Words for a Wednesday: Sirius Black

July 22, 2015

Hi everyone!

This post is the beginning of a project I'm very excited about. Over the Summer holidays, I'm going to blog five days a week, every week, without fail. I know it's going to be hard, but I'm hoping that the Big Blogging Bonanza, as I like to call it, will help me become a bit better at managing my blogging time.

Anyway, as part of the BBB, I'm introducing Words for a Wednesday, which is a series of posts, released - shock and horror - every Wednesday. In them, I talk about some words written by one of my favourite authors, and consider how that quote represents them and their characters. And what better way to start the series but with the words of Queen J.K. herself?

"If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." Sirius Black, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

I absolutely love this, not just because it contains a lot of truth, but also because it's very relevant to Sirius as a character. Here's the rest of the conversation where it appears:

“Yes,” said Hermione in a heated voice, “he sacked her, just because she hadn’t stayed in her tent and let herself get trampled —”“Hermione, will you give it a rest with the elf!” said Ron.Sirius shook his head and said, “She’s got the measure of Crouch better than you have, Ron. If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

For me, this really shows the inconsistencies of Sirius. Here, he's standing up for Winky, but he treats Kreacher, his own elf, like dirt. His words are often much louder than his actions, and, in a way, I think that's what makes him so important to Harry. It shows that he's flawed.

He's the most realistic father figure in the entire series, I think. Because he's not perfect, and because he genuinely puts Harry first. I mean, Dumbledore had his merits, but he always had an ulterior motive, no matter how noble. Lupin truly loved Harry, but he was trying so hard that he wouldn't let himself make a mistake. On the other hand, Sirius made errors, lots of them, and they were his downfall, but they were also what I liked about him. He was willing to take risks if it meant protecting those he loved.

What do you guys think of Words for a Wednesday? And do you agree with me about Sirius?