I responded to another blogger, who had written about the final Harry Potter book: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows. A book that I loved, I enjoyed responding so I have decided to expand my thoughts in my own blog.
Some bloggers have been critical and even disappointed in the discovery that Professor Albus Dumbledore was a flawed, troubled man. However I was pleased to learn about Dumbledore and that he was flawed, many great hero's are flawed in character, people that are naturally good can lack character and compassion .
The story of his sister was harrowing. It reminded me of Boo Radley in To Kill A Mockingbird, all those rumours, as people can harshly judge people that they do not understand.
This book crossed over into adult themes with language, children disappearing, rape, child abuse, unfair trails, insanity, fatherhood and parental responsibility and lots of death. I feel that the revelations about Dumbledore's life work because Harry, Ron and Hermione are looking at the world as adults for the first time.
I love the kick at the media once again as Rita Skeeter distorts a story based on rumour and how easily people believe the story. Rita Skeeter is the gossip writer, she would write for OK Magazine quoting unnamed sources. Even Harry who knew Dumbledore, in his anger he was losing the point that Dumbledore loved Harry and would not mislead him. Hermione had to remind him of that point, he had gone through a similar crisis of confidence when he saw his father bully Snape in the pensieve.
One of the themes that runs through the Harry Potter series seems that truth is powerful, image without truth is weak, misleading and foolish. Harry had seen Dumbledore as a great role model as someone that he wanted to emulate. It is easy for men like Dumbledore to become demi-gods, with unquestioning followers. In death the truth about a person's character came be distorted by legend. It had happened to James Potter, through Harry's eyes James was on a pedestal, built higher by Sirius and Lupin, so often in death a person's flaws become forgotten.
Harry was in danger of seeing Dumbledore the same way the Deatheaters saw Lord Voldermort. The Deatheaters were so blind to Lord Voldermort's true nature that they willingly allowed themselves to be abused. Bellatrix was so obsessed she crossed into insanity, like Eva Brun she died with Hitler, Bellatrix fought and died with Voldermort until they both died, enjoying the carnage surrounding her she was so deluded.
Bellatrix, The Malfoy's, etc, were like those that worships a cult leader and like many historial dictators Voldermort thrived on ignorance, lies and a false imagine of greatness.
I believe as Dumbledore knew he was dying, he saw it as his duty to Harry to guide his character because nobody had given him values in his early life.
Just as it was important for him to learn that his father was obnoxious as a teenager. The truth is important, not the image even if the truth is painful.
When Harry had to decide between Horcruxes and Hallows, he had to learn to be his own man, that was what Dumbledore was teaching him. Once Tom Riddle was dead, he was able to free himself of the trappings of fame because he realised greatness was flawed. Harry always hated being in the spotlight. So with Dumbledore's guidance, he gave up the Elder Wand and that was the biggest gift Dumbledore could give. A chance of a normal, happy life.
I liked the twist with Snape and Lily, that Snape loved Lily. In The Order Of The Phoenix, Snape has a glimpse of Harry's life during the Occlumency lessons, he shows a moment of understanding as he asks Harry about the dog, that keeps Harry stuck in a tree for hours. At the end of the book we see Mad-Eye Moody threaten The Dursley's, I wondered at the time if Snape had arranged it out of guilt for the death of Sirius and as we now know because he knew he was able to see Harry as Lily's son, because he knew his abuser Petunia.
Snape for all the enmity between him and Harry, was also Harry's guardian on behalf of Lily and I liked Harry naming his child after Snape, admitting he was wrong and saying thank you to a true hero.
Harry's second son is named Albus Severus .A homage to the theme of truth as power, in that Snape was not a friend to the Malfoy's or a true Slytherin but loved a muggle born witch and was always Dumbledore's man.
Snape was vital in forming Harry's character, though he drove him to hate . He also made sure that he did not become the arrogant, cocky mini-James but realised that the best part of his character was from his mother Lily. Harry owes Snape for making him a kinder, stronger, down to earth person but did not lose James' humour and mischief. Harry learnt that sometimes our enemy is actually your best friend and that was the case with Snape. I suspect that Harry named his eldest son James Sirius as they were best friends.
The epilogue did miss out things that I would have loved to have known.
I would have liked to know about Luna, I loved her, Neville teaching implies they were not together, as teachers do not seem to marry, she seemed to have bonded with Dean, in captivity, so maybe they ended up together.
I would have liked to have known where Harry and Ginny lived, did they all stay near The Burrow or move to Godric's Hollow. And did Harry become a Auror, what were their jobs?
Did Dudley have any magical children or keep in touch, when they discovered that Harry Potter had killed the one that murder his aunt? Interesting that Petunia's hatred was born out of jealously, the series puts a great deal into the dangers of breeding ignorance, which is interesting in a world were ignorance is often celebrated in the form of celebrity.
I liked them travelling because we saw Harry, Ron and Hermione become true adults, gaining independence. Some found it tedious, but that set the atmosphere between the three of them. The hardship they faced was a realistic portrayal of what it takes to bring down a system of government, it is not glamous to be outlaws.
Poor Hermione alone with Harry at Christmas, Ron had left her and they had had to fight for their lives and a day without joy, no presents and barely any food. I like the bleakness of the British winter, coinciding with the bleakness of a country seized by terror. Maybe it suits the mood of Britain right now, that has had little summer, dark rainy days and floods.
I loved the growth we see in Ron, how he learnt to be thoughtful and the fact compared to Harry and Hermione was a little spoilt. He had never starved like Harry. Both Harry and Hermione had long before learnt to live without parents. Though Hermione's were alive, during her years at Hogworts she barely saw them for more than a month in a year. Ron learned that he was a powerful wizard and came out of the shadows of Harry Potter and Hermione. He too become a solid, confident, kind-hearted man.
I loved the break into the Ministry Of Magic. I loved how Kreacher changed and lead the elves to fight. That Hermione was proven right, maybe Hermione was the most aware of muggle history of the three, maybe she had heard of civil rights even at a young age because she understood slavery and the cost of it.
The issue of child abuse comes up, many times in discussion of Harry Potter. In this books he puts the words abuse into his analysis of his life, for the first time. Dumbledore, Molly and Arthur Weasley, Lupin, Hagrid, McGonagall and Snape all have a hand in Harry's life, without those people he could have become an angry young man, a target to join a gang like the Deatheaters, I feel that Molly and Arthur's care of him was very healing, to know that he had people he could trust.
He repayed them too. I think like many victims of child abuse his reaction may have come later, once he was no longer fighting for his life. A part of him did have trust issues, he never fully trusted Dumbledore due to his trust of Snape, his childhood gave him the instincts to be a fighter. Once the burdens of the world no longer consumed him, and he could accept love from Ginny, Harry may have felt safe to deal with the neglect endured. .
He always showed anxiety is sleeplessness, stomach aches and nightmares, he was never, ever care free, in the first two years, he lack confidence and seemed to expect something to go wrong, that he really belonged in Slytherin, that he was really dark and dangerous. In Order Of The Phoenix he was plagued with worries that he was dangerous, he believes he deserves to be despised, because he believes he is possessed by Lord Voldermort..It was never implied that Harry was not damaged by his years with the Dursley's.
I love the sharp political satire in the writing, J K Rowling well aware that adults reading would be amused by it and that kids in a few years may re-read the books and see why adults liked them and reflect on the time it was written.
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