Virtue
"Rowling's aim in the Harry Potter books is not at all to convey to her many readers the importance of magic in the loves of her characters, but rather to display the magical importance of the classic virtues in their loves, and in any life." According to Tom Morris, virtue is the defining characteristic of the Harry Potter books. The Hogwarts' students are initially sorted in houses by the virtues of "intelligence, diligence, ambition, and courage." Harry is sorted into Gryffindor because of his courage and Tom Morris says that is interesting because "Harry is a boy who experiences about as much fear as it's possible for someone his age to feel."
Fear
"Harry is certainly not someone insensible to danger, to put it very mildly. He recognizes it wherever it is and feels it very deeply." Harry feels fear throughout his life many times. However, Harry overcomes this fear and " embody the virtue of courage to the point of standing up to the greatest of adversaries, and save the day."
Courage
"Courage is doing what's right, not what's easy." Aristotle believed that "courage was the midpoint between our two reactions to danger. Too little is cowardice, while too much is rashness." Courage is not just being unaware of danger, it is reacting when faced with danger. Courage allows all the other virtues of a person to shine through.
Harry Potter's Recipe for Courage
Prepare for the challenge
Surround yourself with support
Engage in positive self talk
Focus on what's at stake
Take appropriate action
Prepare for the challenge
"Preparation is the first ingredient for confident and courageous action." Preparation allows one to to be more confident in their actions which can make it easier to be courageous in the tough times.
Surround yourself with support
"If we have friends and associates who believe in us, and who express that belief to us, they can encourage and support us when we need it like nothing else." Friends help Harry to believe in himself when all the odds are against him and to have courage to do what is right in the face of adversity.
Engage in positive self talk
"He can rather be taken to be focusing his intentions, and mustering everything within him to move forward in a positive direction." Harry often talks to himself in his thoughts and out loud. He tries to convince himself that everythingis fine or will turn out fine. This allows him to keep a level head and make courageous decisions when he needs to
Focus on what's at stake
"The more important a situation is to us, the braver we tend to be in our response to danger, in order to protect, preserve, or promote what we consider to be of great or irreplaceable value." Harry wil often put his own life on the line to try and save others from harm. Harry confronts many dangerous situations with courage because something very dear to him is at risk.
Take appropriate action
"Harry shows on many occasions the power of action." Preparation can only be useful when one takes action to show that preparation. Actions allow the virtues of a person to be seen including the courage of that person.
The Great Leap of Faith
"When momentous values are at stake, thinkiong and reasoning about what we should do can only take us so far." Even when faced with extremely dangerous situations, Harry shows his courage through jumping into action and leaving it all on the line.
More information can be found at wisdomquotes.com
and quotegarden.com
or by talking to me in person or at scheibe92@yahoo.com