It is important to note that Rowling lets Harry make mistakes and succumb to the temptation of using the Unforgivable Curses. The key to this honest understanding of how and why Harry makes his decisions comes from Rowling’s ability to create believable situations where Harry makes the believable choice, as Lana A. Whited and M. Katherine Grimes describe in “What Would Harry Do? J.K. Rowling and Lawrence Kohlberg’s Theories of Moral Development”: “Although Harry’s dilemmas involve creatures and settings quite different from the “real” world, Rowling always puts him in the position of deciding between or among quite realistic alternatives […]” (Whited, Grimes 183). Rowling understands her character and has developed the wizarding world so impeccably,
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Whether the war justifies the means, or we see Harry fall into the story of temptation and redemption, Harry still provides readers with a moral character we can trust. Unfortunately, because of some of his missteps, religions have determined that Harry is not a sincerely good figure and “that some aspects of the characters’ behavior – Harry’s included – are not imitable” (Whited, Grimes 204). For instance, they may claim that after Harry uses the Cruciatus Curse on Carrow after he spat in McGonagall’s face and threatened the Ravenclaws and says: “I see what Bellatrix meant,’ said Harry, the blood thundering through his brain, ‘you really need to mean it” that Harry is unforgivable here (Deathly Hallows 593). However, this instance, Carrow is attempting to use the same curse to inflict pain on innocent people, while Harry steps into prevent that from happening. Also, though Harry’s reaction to this is based in the desire to protect McGonagall – not necessarily draw pleasure. He retains his understanding that this is a necessary part of war – he needs to move on quickly and needs to remove Carrow from the situation without crossing the line of blatant …show more content…
Like at the Ministry, Harry, Ron, and Hermione plan for months and consider all their options before settling on the plan to use the Polyjuice Potion. Ron suggests that only he and Harry go underneath the Invisibility Cloak, which leads to a discussion about why each of them should stay behind. This conversation results in the understanding that each of them possess an important skill that will be needed at the Ministry, and as they are too big to all fit under the cloak, the potion is their next best option (Deathly Hallows 231). Whited and Grimes surmise that “When Harry and his friends experience moral conflict, they always talk their way through it. […] When characters such as Draco Malfoy act in accordance with lower levels of moral reasoning, Harry and his friends always condemn those actions” (Whited, Grimes 207). This instance occurs during Half-Blood Prince when Draco makes Crabbe and Goyle use the Polyjuice Potion to impersonate a young girl to keep guard over the Room of Requirement as Draco builds a way for the Death Eaters to enter into Hogwarts. So, because Draco’s intentions support the bad guys, Harry condemns Draco for his actions. Harry recognizes the difference between right and wrong through the character’s intentions and
Whether the war justifies the means, or we see Harry fall into the story of temptation and redemption, Harry still provides readers with a moral character we can trust. Unfortunately, because of some of his missteps, religions have determined that Harry is not a sincerely good figure and “that some aspects of the characters’ behavior – Harry’s included – are not imitable” (Whited, Grimes 204). For instance, they may claim that after Harry uses the Cruciatus Curse on Carrow after he spat in McGonagall’s face and threatened the Ravenclaws and says: “I see what Bellatrix meant,’ said Harry, the blood thundering through his brain, ‘you really need to mean it” that Harry is unforgivable here (Deathly Hallows 593). However, this instance, Carrow is attempting to use the same curse to inflict pain on innocent people, while Harry steps into prevent that from happening. Also, though Harry’s reaction to this is based in the desire to protect McGonagall – not necessarily draw pleasure. He retains his understanding that this is a necessary part of war – he needs to move on quickly and needs to remove Carrow from the situation without crossing the line of blatant …show more content…
Like at the Ministry, Harry, Ron, and Hermione plan for months and consider all their options before settling on the plan to use the Polyjuice Potion. Ron suggests that only he and Harry go underneath the Invisibility Cloak, which leads to a discussion about why each of them should stay behind. This conversation results in the understanding that each of them possess an important skill that will be needed at the Ministry, and as they are too big to all fit under the cloak, the potion is their next best option (Deathly Hallows 231). Whited and Grimes surmise that “When Harry and his friends experience moral conflict, they always talk their way through it. […] When characters such as Draco Malfoy act in accordance with lower levels of moral reasoning, Harry and his friends always condemn those actions” (Whited, Grimes 207). This instance occurs during Half-Blood Prince when Draco makes Crabbe and Goyle use the Polyjuice Potion to impersonate a young girl to keep guard over the Room of Requirement as Draco builds a way for the Death Eaters to enter into Hogwarts. So, because Draco’s intentions support the bad guys, Harry condemns Draco for his actions. Harry recognizes the difference between right and wrong through the character’s intentions and