Choices

Well, I think my summer reading will be just like my class reading, perpetually one book behind.

I believe this passage may have come up before on this blog, however, it is still my favorite.

"Listen to me, Harry. You happen to have many qualities Salazar Slytherin prized in his hand- picked students. His own very rare gift, Parseltongue - resourcefulness - determination - a certain disregard for rules," he added, his mustache quivering again. "Yet the Sorting Hat placed you in Gryffindor. You know why that was. Think."
"It only put me in Gryffindor," said Harry in a defeated voice, "because I asked not to go in Slytherin . . . ."
"Exactly," said Dumbledore, beaming once more. "Which makes you very different from Tom Riddle. It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

When I first read this book, I never really paid much attention to this statement by Dumbledore. The climatic fight with the snake was over, and I just dismissed this part as some more wise words by the good professor. However, when I read it this time I was drawn to this quote, particularly the sentence about choices because it reminded me of C.S. Lewis. In one of his many works, I unfortunately forget which one (help me out Zita?), Lewis expresses the idea that by one's choices, a man can become a more heavenish or hellish creature. This idea is also expressed in one of his letters, Lewis says, "But though freedom is real it is not infinite. Every choice reduces a little one’s freedom to choose the next time. There therefore comes a time when the creature is fully built, irrevocably attached either to God or to itself." In Rowling's world, the irrevocable attachment to good and evil is most clearly seen in the last two books. There is shows that Riddle is willing to murder anyone to stay alive (attachment to himself), and that Harry is willing to die for the lives of others (attachment to the Good). These ultimate expression of good and evil didn't just happen. Neither Potter nor Riddle were "born this way." Furthermore, since they both had miserable experiences as a child, neither of them can completely blame their upbringing. They are responsible for their own actions. Riddle is evil because throughout his life he consistently chose to place himself above others, and Potter is good because he consistently chooses to sacrifice his wellbeing for the wellbeing of others. I really appreciate that this idea is expressed in a simple and non-religious manner to a society that is quick to blame its faults on genes, parents, and the weather. I will be keeping track of this theme as I continue to read.

Anyways, the moral of the book is to not allow your daughter to talk with unknown strangers on Facebook…I mean, in magical diaries…otherwise she may end up releasing a giant snake on innocent Mudbloods.