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By now it should be plainly obvious to everyone how I feel about J.K. Rowling. However, in case you’re not, I’m no fan of hers. I find her writing to be somewhat simplistic, her characters extremely archetypal, and her plotlines to be the literary equivalent of swiss cheese. She also seems to go back and retcon details thus creating even more holes in her stores! What’s more than that, I dislike her on a more personal level. Regardless of anyone’s political or social beliefs, everyone should be able to recognize the rather over-the-top smugness of her twitter posts, including how she refuses to recant certain statements even after being proven wrong.

That being said, though I dislike her, I do respect her. She’s a fellow writer who came up with a thematic world that people of all ages, including my children, absolutely love. What’s more, she did it without any level of professional training and only tidbits of higher education. So I tip my hat to her in that respect.

Today though, I want to talk about the primary hero in most of her stories; Harry Potter. Though I am in the minority here, I will come out and say this… I am not a fan. So let’s get into the real meat and potatoes here. Why do I dislike him so much?

(PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS ALL OPINION, SO DON’T WORRY IF YOU DON’T AGREE WITH ME. IN FACT, LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS… EVEN IF YOU ARE COMPLETELY WRONG! 😉 )

So what’s wront with Harry Potter?

He’s unrelatable and unrealistic.
Okay, before everyone gets mad, I know he’s a fantasy character and they’re not always realistic. However, this is a boy who supposedly comes from something resembling the real world and gets thrust into a land of magic. The best characters though are ones who are relatable and he simply isn’t. Consider for a moment… this is a boy who lives in a closet, is abused by his aunt and uncle on an emotional, if not physical, level. He has no parents, likely no friends, very little to call his own, and is lucky if he lives like a servant. Yet when he gets to school, though awkward, he is outgoing and seems to pick out a small group of friends very quickly.
In addition to that, it seems like almost every year he has to win everyone’s approval over and over again. In the first book, he’s the legend who survived. Living a normal life is likely off the books for him. In the next book, he has people thinking that he’s the heir of Slytherin attacking students. Then he’s a cheater who got himself into the tri-wizard tournament. Then he’s a liar… the list goes on and on. Yet he just shrugs it off each time. He doesn’t get mad, he doesn’t put up a fight, and he barely gets emotional.

As if most of that wasn’t enough, even when he has to watch the last member of his family die, even then, he can’t bring himself to inflict harm on the person who killed him. As Voldermort said, the cruciatus curse only works if you mean it.

Even in the end when Harry takes on Voldermort, he doesn’t kill him. The wand does the job for him, absolving him of a supposed murder that absolutely no one would have faulted him for. Harry could pretty much try out for the role of Jesus.

I’m sorry, I get that maybe he might be a little squemish, but his one and only outburst really wasn’t all that believable. In the end, he’s the archetype of a good guy character with little in the way of faults or flaws and really comes off as weak and/or unrealistic.

Anyway, that’s my opinion. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

Category: advice, fantasy, Fiction, literature, Science Fiction, Uncategorized, Writing Tags: , , , , , ,

36 Comments on “Unpopular Opinion: Harry Potter is a terrible protagonist”

  3. Have you read the books properly or simply watched the films? He spends quiet a bit of time being emotional and mad in the later books. It isn’t Voldemoert who tells him he needs to mean it when casting cruciatus curse, it’s Beletrix Lestrange. What she actually tells him is the righteous anger isn’t enough you have really want to cause pain or enjoy causing pain I forget the exact words but you get the meaning.

    The fact he has managed to survive his awful life relatively unscathed is an important plot point, something Dumbledore elaborates on in Half Blood Prince. I have know people who have manged this, in fact I was talking to someone today who had a terrible start to life but managed to overcome it. They are rare but it happens.

    Every book has plot holes, I’ve yet to read one that hasn’t. I would say HP has less than most. The extra info she adds it because fans are desperate for anything more from the HP world. On the whole I would say then enrich the story.

    JK has a degree from a very good University and worked as a teacher, a bit more than “tidbits of higher education.”

    As for her tweets I am surprised you went there but they are enjoyed by millions and I don’t detect any smugness. I can think of at least one time when she went back an apologized for a tweet where she was proved wrong, can’t think of any time when Trump has….

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    • Heh, had a feeling you’d enter the fray on this one.

      To answer your question, I read through the first five and a half before I’d had enough.
      I am aware that Beletrix says that, but even there, I find it a pretty pathetic attempt to absolve Harry of any faults. One could very easily understand the hatred of someone who murdered a family member.

      Yes, you can overcome bad things that happen in your life, but constant violence, rejection and death all around you is an extreme situation and I don’t buy that anyone could come out of that as unscathed as Harry did.

      To your point about her adding info that fans want… this is true, but remember that she consulted on the movies and when the info she releases even contradicts the info she previously released… It’s just hard to stomach.

      I’m not talking about all of her tweets, but there have been many where she published inaccuracies and refused to recant them after being called out and proven wrong.

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      • What info contradicts stuff she has already released? She only advised the moves is the sens the asked her if they cut out characters would it affect the plot, before the all the books where released. I think she also and a lot of input on the casting but she didn’t have any editorail control,

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      • Well for starters, the pronunciation of certain characters names after the fact (Voldermort for example).

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      • Err it’s a book, the pronunciation she didn’t change it she corrected it. Interesting enough the pronunciation still hasn’t changed most people have stuck with the originally, how most people assumed it was said. JK didn’t make a big issue about it just said it wasn’t how it was different in her head. Is that really a problem for you?

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      • When she does it after the movies come out with the incorrect pronunciation? Despite as you said, advising on the movies… yeah it seems like a bit of a classless move.

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      • Sorry to intrude into the conversation but I felt as if I had to. I fully respect your opinion about Harry and the tweets and won’t force you to like the series but I can’t deny that he is one of my most favourite characters.
        He is truly dumb and impulsive and a whole lot dependent on Hermione but if we were to examine his character traits, the one thing that will stand out is his goodness. His innocence and goodwill. To hate someone doesn’t make it necessary for him to enjoy inflicting pain, and that as Eric said earlier was crucial to that curse. Besides, it must have been quite difficult to hate Voldemort and his supporters initially. They were a threat to the school and his friends and initially it wasn’t even very personal and more of like a duty. You can’t expect him to vent out anger against him for killing his parents, because he never knew them well. What he knew of them was through pictures and stories. It wasn’t a personal hatred until Lupin or Black or the others were killed or hurt and then, he did show his anger and exasperation.
        Considering that the whole message of the book is to help people remain good at heart even in the face of adversity, I think JKR does a pretty good job of it.

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      • Thanks for your post, and I do agree that there is nothing wrong with portraying goodness. I just think that JK took it to extremely unbelievable levels.
        Taking away what happened to his parents, and just focusing on how he’s treated at school, witnessing his God Father die, and then fighting in a war against people who want to either use or kill him, to come out of that completely unscathed on an emotional level and to continue to connect with said people… is far beyond my suspension of disbelief. But again, this whole article was my opinion and mine alone… so take that as it is. 🙂

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  4. I’m all for renaming the series “Hermione Granger and her two male friends” given Hermione is the one who actually solves anything and the others would never act without her in the story.
    I don’t actually mind Harry Potter mind you, it does casual fantasy and easy reading well. However, I’ve never really liked that Harry gets all the credit when he doesn’t actually do very much.

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    • Well to be fair, no one really solves anything other than Hermione. So I agree she’s one of the most useful. I actually found it very telling when Barty Crouch at the end of The Goblet of Fire, talked about just how worthless and stupid most of Harry’s friends were… and was in my opinion absolutely correct.

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  5. While I don’t actively dislike the Harry Potter series, I never really loved it, even as a kid (though I did admittedly board the hype train for the last book, mind you). One of the reasons was probably the characters, who for some reason I never found particularly interesting, including Harry himself. I actually thought the films did a better job of making the characters interesting that the books did, which is a rare statement for me to make!

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  6. Harry Potter isn’t my favorite series either.. I’ve watched all the movies, but I’m having a hard time finishing the rest of the series. Three more books to go and I don’t know when I’ll finish them because the stories aren’t that great. They’ve failed to captivate me even for causal reading. I spend far too much time questioning the story and wondering why said thing happened the way it did.

    And Harry as a character is what I describe as borderline unrealistic. Basically, he’s enough going for him to give him a passing grade. He’s acceptable but if you really examine him on that pages, he’s two steps away from being a shallow character. Some books more than others. I think the only time I really enjoyed the series and wasn’t left, with, “That could’ve been better” was the Prisoner of Azkaban. That in my mind was probably the best story in terms of construction and character. Then The Goblet of Fire went down as one of the most anti-climatic of them all with a lot of things not making sense more than the other books which is the reason why, I’ve not finished the series. Other books I want to read take priority over something I find to be mediocore. And I’m sure someone would say, I don’t like YA and children’s books when I read YA. I mean while everyone seemed to go crazy for Harry Potter. I liked Percy Jackson a lot more. Mostly because there series was rather fun and seemed to understand it’s silliness. The movies on the other hand…I can never have that time back.

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  7. I recently re-read Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone for the first time in something like seventeen years and I actually really enjoyed it. I am not a massive fan, but I do like the series and the world JK Rowling manages to create. Of course some of your points are very valid, especially in the abused child sense, but I do not read it expecting it to be realistic. It is not supposed to be and I kind of like that. Harry Potter takes you away from your every day life and tells fantastical tales.
    I get what you mean about her writing though. I do not mind it in Harry Potter – it sort of suits, but I recently read one of her adult books and it irked me much more.

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  8. While I wouldn’t say JK is the greatest literary talent ever, when you compare her writing to stuff like Fifty Shades of Grey, she’s light years ahead. Just sayin’.

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    • Seriously though? That’s cherry-picking! That’s like saying ‘Okay yes well Superman 4 sucked, but it’s still better than Fant4stic’ therefore it’s not so bad.
      Being marginally better than complete garbage is not a goal we should strive for. Almost anything looks good when put next to 50 Shades.

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  9. Hey James, Harry Potter and all that ain’t for me. Mind I am not a child, of course. How it became so popular, and she so wealthy, God only knows.
    Thanks for checking out a recent post. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I appreciate it.

    Michael.

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  10. Well, thanks for the comments on my blog; i had taken a 3-year hiatus. I haven’t read HP but I was happy that a woman on welfare found success through writing; perhaps what you do not like appeals to the reader who didn’t read before; she has changed many young folks reading habits; i am a voracious reader and have taught creative writing. I am always sad to have writers take classes and some say, “I don’t read.” Curtians for them; but, they do come along; i just have been too busy and read so much HP hit the side of the highway; best to you; Esther

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  11. What makes a great story or a great place? It’s the ability to imagine, dream and LOVE. Harry Potter’s world is interesting and unlike anything we have ever known. It’s the magic and I just love it. I am fascinated my the world J.K. thought up. I respect your opinion but what I love most about this story is that love wins. Everyone in the books at some point must face their fears and the many forms that evil shows itself. J.K said herself that it’s not about the magic of the wand per-say but rather the symbol that we must find courage within ourselves.

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  12. Harry Potter is great, and often fans disagree on what characters are liked. Another example is Severus Snape. Check out my blog tomorrow to find out why people both love and hate Snape! It is appreciated!

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  13. First off, I think it’s great you’re stating your opinion but with this, you are literally ASKING for hate comments. When I saw the title I thought it was a joke. Harry Potter gets quite emotional, especially in the films. I hope you don’t think killing people is easy and is something you should do, even in books. However, I don’t really have a problem with people disliking the series (fantasy isn’t for everyone), but if you dislike the author that’s what I am offended by. If you think J. K. Rowling is “smug” maybe you should look into her. Seriously, if your basing your opinion on her off of TWITTER that’s just crazy.

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    • Hate comments, I can tolerate… especially from Potter fans.

      My opinions on HP and Rowling are similar, but the two are mutually exclusive. There are plenty of creative works out there I love from people whom, on a personal or professional level, I really don’t care for.

      I do think that Harry Potter’s level of goodness is a too over the top to be relatable, but that’s IMO. He get’s emotional a few times, but that’s really it.
      In terms of my dislike of Rowling, it’s more than just twitter. I got that impression of her from various interviews, as well as other statements she made. I try not to pass judgement based on one source unless said source is particularly damning.

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      • * ⚠️ emotional warning ⚠️ * (I litterally started tearing up while writing this).
        * ⚠️ spoiler alerts ⚠️ *
        A FEW times? The books AND movies get emotional starting with the FIRST BOOK/MOVIE when Hagrid get sent to azkaban, fourth book when ced dies (*😭 Sniff sniff 🤧* sorry 😐), then fifth when when umbridge comes around (who agrees with me?) umbridge is the only character HP fans want dead MORE than voldie (or should I say BALDie?) I’m being SIRUS guys! (hehe u get it? Sorry… bad puns 😋)No SIRIUSly…(AHHHHHH!!!! SORRY!) Sirius dies in the fifth book/movie. (*😭 Sniff sniff 🤧* sorry 😐).Then sixth when dumbledore dies (*😭 Sniff sniff 🤧* sorry 😐) And Draco in the sixth… OMG!!!! HE’S SOOOO… SAAAADDDD!!!!!!!!!! (HE’S REGRETTING EVERYTHING!!!!) ( sorry 😐… again). Anyways… seventh book/ seventh AND eighth movie…….. ahhhhhhhhh! I’m gonna cry again! 😭
        *sniff sniff…🤧* (okay I-I think…I think I’m… I’m g-good…now *ehemmm…..*) (I’m a very emotional child. Especially when it comes to movies like HP, starwars, Jurassic world… ya okay.) where were we? Oh ya. Deathly hollows. Ah. (okay breath.*inhales…exhales* It’s gonna b ok) k now Fred, Lupin, Tonks, Colin, Lavender, and… Draco. He LEAVES! I ACTUALLY THOUGHT HE WAS GONNA STAY! Ah! (Getting emotional again… sorry) ya… the battle of Hogwarts was a very emotional time for HP fans…(okay noooowwwww… I’m gonna go before I start crying again… soooo… yaaaahhhh…) bye 👋🏻

        GRYFINPUFF 4 EVER!!!!!!!!! ❤️💛…💛🖤

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  15. Person: *comes up to me* I hate Harry Potter!
    Me: *yells sarcastically* WHAT DO YOU LIKE TWILIGHT OR SOMETHING!?
    person *doesn’t know it was sarcastic* yes. Yes i do.
    Me: *Laughs at their face* GO DIE IN A HOLE YOU STUPID SPARKlING VAMPIRE. (But first go kill those

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  18. Another thing….

    Do u like Star Wars, jurassic world, Jurassic park, and guardians of the galaxy.

    These r my fav movies… (and HP… but you *in snape’s voice…* OBVIOUSLY… {hehe 😂 u see what I did there?} …don’t like HP…)
    I don’t like the twilight saga… just had 2 know bc if u don’t like HP but u like SPARKLING VAMPIRES… (like what the heck is that!?) that’s just sad.

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