And thank God for that. I love the character of Dumbledore in this series, not in spite of all his flaws, but because of his flaws.
Throughout the series, as many previous posters have mentioned, we are brought along to think that Dumbledore is essentially god. Dumbledore was the only person Voldemort ever feared, Dumbledore knew all(omniscience, anybody?), Dumbledore could always save the day, etc. Dumbledore certainly was great, but not because of all the great things he had done. No, Dumbledore was great because of his flaws; because of his humility.
Dumbledore did many great things: defeating Grindelwald, leading the fight against Voldemort, his esteemed work in alchemy, among many other things. Dumbledore also had many flaws: his interest in the dark arts at a young age, his disregard for his family at times, his hunger for power, also among many other things. Flaws in and of themselves do not make anyone great. A measure of greatness is shown by how you deal with the flaws you have, and rise above them. It is also shows greatness for someone to be able to admit their flaws, to still be ashamed of them, but not to let them overpower you. Dumbledore does this magnificently.
We first learn of Dumbledore having flaws at the end of the fifth book. We learn a lot of information from Dumbledore that, had he shared with Harry, could have brought about many different outcomes, and possibly saved some lives. But unfortunately, Dumbledore had the most beautiful flaw of caring too much for Harry. However, his flaws become more serious and intense in the seventh book, when we learn about his very dark past. Dumbledore had a very troubled and dark past, and he continued to struggle with many of those things later in life. But Dumbledore owns up to all these to Harry, and learns to control them in such an impressive way by refusing to allow himself to be in certain areas of power.
Dumbledore's character is absolutely fascinating to me. My faith in him never wavered. In fact, throughout the seventh book, as we were learning about his dark past, my faith in him grew. I already knew Dumbledore was an amazing man in his life. He did great things, he was a truly caring and lovely guy. To see him become these things after triumphing over the darkness of his past was truly inspiring. A truly strong and holy guy is interesting, and great. But a human flawed character who is still great, but also humble; that's amazing. That's Dumbledore.
Throughout the series, as many previous posters have mentioned, we are brought along to think that Dumbledore is essentially god. Dumbledore was the only person Voldemort ever feared, Dumbledore knew all(omniscience, anybody?), Dumbledore could always save the day, etc. Dumbledore certainly was great, but not because of all the great things he had done. No, Dumbledore was great because of his flaws; because of his humility.
Dumbledore did many great things: defeating Grindelwald, leading the fight against Voldemort, his esteemed work in alchemy, among many other things. Dumbledore also had many flaws: his interest in the dark arts at a young age, his disregard for his family at times, his hunger for power, also among many other things. Flaws in and of themselves do not make anyone great. A measure of greatness is shown by how you deal with the flaws you have, and rise above them. It is also shows greatness for someone to be able to admit their flaws, to still be ashamed of them, but not to let them overpower you. Dumbledore does this magnificently.
We first learn of Dumbledore having flaws at the end of the fifth book. We learn a lot of information from Dumbledore that, had he shared with Harry, could have brought about many different outcomes, and possibly saved some lives. But unfortunately, Dumbledore had the most beautiful flaw of caring too much for Harry. However, his flaws become more serious and intense in the seventh book, when we learn about his very dark past. Dumbledore had a very troubled and dark past, and he continued to struggle with many of those things later in life. But Dumbledore owns up to all these to Harry, and learns to control them in such an impressive way by refusing to allow himself to be in certain areas of power.
Dumbledore's character is absolutely fascinating to me. My faith in him never wavered. In fact, throughout the seventh book, as we were learning about his dark past, my faith in him grew. I already knew Dumbledore was an amazing man in his life. He did great things, he was a truly caring and lovely guy. To see him become these things after triumphing over the darkness of his past was truly inspiring. A truly strong and holy guy is interesting, and great. But a human flawed character who is still great, but also humble; that's amazing. That's Dumbledore.
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