Is Dumbledore really a hero?

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Weird_Illustrator
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Re: Is Dumbledore really a hero?

Post by Weird_Illustrator »

I personally wouldn't call Dumbledore a hero. I mean he was a strong personality, a mighty wizard and definetly an inportant person in magical history but I don't think that makes someone a hero.
Also I kinda disliked him more and more the further the story went on and the more information we got about him and at one point he went from a kind mentor figure to some patronising, manipulating old man.
Of course in the end he had good intentions but that wasn't exactly the case in his youth and anyway I don't think good intention justify everything.
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tatecermak
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Post by tatecermak »

I believe that Dumbledore is not nessasarly a hero he has done multiple things the probe both he is a hero and not a hero like he will risk his life for Harry potter and he also take responsibility for potter.
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Post by rebeccawiseman »

I believe that Dumbledore tried to be a hero but kept failing in the process. Which is natural because not everybody could be perfect. He started out at a young age seeking power. He searched for it through knowledge and being the proud owner of the deathly hallows. This led him into trouble which destroyed his family. I believe this influenced his future reasoning with how to deal with the problems Harry was facing. He loved Harry and wanted to protect him as much as he could. But in doing so he failed to be the hero he should have been by withholding information out of protection.
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Post by Alyssa »

When I first read the series as a young teenager I did consider Dumbledore as a hero of sorts because he was Harry’s mentor. As I reread it as an adult, I don’t see it the same. He is a great wizard, there’s no doubt about that but what killed it for me is the fact he knowingly left Harry in a neglecting home. The emotional abuse this child endured is heartbreaking and Dumbledore should have gone in and saved him. I understand why he didn’t (this is just a story after all) but reading it from the adult standpoint I kinda hate him.
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Post by goel_aaru2303 »

Harry potter series was a big part of my childhood.I also thought that dumbledore was some kind of good guy in the books or certainly a father figure to harry but now that i poder upon it i think maybe dumbledore was not all that good of a guy. I mean come to think of it that if dumbledore knew how to destroy the horcruxes why didn't he just go and told harry how to destroy them ? If i go even before that why did he even brought harry in all this mess in the first place? He could have simply just have protected Harry but he raised him like a sheep hat is oblivious of its future.
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Post by MorganKnightOfficial »

I honestly do not consider Dumbledore a hero. He caused Harry's biggest struggles (excluding Voldemort, of course) without any sensible motivations. All of his reasons for making Harry suffer, e.g. making him live with the Dursleys, could easily have been arranged so that Harry could just have a better life. I think Dumbledore to be an atrocious hero.
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Turk Joel
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Post by Turk Joel »

Perfectly spoken, i didnt understand any of the sacrifices he said he nade for Harry: they were just excuses he gave for his past faults, he did try to be one but fail. He's neediness was protrayed as a hero but he wasn't, he kept to much spite
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Post by Zoe Luh »

using-my-words wrote: 12 Jul 2016, 18:45 I think the most important thing about Dumbedore is that he is a deeply flawed character who is seen by most of the other characters as being near perfect. They all idolize him, and he does nothing to deter them. I think Dumbledore is ultimately a "good guy" but he is not a hero. Many of the decisions he makes throughout the series are thoughtless (or thought through and decided without seeming to care about the consequences for Harry and his friends). He is power-hungry, and dismissive, and doesn't seem to realize at times that Harry is not just the Chosen One, he is a CHILD. Dumbledore has far more knowledge about what is going on than he ever lets Harry know, even though it's Harry's life that's on the line. That alone makes him not a hero, I think.

That being said, I do still like Dumbledore. He is a deeply flawed character, and I think that becomes more obvious the older we get and the more we read the books. (:
I have to agree with you. The characters all worship him, and I think that makes Dumbledore even more interesting because we as readers can see his many flaws. I remember re-reading the series for the first time as an adult and being shocked at the danger he put children in, and how often he risks children's lives. But I do still like him at the end of the day, maybe just because I grew up loving him.
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Post by Amesthenerd »

In my opinion, no, because there is never a reason to leave a child in an abusive household.
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Post by kangaF »

This is such an intriguing question, that is also highly debatable.
"Is Dumbledore a hero?"
Although, many have said that he is neither a hero nor a villain - because of his dark history, his relationship with his estranged brother Aberforth Dumbledore, and his dead-sister who was also a Squib, Ariana Dumbledore. And who can forget his complicated friendship with Grindelwald; and the complexity that develops overtime with Tom Marvolo Riddle aka Lord Voldemort.
But let's be honest here - Dumbledore has always been revered by almost every student, and every professor at Hogwarts. He has been a constant pillar in Harry Potter's life, and has always been there for him no matter what. There were times, when Harry felt Albus Dumbledore was neglecting him (this was suggested in the book, "Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix"), truth was Dumbledore was watchful about Harry's whereabouts and was always there to protect him. Even the characters knew that Voldemort could never harm Harry Potter or their beloved school, as long as Albus Dumbledore was around. And it wasn't that Dumbledore was unaware of this adoration and admiration. But he only focussed on the greater good of others rather than himself. Yes, maybe this has something to do with his dark past - and it is his way to repent for what he had done and condoned. But he isn't any less of a hero than Harry Potter, or Professor Severus Snape (as you might recall how both Professor Snape and Headmaster Dumbledore have always been vigilant and protective about Harry Potter, ever since he was enrolled in Hogwarts).
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Post by Carlos Mata Saenz »

I don’t think Dumbledore wanted to be a hero. The problem is that he always was a leader and he thinks sometimes as a leader (considering others more as a resource than people).
As you progress in the series is more clear that what he wanted through his life was to gain power. However, he doesn’t accept the fact of harming other to obtain the power, and that is what difference him from Gellert or Tom Riddle.
Interesting topic to discuss!
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Post by Kelly Tunstall »

I think Dumbeldore garnered a lot of respect which he used to his advantage. He did lead those who trusted him into a lot of dark and dangerous situations and seemed to abuse their trust in him. He aimed to defeat Voldemort, and he would stop at nothing to do so. Although he made difficult choices for the greater good, he put vulnerable people in extremely dangerous and sometimes fatal positions.
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Post by Rayne Wib »

I don't think of Dumbledore as hero. In the same way I don't think of Harry, Hermione or Ron as heroes either. They did what they believed was necessary and would help. Him going after Voldemort without knowing about the horcruxes wouldn't have been an answer. Thinking about it from Dumbledore's view he had nothing to gain and everything to lose. If he went after Voldemort directly Hogwarts would be left open and The Order of The Pheonix would be without a leader. However, he could have been better if he treated his followers respectfully and placed himself in their shoes.
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Post by EbonyandIvory »

I think as adults looking back on the series, we can see the flaws and humanity in Dumbledore, perhaps more than any other character in the series. While his students (and in fact most of the wizarding population) look up to him with a sort of hero worship, Dumbledore himself admits to making many mistakes and having many regrets. In the end, even the most "good" of us has their demons.
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