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Blunt and eloquent. Your essay nicely summarizes so many reasons why I've had such an instinctive dislike for the James Potter character.
Early in canon we learned that he had been a privileged jock - which was a huge strike against him in my book. In real life, how many of us in high school learned that unless you were in the 'in' crowd, jock was just another word for stuck-up jerk.
Further in canon, we learned of the Marauders - and isn't that such an appropriate name for a gang? Because James Potter didn't have a pack of friends - he had a gang, and he was their undisputed leader. And what do gang members like to do? They make themselves feel empowered by terrorizing and controlling other people. The Marauders weren't some group of high-spirited teenage boys prone towards harmless hexes and mischievous pranks like so many characters in canon seemed to blithely regard them - they were a gang of bullies, Hogwarts was their turf, and woe to anyone unlucky enough to draw their 'interest'. Like one unfortunate Severus Snape. Maybe Snape did indeed know more dark art spells than any other student his age, but he needed every one of them for protection against his repeated encounters with the Marauders. Four against one? My, my, how 'brave' of James Potter, taking on an opponent he always has outnumbered.
How could the teacher's have turned a blind eye to such bullying? How could Dumbledore have let the Marauders get away with murder almost literally (Shrieking Shack incident), then punish them with barely even a symbolic slap on the wrist (yet punish Snape the most by trivializing the entire event and even forbidding him, the victim, from discussing it with anyone else)? Is it such a surprise then that Snape wound up joining the Death Eaters? Seems rather obvious to me that he was, on at least a subconscious level, seeking the protection of the most powerful gang in the area.
James Potter was a bully and a manipulator. The frightening part is that he got away with his abuse because he was also rich, handsome, charming, and athletic. It's regretable that Lily eventually fell for the packaging and didn't stop to give a critical look at what was truly inside the man.
Early in canon we learned that he had been a privileged jock - which was a huge strike against him in my book. In real life, how many of us in high school learned that unless you were in the 'in' crowd, jock was just another word for stuck-up jerk.
Further in canon, we learned of the Marauders - and isn't that such an appropriate name for a gang? Because James Potter didn't have a pack of friends - he had a gang, and he was their undisputed leader. And what do gang members like to do? They make themselves feel empowered by terrorizing and controlling other people. The Marauders weren't some group of high-spirited teenage boys prone towards harmless hexes and mischievous pranks like so many characters in canon seemed to blithely regard them - they were a gang of bullies, Hogwarts was their turf, and woe to anyone unlucky enough to draw their 'interest'. Like one unfortunate Severus Snape. Maybe Snape did indeed know more dark art spells than any other student his age, but he needed every one of them for protection against his repeated encounters with the Marauders. Four against one? My, my, how 'brave' of James Potter, taking on an opponent he always has outnumbered.
How could the teacher's have turned a blind eye to such bullying? How could Dumbledore have let the Marauders get away with murder almost literally (Shrieking Shack incident), then punish them with barely even a symbolic slap on the wrist (yet punish Snape the most by trivializing the entire event and even forbidding him, the victim, from discussing it with anyone else)? Is it such a surprise then that Snape wound up joining the Death Eaters? Seems rather obvious to me that he was, on at least a subconscious level, seeking the protection of the most powerful gang in the area.
James Potter was a bully and a manipulator. The frightening part is that he got away with his abuse because he was also rich, handsome, charming, and athletic. It's regretable that Lily eventually fell for the packaging and didn't stop to give a critical look at what was truly inside the man.