Wrong. If we doubt Lupin and Sirius, it may be because we don't like them. (But I always liked Lupin, and have some sympathy for Sirius; as I said before, he and Severus are very alike.) It is also because: 1. By the end of POA, we know Lupin to be a coward and a liar. 2. By the end of OOTP, we know Sirius to have failed to give Harry information he himself knew. 3.Finally, and by far the most important, in a story, what we are shown and can ourselves observe of the characters *always* trumps what are told. There is a reason why hearsay evidence is not admitted in court; it is weak evidence in fiction, also. What we are told by Remus and Sirius is hearsay; it is directly contradicted by what we actually *see* of James' behavior.
But all this arguing has, by this time, nothing to do with my original post. In fact, you have been failing to address my original argument - which is that the dissonance so many of us are perceiving is in the text itself. It is, and it is not resolved. James is a very good example. What we are told of him simply does not match what we see, and there is no attempt to reconcile those two images. Therefore, readers must decide whether to trust what they are shown directly, or what they are told. I prefer to believe what I see - as is also the case with Severus Snape, and with Harry.
That is all I have to say on this subject. Except for one thing. No one has been impolite to you, nor made any generalizations about you. I would appreciate it if you would also refrain from doing those things. And, though I welcome anonymous posters (because I have friends who do not have livejournals, and who read mine and sometimes comment on my posts), I would prefer it if you signed your name, as my non - lj friends do.
no subject
It is also because:
1. By the end of POA, we know Lupin to be a coward and a liar.
2. By the end of OOTP, we know Sirius to have failed to give Harry information he himself knew.
3.Finally, and by far the most important, in a story, what we are shown and can ourselves observe of the characters *always* trumps what are told. There is a reason why hearsay evidence is not admitted in court; it is weak evidence in fiction, also. What we are told by Remus and Sirius is hearsay; it is directly contradicted by what we actually *see* of James' behavior.
But all this arguing has, by this time, nothing to do with my original post. In fact, you have been failing to address my original argument - which is that the dissonance so many of us are perceiving is in the text itself. It is, and it is not resolved. James is a very good example. What we are told of him simply does not match what we see, and there is no attempt to reconcile those two images. Therefore, readers must decide whether to trust what they are shown directly, or what they are told. I prefer to believe what I see - as is also the case with Severus Snape, and with Harry.
That is all I have to say on this subject. Except for one thing. No one has been impolite to you, nor made any generalizations about you. I would appreciate it if you would also refrain from doing those things. And, though I welcome anonymous posters (because I have friends who do not have livejournals, and who read mine and sometimes comment on my posts), I would prefer it if you signed your name, as my non - lj friends do.