The next question kind of follows up on my previous thoughts about Harry’s Anger in Order of the Phoenix.
Question: Near the end of Book 5, Harry states that he doesn’t want to be human. What do you think he means by that? Why is it a significant comment in the context of his development?
Tom Riddle, Jr. and Harry Potter have a lot of striking similarities: “both half-bloods, orphans, raised by Muggles…Parselmouths…[they] even look something alike.” (Chamber 317) Dumbledore teaches Harry that it is their choices that make them different. (333)
When faced with the question of life and death, Voldemort chose an existence less than human rather than death. The further he proceeded along his path toward “immortality,” the less human he became.
In Dumbledore’s office at the end of Order, Harry is face-to-face with the grief of death in a more profound way than he has yet experienced. With the trauma of having no real family or significant connection to his parents, Sirius had provided that needed link. Now he’s dead, and Harry is quite convinced it was entirely his fault. It is in the context of this terrible pain that Harry makes the claim that he does not want to be human. (Order 824) It immediately follows Dumbledore’s statement that it is Harry’s ability to feel such pain that is his “greatest strength” and “part of being human.” (823-24)
Harry, then, is faced for the first time with a significant choice concerning what to do with the universal human pain of suffering permanent loss (the death of a loved one), as well as the pain of one’s own death. Voldemort chose to forsake even being human, in many respects, in order to avoid such pain. He also chose to not ever feel pain for the loss of anyone else, as evidenced by his willingness to kill anyone and everyone without remorse in order to stay alive himself.
Harry, on the other hand, feels this pain deeply, and though his initial reaction is to not even want to be human, he is able with Dumbledore’s gentle guidance, to learn how to grieve, and to learn that this kind of pain is normal and even healthy.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Harry’s desire to not be human is not only another common link shared between he and LV, but also an example of how they differ when presented with a similar set of challenges. Both want to avoid various repurcutions of human death as well as to be free of any consequences of human error, which in their case both happen to be linked to death. (LV’s – his own death, Harry’s – Sirius’ death) LV literally doesn’t “want to be human”, he wants to be immortal. Upon further reflection, Harry’s actions show that his comment about not wanting “to be human” turns out to be soley an expression of remorse for his flawed, imperfect, and tender hearted tendancies, as well as his regret that others close to him are incapable of living forever as he knows them. It is this distinction that really comes to define and separate them from one another. Ultimately, the directions they choose to take on this issue will lead them to completely different destinations opposite one another. (Not to mention the different foundations on which their characters are layed.)
When standing at the cross roads of possible consequences for his mistakes, LV sees that the only error that would lead to his downfall is the selfsame one that would also bring about his death. Therefore, LV contrives to go down a path that he feels will guarentee his return incase such a mistake were made: Horcruxes. Harry, on the other hand, realizes his error and turns a different way all together by doing all within his power to learn from his mistakes, as painful as the consequences are, and moves on to the next big challenge. In other words, he sees his imperfect state (human), regrets it (“I don’t want to be human!”), accepts who he is and changes his attitude (doesn’t want to DO wrong any more), and purifies himself (attempts to remedy the situation as much as possible, pay his penance, and seek to do better next time). We see this at the end of book 6 when Harry, sacrificing his love for Ginny in hope that she will not be made into bait as was Sirius, leaves to try and end LV’s reign of terror.
Facing the additional possibility of natural death, LV endevors to concor ALL likeliness of death by making himself as immortal as he possibly can through making the perfect number of horcruxes (7). Because he does this at the cost of others, LV slowly changes, both in character and in being, into something other than he was meant to be. Meanwhile, though Harry wishes to avoid the pain of loosing someone close to him through death, he realizes it won’t bring those lost loved ones back. He also can’t allow their sacrifices to be in vain. He cares too much for them to allow that. Therefore, he must embrace who he is and his destiny, rather than become something else, in order to defeat LV and rid the world of his death curse. That means settling for being human after all and making similar sacrifices for others later on possibly. (This may especially be true if he or his scar turns out to be a horcrux.) Ultimately, Harry chooses not to act in fear of death as LV, but rather accept his own eventual death. (Doing all that is within his power until that time comes, of course.)
Having taken different roads, LV and Harry will soon arrive at their varied destinations and the battle between them will recommence. It is then that we will see the greater strength of Harry’s foundation on hope and purity of soul vs. LV’s platform of fear and mutation of spirit. The more Harry hurts, the more love that must be in him, and this, as Harry is repeatedly reminded, is what will help him undermine the most evil wizard ever!
Excellent thoughts, Deborah. I think it’s fascinating to think about the incredible conundrum Harry faces. In needing to learn occlumency, Snape insists he must not let his emotions run. (One wonders if it is Voldemort’s inability to really feel anything anymore that makes him the world’s most accomplish legilimens.) Yet Dumbledore tells Harry it is precisely his ability to feel that is his greatest asset and strength.
Perhaps Dumbledore is an example of the balance between Snape and Harry.
I was just re-reading OotP and something was bothering me about the occlumency lessons. Snape continually tells Harry that he must let go of all emotion…and Harry cannot let go of his anger which is why his lessons ultimatly fail right? But Snape is knowen for being so angry all the time. How is it that he is so good at occlumency if he cannot let go of his emotions? This will probably have no revelence at all with the seventh book but just wondering what you might think on this….
Crystal, I’m betting this will have much more relevance than you think! Think about all the connections to Snape’s Occlumency lessons, Harry’s reaction at Sirius’ death, Dumbledore’s lessons, and the final scene of HBP.
As you said, Snape keeps telling him to let go of all emotions in order to perform occlumency. At the end of HBP, Snape repeats this lesson while he is having that little duel with Harry before running off.
Dumbledore obviously thought learning occlumency was very important, and he trusted Snape implicitly, including his ability to teach the subject (which means he trusted his methods). And yet, Dumbledore is clear with Harry that it was not Harry’s ability to close his mind that kept Voldemort from possessing him at the end of OotP, but his inability to close his heart (love).
So that leaves a lot of mystery that I think needs to be solved in HBP. Is Snape good? Was he right about Harry needing to close his mind in order to face the Dark Lord? How is Harry’s ability to love/emote going to save him? Are Snape and Dumbledore representations of the two things Harry needs in order to destroy Voldemort? I think it’s all related somehow. I just can’t put the connections together yet in my mind.