I can't imagine the Dursleys spending much time protecting Harry - but then again the fact that he has survived until 11 without killing himself suggests that they must have intervened occasionally.
I think maybe most of Harry's lessons with regard to danger came from watching/overhearing Petunia overprotecting Dudley. Harry, observing from the sidelines, can see that the majority of what Petunia dithers on about isn't really dangerous at all. Combine that with the fact that nobody seemed to particularly care about Harry's safety, and you might get a fairly cynical kid who knows danger when he *sees* it, and doesn't worry about it unless he does.
I was always kind of struck by his lack of fear in POA--it's as if he honestly couldn't care less that a madman was looking to kill him. He'd deal with Sirius if Sirius showed up, and until/unless that happened he had other things to worry about. I think that could be a weakness in his personality--he doesn't seem to really recognize that danger can exist, and threaten him personally, even when it isn't right under his nose.
I also think there's a part of Harry that simply doesn't *recognize* his own fear, possibily because there were no adults in his life to identify the emotion for him. He's all about doing what has to be done (rescuing the stone, rescuing Ginny, rescuing Ron, competing in the Triwizard tournament). The closest he seems to get is severe nerves and the worry that he might fail--it never occurs to him that a thing is simply too dangerous to *do*. IMO Harry is *far* more sensitive to and fearful of embarrassment than he is actual danger.
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Date: 2004-10-20 08:00 am (UTC)I think maybe most of Harry's lessons with regard to danger came from watching/overhearing Petunia overprotecting Dudley. Harry, observing from the sidelines, can see that the majority of what Petunia dithers on about isn't really dangerous at all. Combine that with the fact that nobody seemed to particularly care about Harry's safety, and you might get a fairly cynical kid who knows danger when he *sees* it, and doesn't worry about it unless he does.
I was always kind of struck by his lack of fear in POA--it's as if he honestly couldn't care less that a madman was looking to kill him. He'd deal with Sirius if Sirius showed up, and until/unless that happened he had other things to worry about. I think that could be a weakness in his personality--he doesn't seem to really recognize that danger can exist, and threaten him personally, even when it isn't right under his nose.
I also think there's a part of Harry that simply doesn't *recognize* his own fear, possibily because there were no adults in his life to identify the emotion for him. He's all about doing what has to be done (rescuing the stone, rescuing Ginny, rescuing Ron, competing in the Triwizard tournament). The closest he seems to get is severe nerves and the worry that he might fail--it never occurs to him that a thing is simply too dangerous to *do*. IMO Harry is *far* more sensitive to and fearful of embarrassment than he is actual danger.