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 agree with all of this!

The more I read/listen to the books the more I love Neville and Luna.

I wouldn't go so far as to say Harry is unlikeable, but incredibly frustrating? Absolutely, but then what pre-teen/teenage boy isn't?

I just listened to the Deathly Hallows audio book. I don't think I've ever re-read the book since the first time it came out. My god, I'd forgotten how dark it was.

I've still not forgiven JKR for Hedwig though... probably my saddest part of the whole series!

The most interesting thing about him is his strong friendships. It’s an intriguing way to go. Ron, Hermione, Luna and Neville all contributed to the dynamic.

Saying that, TOOTP was almost unreadable for the gigantic strop he was in the entire time.

I had moody kids of my own, I didn’t want to be reading about fictional strops at the bedtime stories.

I really don’t like it when people say this about Harry - he’s a child who is repeatedly traumatised and absolutely has the right to be pissed off and a moody teenager! In the 5th year, when he’s particularly like this, he has just been cut out of all communication for the summer - while living with his abusive family, and after going through the graveyard stuff, witnessing a friend be murdered and just about surviving yet another encounter with the most feared man ever who just so happens to want to murder Harry more than anything else - and to compound that his friends then become prefects without him, and the whole thing is incredibly hurtful.

A parental figure he trusts, Dumbledore, is literally preparing him for death throughout his childhood, and selectively telling Harry vital info about himself. I am always shocked when people don’t have more compassion for Harry.

Yes but when Harry first meets snape, his scar causes pain, and snape throws him a look of pure hatred. At this stage Harry has never so much as said a hello to the professor. Snape then bullies and belittles Harry at every available opportunity.
Harry has been told numerous times that his father James is a good egg, and no doubt at his lowest with the Dursley's he imagined his parents to be a comfort.
Dumbledor tells Harry that James saved Severus' life, and Snape cannot forgive this. Dumbledor failed to mention that it was partly James' fault that Severus' life was put in jeopardy in the first place.
When Harry learns his father is not the man he thought he was, he risks life and limb under Umbridge nose, to speak to his Godfather to find out more about his dad. It shows he realises the perfect father he imagined is not true, and Harry has the humility to realise the error of his ways.
I think Snape probably heard about this, just as Snape could have had Harry expelled for cursing and almost killing Malfoy. Again Harry is horrified by what he is done, and snape sees that Harry has a lot more of Lilly in him than James.
Bloody great books, I'll have to read them again now!

But why would he have been an arrogant arse at that point?

He's spent 11 years being the bottom of the heap. Parents dead. Aunt and Uncle abusive. As far as we can tell no one at school his friend, or daring to be his friend. Even his babysitter (who knew who he was) says she didn't dare be nice to him or she knew she wouldn't be allowed to babysit him again.

He wouldn't have arrived arrogant. He would have been desperate to please, to make friends, to show that he was good after all.

In the first book when Snape is picking on him right at the beginning and he says "I don't know, but I think Hermione does" (or similar) it would be pretty daring for any year 7 beginning a new school to say. For him, totally wrong. He'd never have had the confidence at that point to answer back like that.

He could easily have become arrogant over that year. Going from being the bottom of the heap, to someone famous, and hero of the year! But at the beginning, no.

Order of the Phoenix is a ruthlessly, verging on unreadably, accurate portrayal of what 15 year old boys can be like.

Reiterating everyone else, he’s a teenage boy who’s constantly being traumatised in horrible circumstances, and he’s generally very reasonable and polite!

I always disliked Harry. He’s really entitled and self involved. Yeah yeah you're the boy who lived, we get it.

He’s AWFUL as an adult as well on the Cursed Child. Talk about passing on generational trauma

Refuses to take advice from people who know what they are doing. You have just described every teenager on the planet there OP.

Charlotte Proudman called him a "little patriarch that resorts to magic & violence to rule" on Twitter the other day. That made me chuckle.

I had to try to explain to my DDs why he was so often pushing away those who tried to help him as we worked our way through the books. They couldn't relate to this at all.

The Hogwarts version of snitches get stitches!

Other peoples kids are annoying. Even fictional ones.

Oh bum, that ^ was about the Marietta comment!

Not remotely I think he is a lovely character!!

He's a flawed character shaped by death of his parents & years of neglect & abuse. Plus the horcrux thing.

Would you rather is was all sunshine & roses, old school Disney prince type guy?

Yes this - he has a saviour complex probably because he wasn’t ‘saved’ (looked after by good parents) himself in childhood.

I think on the whole it’s Harry driving the decisions to do the right thing and save people etc, whereas Hermione is generally against the dangerous option but she relents, goes along with it and provides the knowledge needed to complete the quest. Team effort. Ron is there for comic relief from the intensity!

Btw I find Harry jarring because I’m much more of a Hermione - would rather stay safe and read a book!

Girls too maybe. I remember an intense experience reading it cover to cover within 47 hours on its day of release when I was a teenager - felt totally immersed in Harry’s anger and could very much relate to him in that one!

I get what you're saying but I completely disagree! To have endured ten years of constant bullying, both at home and at school, with seemingly no respite at all, he would have had to develop a seriously thick skin. He argued against his teachers at primary school when he got into trouble for accidental magic, and he had a few retorts for Dudley too. We also know that he's quite a hotheaded person. I think his comment to Snape was entirely in character!

Yes but when Harry first meets snape, his scar causes pain, and snape throws him a look of pure hatred.

I think that's a red herring - Snape is talking to Quirrell when this happens, and the pain in Harry's scar is caused by Quirrell/Voldemort.

'a look of pure hatred' isn't in the text - it says Harry didn't like the feeling the look gave him. Snape is just described as looking straight into Harry's eyes, and it's later he starts to realise Snape has a particular antipathy towards him.

It's a very clever piece of misdirection.

Definitely! Look what being around other horcrux did to people!

Rowling said that the three friends aren't perfect. She said in "witch trials of jk Rowling" that Harry had "anger issues".

Of course he did! He was neglected and abused throughout his childhood. Thrust into fame, found out his parents were murdered and then spent his years at hogwarts fighting for his life and those of his friends.

I thought he was actually a very well rounded kid, in spite of his traumas.

Just doing a second read through and currently on Goblet of Fire. He is becoming a surly, horny teenager. Seems on point for his age and experience.

It's Hermione you have to watch. She kidnapped and imprisoned Rita Skeeter at the end of Goblet of Fire!

Overall I think Harry was remarkably normal for a child who had gone through his childhood, parents dead, raised by abusive relatives and then all Voldy's attempts to murder him etc.