To thing Harry Potter is an unlikeable character?

[Soubriquet]

I’ve just finished re-reading the books for the x amount of times, and each time I read it, I dislike Harry more and more.

I love the book series. It’s a good a series but I honestly think Harry is just an awful character

I think I'd whine if someone tried to murder me every five minutes 😂

Well, he's a cipher. If he didn't do stupid stuff, there would be no plot. It even gets commented on in the fourth book when Crouch Jr is like well you consistently failed to realise the answer was in Neville's book so I had to get Dobby to get the gillyweed to you.

She was a traitor by definition; she betrayed the group. Whether she had good reasons for that or not is a different question. Incidentally, though, lots of the others had parents at the Ministry too 🤷🏻‍♀️ I do think Hermione ought to have told the people signing that the list was cursed, though.

He could have been a slitherin, after all.

Doesn't Dumbledore spell out that Harry succeeds because of his friends?

The most overlooked part for me is the sadness of Hermione's parents forgetting about her. Tragic, and glossed over.

The most overlooked part for me is the sadness of Hermione's parents forgetting about her. Tragic, and glossed over.

She found them and put them right though after the war, no?

Did she?!

I've been sad about them for years. Must reread!

I'm almost certain she did! I feel like she found them in australia and re-instated their memory

He was also treated pretty badly in.later books if I remember correctly.

Dealing with Sirius and Cedric being murdered. Dumbledore, etc being all secret squirrel and not telling him what was going on, Umbridge being a sadistic bitch and everyone thinking he was a Billy Bullshitter about Voldemort being back.

"Assuming I survive our hunt for the Horcruxes, I’ll find Mum and Dad and lift the enchantment." Hermione

Phew.

I've forgotten about all the details of the books as I last read them years ago but I agree with the op. The first time I read them was not long after the books were first out and I was very sympathetic to Harry. I re-read them after I'd watched some of the films and saw how dislikeable Harry was although not sure if I was influenced by the film and Daniel Radcliffe managed to portray more of this side; I would say petulant, arrogant and vindictive are qualities that spring to mind. I think part of it is sympathy with Snape and how horrible Harry's father was towards him.

I do think you have to cut him some slack because of his background of trauma and abuse and due to being a teenager in general, but yes, he is vile at times to his friends. He's rash, hot-headed and prone to taking things the wrong way and shouting at people who didn't deserve it. It would be a bit boring, though, wouldn't it, if he was Mr Perfect all the time? Nobody likes a protagonist without genuine character flaws. It's not realistic, for one thing. He was a nice lad, really, who would have grown out of most of the things that make him a bit of a prat.

Yep. He is a bit of a dick and if it weren't for Hermione he wouldn't even have survived his first year.

Yeah, in real life if you lost both parents at the age of 1, were then raised by your abusive aunt and uncle to the age of 11, and spent your adolescence going through pretty serious trauma on an annual basis, up to and including experiencing torture and witnessing murder... you'd probably end up exhibiting a lot more behavioural problems than Harry Potter.

Do you think she asked her parents their thoughts on this or did she just assume that because she was a witch and they were mere Muggles that she knew better and could do what she liked to them as long as it was for a good reason.

I love the books, but on rereading them, even the good side treats Muggles as rather curious and interesting lesser beings that must be protected and/or patronised as though they are children who couldn't possibly be as good as a witch or wizard ever.

Also, I can't help thinking he'd be really wet as an adult. Assuming everyone stops trying to kill him, what's he got to offer?

He has special powers, of course he doesn't listen to what others say, he's almost always right and ends up saving his own and others peoples skins!

I found Hermione annoying, but that might be Emma Watson clouding my memory.

He has a rude patch when he's going through adolescence coupled with all the stress of being The Boy Who Lived and all the other crap. I think that's pretty realistic. Likewise most adolescents think they know it all, but to be fair to him sometimes he really does know better.

Why would you blame Harry for what his father did before he was born? It's not as if he condoned it.

Yes. He is deliberately written as a flawed character who eg loses his temper and ignores good advice. It’s called creating a character arc.

A character who is wonderful all the time is called a “Mary Sue” character and is generally thought to be terrible writing.

But if you were born after, say, 1990 you may be unaware of character arcs and think that everything written is supposed to be a role model and inoffensive 🙄

YANBU.

Not necessarily, Dd (aged 11 at the time) didn’t like HP as a character- loved the books - all of them, but thought HP was an arrogant arse.

Meant to say YABVU 🤣

He’s an eleven year old boy!

They’re all arrogant arses.

Had to sit through all the films because of second youngest child's obsession with it.
All HP characters are insufferable dicks.