I Know That We Often Criticize JK Rowling's Writing (and With Good Reason), But There's One Thing I Believe

I know that we often criticize JK Rowling's writing (and with good reason), but there's one thing I believe she got right: how she portrays Harry finding out about his father's bullying.

Since the beginning of the books, we see Harry's parents as these perfect heroes, who gave their lives to save their son. So, obviously, this orphan child idolizes his parents - and so do we, as readers.

The only person who goes against that idea is Snape, who only ever says bad things about James Potter. However, Harry doesn't believe him, and neither do the readers.

And then, we see Snape's memories and find out that he was right all along. That James wasn't a perfect hero, but used to be a violent bully who tormented people for fun. Just like Harry, we get disenchanted, like we have been deceived this entire time.

Harry idolizes his father, but he's still capable of recognizing that his actions were cruel and inexcusable. Harry hates Snape, but still acknowledges that he didn't deserve that kind of treatment. It's a good message to show that people aren't just "good" or "bad".

And because of that, it's even more frustrating when fans try to defend James' actions, by saying: "Actually, no, Snape was a bad person, so he deserved to be bullied".

Even Harry HATES Snape and is able to see that what his father did is horrible. Harry adores Sirius and adores Remus, and yet he tells them to piss off when they try to justify the bullying. The purpose of that scene is for Harry to demystify his father, to learn that he wasn’t perfect, and to start doubting the adult figures of his childhood. It’s a way to break away from childish innocence and to make the protagonist understand that not everything is black or white, and that even good people can do horrible things, and it’s not right to idealize anyone.

The scene is designed to seem horrible. Harry finds it horrible. Harry. James’s son. Sirius’s godson. Harry finds what they did disgusting, and they’re doing it to someone Harry hates. This isn’t accidental; narrative and storytelling aren’t accidental things. The scene is set up this way, and the protagonist’s reaction is what it is because Rowling is telling the reader that it was horrible, that James and Sirius were bullies, and that Snape was their victim. Denying this goes against the narrative. But justifying it with absurdities like saying it was Snape’s fault for not wearing pants?? I get that they are kids saying these things, but one day they’ll wake up at 25 and realize the nonsense they said online, and they’re really going to feel terrible shame.

The worst part is that they’re not interested in understanding other points of view. Like, you share links or articles with different perspectives, and they don’t care. They don’t give a damn about the canon; they literally deny it. The mental gymnastics they do to justify the abuse? But then they say the scenes are open to interpretation, like, hello? They’re not? The scenes are designed to convey a message, and the message is clear. That they need to deny it over and over again to avoid admitting they’re whitewashing and justifying wealthy abusers is their cognitive dissonance running wild. Honestly, what a damn shame these people are; I don’t care if they’re kids, I had more than two neurons at 15.