As the
series progresses, Dumbledore becomes progressively more unpredictable. In the
Order of Phoenix, he hardly appears inside Hogwarts, and nobody seems to know
where he goes. He always seems to have ulterior motives for everything he does,
and Harry never seems to figure them out.
In the
Order of Phoenix, Dumbledore hardly appears. Whenever Harry does manage to come
into contact with him for advice, Dumbledore usually does not give him a lot of
information. At the end of the book, Dumbledore reveals that he avoids Harry
because he fears that Voldemort could use his mind control over Harry to spy on
him. This was the first instance in which Dumbledore admitted one of his
weaknesses to Harry.
As the
next book starts, Dumbledore aids Harry more than in the previous year. He
gives him private “lessons” in his office, which are merely viewing memories
inside the pensieve. Even though Dumbledore considers them lessons, he never
actually teaches Harry anything. He simply presents Harry with a memory, and
expects Harry to interpret and find the meaning of it on his own. Dumbledore
also makes Harry try to coax a memory from Professor Slughorn’s memory, but
does not give him any information to Harry on how to accomplish this task.
Dumbledore’s
changing demeanor towards Harry allows the reader to observe Harry’s maturity
as the series progresses. They can view how Harry becomes more independent in solving
Dumbledore’s tasks, and relies on Dumbledore less for his personal problems.
Dumbledore’s absence in the Order of Phoenix reveals his true vulnerability.
Many other professors talk about Dumbledore’s true strength, but his avoidance of
Harry in fear of the Dark Lord spying on him reveals a weakness in his
character. It shows that even Dumbledore recognizes Lord Voldemort’s true
power, and he actually fears it to an extent. Overall, Dumbledore's actions and absences represent his fear of Voldemort rising. He basically hands over the task of defeating Voldemort to Harry
One of the toughest lessons is learning how to digest information on your own, and come to your own conclusions with what you've learned. And I think Dumbledore does a really great job of showing Harry how to do this. He offers him memories and gives Harry the opportunity to draw his own conclusions, knowing that he, Dumbledore, won't be around forever to have all the answers. I think it's definitely a challenge for Harry, but it is a lesson that everyone must learn. Along similar lines as Sirius's comment that the world isn't divided into good guys and Death Eaters, Dumbledore is showing Harry that the solutions to problems aren't easily divided into black and white, which does show Dumbledore's humanity and his vulnerability, but also gives Harry a taste of his own decision making and deductive skills.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your observation that Dumbledore’s character becomes more obscure as the series progresses. Throughout the first through fourth books Dumbledore’s character remained constant; he provided Harry a father figure and confidant. The fifth book is when the first cracks in Dumbledore’s façade appear. As you stated, Dumbledore is absent throughout much of the story. During his brief appearances his relationship with Harry appears strained and uncomfortable. You point out the reason for this abrupt change as Dumbledore’s fear of Voldemort’s mind control. I would go farther and state that Dumbledore (at this point in the series) is not only afraid of Voldemort’s capabilities, but of Voldemort himself. I have come to this conclusion based upon Dumbledore’s evasion of eye contact with Harry. As we discussed in class, the eyes are often seen as a window into the soul. Rowling uses Dumbledore’s eyes as a way to portray his intelligence. Perhaps Dumbledore was unwilling to look into Harry’s soul because he knew he would see Harry’s pain as well as Voldemort’s psychopathy. After Dumbledore finally confronts Harry about what is happening and begins teaching him, he begins to regain his calm demeanor. Dumbledore’s negative reaction after Voldemort’s rising may have been due to the fear that Harry was not ready to face him. However, after beginning training, Dumbledore sees that Harry will be ready to face Voldemort and serves as a mentor to Harry once again.
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