HP book 6: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

[Kid Charlemagne]

I think most teenages go through the "jerk" phase, and Harry is no different. He's gone through it, and he'll be the better for coming out the other side.

 

[reveal]

Or whatever other metaphor you prefer for doing something very foolish.

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY MACARENA!

 

[WizarDru]

Quite right--him being a jerk at that point in his life is actually pretty realistic. It's not as fun to read, though. I expect a little more maturity out of him moving forward, because with Harry as the hero of the story, having him continue to be a jerk is...

Colorful metaphors aside, I'm not sure that it is. Having Harry CONTINUE being somewhat petulant might not be that appealing, but one of the series strengths has been that there is a character in there that speaks to everyone of her target audience. Newsweek had an article (when the last book came out, I think) where they interviewed core young readers from across the world. In that article, many of the kids cited how they empathized strongly with one or more of the characters and how spot-on they felt. Seeing Harry be a jerk isn't necessarily a bad thing...although honestly I don't think he's being one. And readers his age may not think he's being a jerk at all, even if he was, depending on their perspective....because maybe their in the same headspace (if not the exact same circumstances). The transition to adulthood can be rough...and seeing your favorite literary hero have the same problems you're having can increase their believability.

But now I have a very disturbing image stuck in my head, coupled with a disturbing song.

I hope you're happy.

 

[Hijinks]

I don't think he's a jerk, either, in book #5, but I do think he's less patient with others and tends to get snappy when stressed. Much like, oh, every teenager I've ever met

I, for one, am very happy that JKR chose to have a flawed hero, rather than a golden boy who always does the right thing and never whines about it. I would never expect a child to try to live up to a book character that accepts everything as it comes and never gets upset. Getting angry, nervous, scared, or even snotty are natural human reactions to stimuli, and I would never want a child to feel they couldn't react naturally to things because the books they've read tell them they can't express feelings and emotions.

I know I would never be able to be as positive of a person as Harry is, if I went through the things he's went through. I'd be a downright nasty person if my parents were killed, someone very powerful was out to get me, and every time I turned around I had a.) a snotty (but oddly cute) little jerk classmate mouthing off to me, and b.) newspaper reporters stalking me, and c.) friends that get exasperated whenever I tried to vent and tell me to grow up. If I were a teenager handling that, it wouldn't be pretty.

As for Viktor Krum, he's a weenie, and I hope he never comes back. He was just ... bleh.

 

[Desdichado]

In that article, many of the kids cited how they empathized strongly with one or more of the characters and how spot-on they felt.

Yes, I think that's largely been true. But if Harry does start acting like a jerk to folks that --as relatively omniscent readers, we know don't deserve it-- he'll start losing his appeal as that Everyman type of hero. If Harry had always had a dark streak, it'd be one thing -- heck, I'd welcome it. But to have him rather suddenly (from the readers perspective) develop one is not so good. I've heard very little but complaints about Harry's attitude during Phoenix. Based on that very important bit of anecdotal marketing research, I believe that Harry needs to clean up his act a bit and start acting more like the hero his readers expect, or he'll start losing reader loyalty.

But now I have a very disturbing image stuck in my head, coupled with a disturbing song.

I hope you're happy.

My work here is done, then. Time to go ruin another thread.