way possible. He feels the wrongs justify both his ends and his means. That's part of why he falls into my "dark knight" category.
And I actually very much liked Ned Stark. I was certain he was going to die from the get-go, but I still sniffled lots when he did. And Robb caught me completely off-guard.
I was spoiled for Robb, but I still can't read the Red Wedding. It's not that I didn't like Ned & Robb, though Ned occasionally grated with the same quick-to-judge impulse that I critique Harry for above, it's that overall they're not that interesting. Note that Robb is the eldest of the Stark children, but he's not a POV character. He's bright, he's young, he's incredibly lovable, but in the end, he's also a touch boring.
I think you're interpertation of what I'm saying is a bit narrow. These aren't the only characters I love, but they are certainly among my favorites, for the reasons aforementioned.
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Date: 2006-06-16 01:42 am (UTC)Eh, yes, perhaps. But the bottom line on Harry is that he can look at people like Draco, Snape, etc, and pass judgement on them. He can, and does until the end of the last book in Draco's case, look down his nose upon them and say quite assuredly "I will never be you." He's got issues, no one's denying.
But he never really has to worry about being Voldemort - not really. You can argue on whether or not Chamber of Secrets was about that, and I will certainly give you that JKR probably intended it to be. But there I think she fell flat, because she stresses the differences between the two as much as humanly possible.
Yes, Harry is flawed, there's no denying that. But he knows, whether because of Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione, Hagrid, and so on and so forth, that he'll never become Voldemort. The most he has to worry about is being James Potter circa his fifth year.
Edmond Dantès is fascinating not only because he's acting for vengeance, but because he's completely convinced himself that he's acting in the name of justice and the higher good. If you asked him, it's not because he wants revenge. It's because he deserves justice for what happened to him.
Yes, but even he wouldn't say that he's going about it in the most legitimate way possible. He feels the wrongs justify both his ends and his means. That's part of why he falls into my "dark knight" category.
And I actually very much liked Ned Stark. I was certain he was going to die from the get-go, but I still sniffled lots when he did. And Robb caught me completely off-guard.
I was spoiled for Robb, but I still can't read the Red Wedding. It's not that I didn't like Ned & Robb, though Ned occasionally grated with the same quick-to-judge impulse that I critique Harry for above, it's that overall they're not that interesting. Note that Robb is the eldest of the Stark children, but he's not a POV character. He's bright, he's young, he's incredibly lovable, but in the end, he's also a touch boring.
I think you're interpertation of what I'm saying is a bit narrow. These aren't the only characters I love, but they are certainly among my favorites, for the reasons aforementioned.