lady_sarai (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lady_sarai) wrote2005-11-21 12:01 am
lady_sarai) wrote2005-11-21 12:01 am
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Concerning Cedric...
This got rather out-of-hand and a bit longer and more in-depth than I planned. But please read and comment. Please.
Okay, in defense of my Cedric fascination, I am still mulling over the casting. He is handsome enough, and the scenes were fine... I think it's the script I have issues with. And I certainly did NOT flip through GoF last night looking for Cedric scenes. ::cough::
Meanwhile, the image I have had of Cedric has always been closer to this than the actor they chose. (Meanwhile, *swoons!* at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
seviet's art...) But I have not half the issues I had with Remus and Sirius, so even if I don't adore the casting like I do Ralph Fiennes as You-Know-Who, he's growing on me.
(Much like Rupert Grint, incidentally. He was not my mental image of Ron and still isn't... Seviet almost always hits my mental images spot-on, btw. But I have grown fond of him. And I LOVE that he was not reduced to simply the comic relief in this film... rewatched CoS last night and boy, that's all he was. And his arms don't hurt at ALL.)
All right, let's have a quick review of my history with male characters. Ahem.
Favorite X-Man? Cyclops, the pretty boy Boy Scout.
Favorite in Phantom? Raoul, the pretty boy Good Guy fiancee.
Harry Potter? Totally Harry and Ron. (More Ron, the sidekick, but you have to love Harry.)
Grey's Anatomy? George. Although Alex is growing on me, now he's got a history.
Star Wars? SO Obi-Wan. And before the prequels, I liked Luke Skywalker... you don't really get any more "good guy" than that.
In any case, anyone seeing a pattern?
I like the Good Guys. Being pretty doesn't hurt, but it's not a prerequisite. It's the personality. The goodness.
I mean, hello, I am a Hufflepuff. The loyalty and fairness and hard working and all that? Totally all for it. Honesty, too.
It's very attractive to me.
So, Cedric. And why haven't I ever thought about him all that much before?
Because he dies. Because when I read GoF, I was utterly fascinated with Cedric and then he DIED and I cried.
And I think it might be much like what happened after Sirius died. A bit of denial, and bit of "well, fine. If he dies, I just won't think much about him because then I won't be upset that he died."
Yeah, that works. And that's fair to poor Cedric. Who died. And who, in the light of Sirius and Dumbledore, I think people consider less important. But let's remember that it was his death that allowed Harry to see the thestrals, and set everything into action and that's not something to be taken lightly. And as Ariel pointed out, they would not have been able to get to the Department of Mysteries without the thestrals, so Cedric plays a role in the climax of book 5 as well as in book 4.
Cedric's death is vital to the series. It's a turning point, the whole book, yes, but Cedric is vital, too-especially his death. To Harry and his story.
I mean... I have a lot more thoughts on this than I thought I did. It's probably years of thoughts just dying to come out. Oh dear.
Also, when I read GoF, none of my friends had read it... I had no one to gush to and go "oo, Cedric!" or "Cedric died!!" Ariel and Theanna read it *months* after I did, and by then we had 4 books to gush over and I was still in a bit of denial concerning how much I like Cedric as a character.
Also, we cannot discuss Cedric without discussing Cho Chang. I think... why did she date Harry? I need to think on this. I wish I had book 5 handy... you can't blame her for being all weepy.
She's 15 in GoF. She's dating "the cutest boy in school," according to Hermione in PoA, who also happens to be a Prefect, Quidditch captain, Seeker... so they have a bit in common. (Is Cho a prefect? I forget...) As far as I can tell, they begin dating at the Yule Ball, which is Christmas Eve. Cedric dies in June. They dated for at least 6 months... which in high school (which is what this amounts to) is forever.
6 months is a long time to be dating when you are 17 and 15. And they might well have continued dating after, had he not died, but we don't know. All we know is Cho cries. Well, gee, her boyfriend died. Unexpectedly and suddenly. It's not something she expected... so even if it wasn't True Love, and they were only dating casually, of course Cho will be affected by this and it will affect her future relationships. Now, for the record, I don't dislike Cho. I don't think she's the horrid character a lot of people seem to take her for. I think Cedric's death really messed her up, though.
I mean, I know people who only dated for a very short time in high school, but the length of time doesn't matter-the feelings do. I will not go into details, but I certainly do not still hold grudges against people who hurt my friends... ::cough::
So, six months. I think it qualifies them for "high school sweetheart" status. And based on Cho's future actions, she doesn't quite know what to do with herself. Now, if Cho is like most teenagers, Cedric's death would be her first experience with death. This is not something I can relate to, nor can Harry, who has lived his whole life with death. If you experience death at a young age, you have a hard time understanding people who are just introduced to that loss. I don't know about Cho, but if Cedric was the first person close to her who died, it stands to reason that she would be at a loss. The villainization of Cho I've seen in fanfic and fandom in general annoys me. Her behavior in OotP is annoying, yes, but not unbelievable. *I* was surprised that she dated at all, but that's me. I understand her decision to date Harry, in that for her, he is a connection to Cedric.
Now, Ariel and I had a conversation about Cho:
LadyAradiaChiba: she may have genuinely been in love with him, and having that taken away, she couldn't handle normal interactions as evidenced by Harry's interations with her
LadyAradiaChiba: she needed counseling, not a new boyfriend
LadyAradiaChiba: she needed someone to help her get over what happened and understand it and accept it
LadyDizzybird: yes
LadyAradiaChiba: for Cho, it was an attempt to remember Cedric by getting close to the person who was close to Ced when he died. It may have been the thought of "if Cedric would approve of any guy, it's Harry" kind of thing
LadyAradiaChiba: the most acceptable alternative for the one she may have loved
It's not like Cedric and Cho broke up. If Cedric had broken up with Cho unexpectedly, that would have been heartbreaking enough... but they seemed fairly happy and as serious as you can be at their age. She didn't have a chance to get over Cedric. She probably didn't know HOW. And wasn't emotionally mature enought to handle that sort of blow. So, she dates Harry. Because I have a feeling Cedric talked about Harry to Cho, and I get the impression he genuinely liked and respected Harry. But Cho expects so much more. Harry is not emotionally mature enough to handle dating-he can handle a lot more than most kids his age, but dating is another story. And dating someone who needs emotional support when HE needs it is not a good idea. So Cho expects Harry to be like Cedric... which he isn't.
Now, granted, this isn't fair to Harry, who is still trying to put that behind him. Harry was a baby when his parents died. He was 14 when Cedric died-right in front of him. In his eyes, BECAUSE of him. In some senses, this is also Harry's first experience with death. Dealing with Cedric's death allows him to deal with the deaths that come later in a more mature manner. It is necessary for Harry to get out his "angry at life, the universe and general" phase at this point in the series, because the stakes keep rising and the danger increases and Harry needs to be ready for it. Also, Harry has a chance to deal with that guilt, which will only increase as the death toll does, and people even closer to him die.
So, I think Cedric couldn't be LESS of "the spare." As much as his death is painful to read, and it's sad because you grow quite attached to him... there is a point. And it's an important point. So, I've made peace with the purpose of Cedric's death and I can see why JKR did it. (OTHER deaths, now, I'm still working on...)
Another key reason for Cedric's death-discrediting Harry. Which is KEY to OotP. Harry was being billed as eccentric and attention-seeking in GoF, thanks to Rita Skeeter. After Cedric's death, the Ministry was in severe denial and did whatever it could to squash the rumors coming from Hogwarts students and Dumbledore... which could all be traced to Harry. Who was then billed as attention-seeking and emotionally unstable and so disturbed by Cedric's death that he had resorted to making up stories.
And I so did not expect to go off on those veins. I meant to discuss Cedric's personality and movie vs. book and all that. But I suppose Cedric's greater role in the Harry Potter series is equally important to discuss.... but, moving on.
As a random side-note, before I forget, I've been running across a lot of Cedric slash, which is fine, but for me... totally not canon-compliant. It doesn't work for me. I don't see Cedric as the type who would have a one-night stand (so to speak), who would cheat on his girlfriend, who would be seeing two people at once... even the "my dad wouldn't approve, so I'm dating Cho to please him" approach doesn't sit well with me. These are the scenarios I see in these slash stories.
This doesn't work for me. Argue if you want, but it's not canon. In canon, he dates Cho Chang for at least 6 months, and I don't know how serious they were or how much he cared for her, but I'm willing to bet it's more than a passing fling (see above comments). Now, if you want to write a fic in which Cedric and Oliver Wood have a fling and set it BEFORE Harry's 4th year, fine by me... if you can pull it off and keep the characterization in tact. Really, that's what counts with me.
All right, random slash side-note aside, time to do what I intended all along. Talk about Cedric. The inate Cedricness of Cedric. Cedric Diggory, the Boy Who Died.
(Wow, is that a depressing title? But, having established the importance of his death... fitting.)
First, Cedric is introduced in book 3. At the moment, I only have GoF at school with me, but in book 3, he is the Captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and the Seeker. I do believe Hermione calls him "the cutest boy in school," and we are to take Hermione's word as law.
In GoF, he is "an extremely handsome boy of around seventeen" the first time we meet him.
Yeah, I'm sensing JKR is trying to tell us something about Cedric.
Like that he's handsome. And an athlete. Okay. The casting for GoF is not bad. I'm hoping he grows on me. I think I was picturing someone who looked more like the movie!Oliver Wood. And the actor they chose is very handsome, yes. But I'm not sure he's as *pretty* as I imagined Cedric. He's referred to again and again as "Pretty Boy Diggory." (Or maybe it's just once... hmm, I should look...) In any case, the Gryffindors aren't particularly enamoured of him. He did, after all, beat Harry in '93.
Speaking of which, our introduction to Harry in GoF gives some interesting insight into Cedric's personality. He is embarrassed and humble when his father insists on talking about how he beat Harry. In the movie, Cedric doesn't say anything. I can't recall if his father says anything, but Ariel thought he did. In any case, I think that protest, even if it was a mutter, says a lot about Cedric. It's IMPORTANT, because it shows he cares about what other people are thinking and feeling, as well as the fact that he is humble. If nothing else, it increases his likability.
Here's the thing. Cedric is a good guy. He IS all the things Dumbledore calls him-he's hard working, loyal, patient, values fair play... and the evidence is laced throughout the book.
In the movie, it's harder to find. I'm not sure how many cried when watching the movie, but when reading the book, Cedric's death is terribly wrenching. As it's meant to be. It's meant to be harsh and cruel and fast and dismissive, but with long-lasting consequences. Cedric's parents' reactions are vivid and I have to give credit to the actor who played his father--THAT came across very well.
Also, Harry. Sobbing and not wanting to let go? PERFECT.
What was NOT perfect was that a lot of Cedric was lost. I can't find an instance in the book where he asks his friends not to wear the "Potter Stinks" badges (or tells Harry he has), but it sounds very Cedric-like. In the movie, that didn't come across as very sincere. Here enters Harry, who comes across Cedric... Cedric, sprawled across a bench, surrounded by admirers like some Greek Adonis waiting to be fed grapes. Meanwhile, all his friends are wearing those badges!
In my opinion, if book!Cedric had asked his friends to lay off the badges, they would-around him, anyway. And if he didn't ask them that, he wouldn't tell Harry he had. If there is one thing that Cedric is, it is honest and sincere.
The biggest disfavor the movie did to Cedric is change the 3rd Task.
The 3rd Task is where Cedric shows his true colors. His morals, his personality flaws and his best features. It's the part of the book to look to if you want a summary of Cedric.
And the movie screwed it up, quite honestly. The 3rd Task is when you really, truly see what a GOOD guy Cedric is and how deserving he is of good things... which makes the very next page so much harder to read, because he does NOT deserve death.
Anyway, jumping ahead. Let's look at the 3rd Task.
Okay, before the task, Amos Diggory starts tearing into Harry because of Rita Skeeter. Cedric tells Harry to ignore him, and looks angrily at his dad.
In the maze, Harry and Cedric WALK together to a fork, where they split up, not at all in a pushing-and-shoving manner.
Later, Cedric and Harry meet again. Cedric warns Harry about the Blast-Ended Skrewts, and looks shaken. Now, Harry has mentioned seeing Cedric look frightened before other tasks-I think this humanizes Cedric. He's afraid, like any of us would be. After meeting a ginormous blast-ended Skrewt, he's shaken. Gee, I wonder why. To me, being afraid and continuing is showing more bravery than doing something and not fearing it. (If that makes sense. Just pointing out...)
In any case, Cedric did not have to tell Harry the time of day, much less that there were Blast-Ended Skrewts around. Back to that sense of fair-play. The fair-play that made him tell Harry how to solve the egg.
The next time Harry encounters Cedric in the maze, he hears Krum casting the Cruciatus curse on him.
Now, as much as this is a "Cedric is AWESOME!" discussion, it's also a "Cedric is HUMAN" discussion. He's fairly ready to leave Krum lying there stupified. He's just been tortured. He's still shaking. They don't know what happened to Fleur, but if Harry hadn't come along, who knows what would have happened to Cedric? So, Cedric's not feeling very charitable toward Krum, but he doesn't argue when Harry suggests sending up the sparks-he does so himself.
But he mutters that Krum would deserve being "eaten by a skrewt," as Harry says might happen. I think Cedric's displaying something very Hufflepuff-and human nature-there. Krum's just committed a crime, and against him AND possibly Fleur. It's a sense of justice, of what's right and wrong, and even more deeply, protecting yourself and others. Sort of a "Don't mess with me" deal. Whether or not he really would have left Krum there, who knows? I doubt it. His conscience would have gotten the better of him.
He and Harry split up... at Cedric's urging. Cedric remembers they are competing. He's a Quidditch player, remember? Captain and Seeker. He's competitive. This could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how it's used.
The NEXT time we meet Cedric is the most vital. This is when Harry and Cedric are both in sight of the cup.
This is where I think the most important part of the Task lie. I also think this is what the movie messed up most.
Cedric is running full sprint at the cup. Harry sees it, knows he won't beat Cedric... and sees that Cedric will run into giant spider if he keeps running... now, here Harry could win it by saying nothing, but he doesn't. He yells a warning to Cedric, who manages to avoid the spider, but trips and loses his wand.
Harry's yell attracted the spider, who attacks him. Now, I think this would have been much more exciting than moving hedges, but that's me. Harry's wounded and Cedric helps him stupefy the spider.
A favorite line of mine is right there, btw: "The two spells combined did what one alone had not..."
At which point, Cedric asks if Harry is all right. Harry and Cedric both realize that Cedric is steps away from the Cup. Harry tells Cedric to take it. Cedric looks at the cup.
Here, Harry can SEE how much Cedric wants to win. We can only quess what's going through his mind, but then he looks at Harry. And takes a deep breath.
He refuses. Cedric refuses to take the cup... not once, not twice... but avoids Harry's urging and refuses up to 6 times. SIX.
He gets stubborn. His jaw sets. He tells Harry to take the cup. He walks AWAY from it. When Harry figures out that Cedric is walking away from something he wants so much-when he figures out that Cedric is pigheadedly stubborn and about two seconds from jumping up and down, cramming his fingers in his ears and yelling "nononoIwon'ttakeitIwon'tIwon'tIwon'tYoucan'tmakemeYoucan'tmakeme!".... THEN Harry suggests taking the cup together. And Cedric checks to make sure Harry means it and when certain, he agrees. With a huge grin.
I love that part. "You take it." "No, you." "Take the cup!" "I won't!" "Take the damn cup!!" "You can't make me!!"
It says SO MUCH about Cedric. It lays out his morals and ethics and shows you exactly who he is and what is important to him. He wanted to win--for Hufflepuff, for Hogwarts, for his parents (esp. his father, I think)... and for himself.
And he walks away from it. He tries to give it away, because that is what's fair. It's what's right. He knows that Harry has helped him, and while he helped Harry, he doesn't feel right winning in those circumstances.
So right there, in those few pages, all of Cedric is summed up. The good and the bad... he's competitive, stubborn, loyal, fair, hard working, brave... he's got morals and he's willing to sacrifice something he desperately wants in order to uphold those morals.
You have to love a man who sacrifices. Who has got morals.
I think they made bad choices there, as far as the movie goes. I think we lost that part of Cedric. Maybe he did try to give up reluctantly, but by the time Harry compromised, he was adamant about it, and he would have cheered for him after. In the movie, Cedric and Harry wind up running through the bushes and shoving each other around.
I hate that. Yes, they competed. I can see an all-out sprint to the finish between them... but no shoving. PLEASE no shoving. It's not good sportsmanship, it's not fair play, and it's not Cedric OR Harry. Because so much of what is great about Cedric is also in Harry. They're remarkably similar in some ways... but I won't go there today.
I need that refusal scene. I need it to be stronger and fiercer and emotional. I need Harry and Cedric to both be stubborn and annoyed and frustrated. Because they are both this close to winning. I need to see what Cedric is giving up, and how fiercely he tries to do so.
I need to see that because it makes his death all the more tramatic. It makes Harry feel all the more guilty about it. The guilt makes Harry all the angrier, which makes OotP all the angstier which makes HBP all the better to eat you wi- oops, sorry. Carried away there. But it makes Cedric more vivid and real.
It's the inate Cedricness of Cedric. That which makes me adore him. The fact that he IS SO GOOD and then he DIES and he does NOT deserve it. No one does, but he really doesn't.
So, in conclusion, I don't think the movie did him justice and that makes me sad. I think he is vastly underappreciated. I read in someone's journal that they thought more should have been made about Harry's safety and it seemed like all the attention was on Cedric's death... well, it is and it should be. Because it is vital. And Cedric was a great guy.
....So, I've got to go to bed now, which is one of the reasons I am stopping. I am sure more will come to me, which is saying something... since that wound up discussing Cedric, Cho, Cedric/Cho, Harry/Cho, Cedric's role in the series, the role his death plays in the series... and finally, the point I was getting at in the first place with this post, Cedric's personality (book and movie and the difference) and all-in-all, why I like him. And the 3rd Task. Mustn't forget that.
I guess it suffices to say that I am by no means a NEW Cedric fan. The movie may have brought this all to light, but it's been lingering all along. I know that a whole new batch of shiny fic will be arriving, thanks to moviegoers and the hottness of Cedric... but we always knew he was hot. We always knew how his story ends. Why hasn't there been more fic?
Edit: err.... yeah. This post clears up a few things I got a bit wrong, not having PoA with me when I wrote this. Heh.
Okay, in defense of my Cedric fascination, I am still mulling over the casting. He is handsome enough, and the scenes were fine... I think it's the script I have issues with. And I certainly did NOT flip through GoF last night looking for Cedric scenes. ::cough::
Meanwhile, the image I have had of Cedric has always been closer to this than the actor they chose. (Meanwhile, *swoons!* at
seviet's art...) But I have not half the issues I had with Remus and Sirius, so even if I don't adore the casting like I do Ralph Fiennes as You-Know-Who, he's growing on me.(Much like Rupert Grint, incidentally. He was not my mental image of Ron and still isn't... Seviet almost always hits my mental images spot-on, btw. But I have grown fond of him. And I LOVE that he was not reduced to simply the comic relief in this film... rewatched CoS last night and boy, that's all he was. And his arms don't hurt at ALL.)
All right, let's have a quick review of my history with male characters. Ahem.
Favorite X-Man? Cyclops, the pretty boy Boy Scout.
Favorite in Phantom? Raoul, the pretty boy Good Guy fiancee.
Harry Potter? Totally Harry and Ron. (More Ron, the sidekick, but you have to love Harry.)
Grey's Anatomy? George. Although Alex is growing on me, now he's got a history.
Star Wars? SO Obi-Wan. And before the prequels, I liked Luke Skywalker... you don't really get any more "good guy" than that.
In any case, anyone seeing a pattern?
I like the Good Guys. Being pretty doesn't hurt, but it's not a prerequisite. It's the personality. The goodness.
I mean, hello, I am a Hufflepuff. The loyalty and fairness and hard working and all that? Totally all for it. Honesty, too.
It's very attractive to me.
So, Cedric. And why haven't I ever thought about him all that much before?
Because he dies. Because when I read GoF, I was utterly fascinated with Cedric and then he DIED and I cried.
And I think it might be much like what happened after Sirius died. A bit of denial, and bit of "well, fine. If he dies, I just won't think much about him because then I won't be upset that he died."
Yeah, that works. And that's fair to poor Cedric. Who died. And who, in the light of Sirius and Dumbledore, I think people consider less important. But let's remember that it was his death that allowed Harry to see the thestrals, and set everything into action and that's not something to be taken lightly. And as Ariel pointed out, they would not have been able to get to the Department of Mysteries without the thestrals, so Cedric plays a role in the climax of book 5 as well as in book 4.
Cedric's death is vital to the series. It's a turning point, the whole book, yes, but Cedric is vital, too-especially his death. To Harry and his story.
I mean... I have a lot more thoughts on this than I thought I did. It's probably years of thoughts just dying to come out. Oh dear.
Also, when I read GoF, none of my friends had read it... I had no one to gush to and go "oo, Cedric!" or "Cedric died!!" Ariel and Theanna read it *months* after I did, and by then we had 4 books to gush over and I was still in a bit of denial concerning how much I like Cedric as a character.
Also, we cannot discuss Cedric without discussing Cho Chang. I think... why did she date Harry? I need to think on this. I wish I had book 5 handy... you can't blame her for being all weepy.
She's 15 in GoF. She's dating "the cutest boy in school," according to Hermione in PoA, who also happens to be a Prefect, Quidditch captain, Seeker... so they have a bit in common. (Is Cho a prefect? I forget...) As far as I can tell, they begin dating at the Yule Ball, which is Christmas Eve. Cedric dies in June. They dated for at least 6 months... which in high school (which is what this amounts to) is forever.
6 months is a long time to be dating when you are 17 and 15. And they might well have continued dating after, had he not died, but we don't know. All we know is Cho cries. Well, gee, her boyfriend died. Unexpectedly and suddenly. It's not something she expected... so even if it wasn't True Love, and they were only dating casually, of course Cho will be affected by this and it will affect her future relationships. Now, for the record, I don't dislike Cho. I don't think she's the horrid character a lot of people seem to take her for. I think Cedric's death really messed her up, though.
I mean, I know people who only dated for a very short time in high school, but the length of time doesn't matter-the feelings do. I will not go into details, but I certainly do not still hold grudges against people who hurt my friends... ::cough::
So, six months. I think it qualifies them for "high school sweetheart" status. And based on Cho's future actions, she doesn't quite know what to do with herself. Now, if Cho is like most teenagers, Cedric's death would be her first experience with death. This is not something I can relate to, nor can Harry, who has lived his whole life with death. If you experience death at a young age, you have a hard time understanding people who are just introduced to that loss. I don't know about Cho, but if Cedric was the first person close to her who died, it stands to reason that she would be at a loss. The villainization of Cho I've seen in fanfic and fandom in general annoys me. Her behavior in OotP is annoying, yes, but not unbelievable. *I* was surprised that she dated at all, but that's me. I understand her decision to date Harry, in that for her, he is a connection to Cedric.
Now, Ariel and I had a conversation about Cho:
LadyAradiaChiba: she may have genuinely been in love with him, and having that taken away, she couldn't handle normal interactions as evidenced by Harry's interations with her
LadyAradiaChiba: she needed counseling, not a new boyfriend
LadyAradiaChiba: she needed someone to help her get over what happened and understand it and accept it
LadyDizzybird: yes
LadyAradiaChiba: for Cho, it was an attempt to remember Cedric by getting close to the person who was close to Ced when he died. It may have been the thought of "if Cedric would approve of any guy, it's Harry" kind of thing
LadyAradiaChiba: the most acceptable alternative for the one she may have loved
It's not like Cedric and Cho broke up. If Cedric had broken up with Cho unexpectedly, that would have been heartbreaking enough... but they seemed fairly happy and as serious as you can be at their age. She didn't have a chance to get over Cedric. She probably didn't know HOW. And wasn't emotionally mature enought to handle that sort of blow. So, she dates Harry. Because I have a feeling Cedric talked about Harry to Cho, and I get the impression he genuinely liked and respected Harry. But Cho expects so much more. Harry is not emotionally mature enough to handle dating-he can handle a lot more than most kids his age, but dating is another story. And dating someone who needs emotional support when HE needs it is not a good idea. So Cho expects Harry to be like Cedric... which he isn't.
Now, granted, this isn't fair to Harry, who is still trying to put that behind him. Harry was a baby when his parents died. He was 14 when Cedric died-right in front of him. In his eyes, BECAUSE of him. In some senses, this is also Harry's first experience with death. Dealing with Cedric's death allows him to deal with the deaths that come later in a more mature manner. It is necessary for Harry to get out his "angry at life, the universe and general" phase at this point in the series, because the stakes keep rising and the danger increases and Harry needs to be ready for it. Also, Harry has a chance to deal with that guilt, which will only increase as the death toll does, and people even closer to him die.
So, I think Cedric couldn't be LESS of "the spare." As much as his death is painful to read, and it's sad because you grow quite attached to him... there is a point. And it's an important point. So, I've made peace with the purpose of Cedric's death and I can see why JKR did it. (OTHER deaths, now, I'm still working on...)
Another key reason for Cedric's death-discrediting Harry. Which is KEY to OotP. Harry was being billed as eccentric and attention-seeking in GoF, thanks to Rita Skeeter. After Cedric's death, the Ministry was in severe denial and did whatever it could to squash the rumors coming from Hogwarts students and Dumbledore... which could all be traced to Harry. Who was then billed as attention-seeking and emotionally unstable and so disturbed by Cedric's death that he had resorted to making up stories.
And I so did not expect to go off on those veins. I meant to discuss Cedric's personality and movie vs. book and all that. But I suppose Cedric's greater role in the Harry Potter series is equally important to discuss.... but, moving on.
As a random side-note, before I forget, I've been running across a lot of Cedric slash, which is fine, but for me... totally not canon-compliant. It doesn't work for me. I don't see Cedric as the type who would have a one-night stand (so to speak), who would cheat on his girlfriend, who would be seeing two people at once... even the "my dad wouldn't approve, so I'm dating Cho to please him" approach doesn't sit well with me. These are the scenarios I see in these slash stories.
This doesn't work for me. Argue if you want, but it's not canon. In canon, he dates Cho Chang for at least 6 months, and I don't know how serious they were or how much he cared for her, but I'm willing to bet it's more than a passing fling (see above comments). Now, if you want to write a fic in which Cedric and Oliver Wood have a fling and set it BEFORE Harry's 4th year, fine by me... if you can pull it off and keep the characterization in tact. Really, that's what counts with me.
All right, random slash side-note aside, time to do what I intended all along. Talk about Cedric. The inate Cedricness of Cedric. Cedric Diggory, the Boy Who Died.
(Wow, is that a depressing title? But, having established the importance of his death... fitting.)
First, Cedric is introduced in book 3. At the moment, I only have GoF at school with me, but in book 3, he is the Captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and the Seeker. I do believe Hermione calls him "the cutest boy in school," and we are to take Hermione's word as law.
In GoF, he is "an extremely handsome boy of around seventeen" the first time we meet him.
Yeah, I'm sensing JKR is trying to tell us something about Cedric.
Like that he's handsome. And an athlete. Okay. The casting for GoF is not bad. I'm hoping he grows on me. I think I was picturing someone who looked more like the movie!Oliver Wood. And the actor they chose is very handsome, yes. But I'm not sure he's as *pretty* as I imagined Cedric. He's referred to again and again as "Pretty Boy Diggory." (Or maybe it's just once... hmm, I should look...) In any case, the Gryffindors aren't particularly enamoured of him. He did, after all, beat Harry in '93.
Speaking of which, our introduction to Harry in GoF gives some interesting insight into Cedric's personality. He is embarrassed and humble when his father insists on talking about how he beat Harry. In the movie, Cedric doesn't say anything. I can't recall if his father says anything, but Ariel thought he did. In any case, I think that protest, even if it was a mutter, says a lot about Cedric. It's IMPORTANT, because it shows he cares about what other people are thinking and feeling, as well as the fact that he is humble. If nothing else, it increases his likability.
Here's the thing. Cedric is a good guy. He IS all the things Dumbledore calls him-he's hard working, loyal, patient, values fair play... and the evidence is laced throughout the book.
In the movie, it's harder to find. I'm not sure how many cried when watching the movie, but when reading the book, Cedric's death is terribly wrenching. As it's meant to be. It's meant to be harsh and cruel and fast and dismissive, but with long-lasting consequences. Cedric's parents' reactions are vivid and I have to give credit to the actor who played his father--THAT came across very well.
Also, Harry. Sobbing and not wanting to let go? PERFECT.
What was NOT perfect was that a lot of Cedric was lost. I can't find an instance in the book where he asks his friends not to wear the "Potter Stinks" badges (or tells Harry he has), but it sounds very Cedric-like. In the movie, that didn't come across as very sincere. Here enters Harry, who comes across Cedric... Cedric, sprawled across a bench, surrounded by admirers like some Greek Adonis waiting to be fed grapes. Meanwhile, all his friends are wearing those badges!
In my opinion, if book!Cedric had asked his friends to lay off the badges, they would-around him, anyway. And if he didn't ask them that, he wouldn't tell Harry he had. If there is one thing that Cedric is, it is honest and sincere.
The biggest disfavor the movie did to Cedric is change the 3rd Task.
The 3rd Task is where Cedric shows his true colors. His morals, his personality flaws and his best features. It's the part of the book to look to if you want a summary of Cedric.
And the movie screwed it up, quite honestly. The 3rd Task is when you really, truly see what a GOOD guy Cedric is and how deserving he is of good things... which makes the very next page so much harder to read, because he does NOT deserve death.
Anyway, jumping ahead. Let's look at the 3rd Task.
Okay, before the task, Amos Diggory starts tearing into Harry because of Rita Skeeter. Cedric tells Harry to ignore him, and looks angrily at his dad.
In the maze, Harry and Cedric WALK together to a fork, where they split up, not at all in a pushing-and-shoving manner.
Later, Cedric and Harry meet again. Cedric warns Harry about the Blast-Ended Skrewts, and looks shaken. Now, Harry has mentioned seeing Cedric look frightened before other tasks-I think this humanizes Cedric. He's afraid, like any of us would be. After meeting a ginormous blast-ended Skrewt, he's shaken. Gee, I wonder why. To me, being afraid and continuing is showing more bravery than doing something and not fearing it. (If that makes sense. Just pointing out...)
In any case, Cedric did not have to tell Harry the time of day, much less that there were Blast-Ended Skrewts around. Back to that sense of fair-play. The fair-play that made him tell Harry how to solve the egg.
The next time Harry encounters Cedric in the maze, he hears Krum casting the Cruciatus curse on him.
Now, as much as this is a "Cedric is AWESOME!" discussion, it's also a "Cedric is HUMAN" discussion. He's fairly ready to leave Krum lying there stupified. He's just been tortured. He's still shaking. They don't know what happened to Fleur, but if Harry hadn't come along, who knows what would have happened to Cedric? So, Cedric's not feeling very charitable toward Krum, but he doesn't argue when Harry suggests sending up the sparks-he does so himself.
But he mutters that Krum would deserve being "eaten by a skrewt," as Harry says might happen. I think Cedric's displaying something very Hufflepuff-and human nature-there. Krum's just committed a crime, and against him AND possibly Fleur. It's a sense of justice, of what's right and wrong, and even more deeply, protecting yourself and others. Sort of a "Don't mess with me" deal. Whether or not he really would have left Krum there, who knows? I doubt it. His conscience would have gotten the better of him.
He and Harry split up... at Cedric's urging. Cedric remembers they are competing. He's a Quidditch player, remember? Captain and Seeker. He's competitive. This could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how it's used.
The NEXT time we meet Cedric is the most vital. This is when Harry and Cedric are both in sight of the cup.
This is where I think the most important part of the Task lie. I also think this is what the movie messed up most.
Cedric is running full sprint at the cup. Harry sees it, knows he won't beat Cedric... and sees that Cedric will run into giant spider if he keeps running... now, here Harry could win it by saying nothing, but he doesn't. He yells a warning to Cedric, who manages to avoid the spider, but trips and loses his wand.
Harry's yell attracted the spider, who attacks him. Now, I think this would have been much more exciting than moving hedges, but that's me. Harry's wounded and Cedric helps him stupefy the spider.
A favorite line of mine is right there, btw: "The two spells combined did what one alone had not..."
At which point, Cedric asks if Harry is all right. Harry and Cedric both realize that Cedric is steps away from the Cup. Harry tells Cedric to take it. Cedric looks at the cup.
Here, Harry can SEE how much Cedric wants to win. We can only quess what's going through his mind, but then he looks at Harry. And takes a deep breath.
He refuses. Cedric refuses to take the cup... not once, not twice... but avoids Harry's urging and refuses up to 6 times. SIX.
He gets stubborn. His jaw sets. He tells Harry to take the cup. He walks AWAY from it. When Harry figures out that Cedric is walking away from something he wants so much-when he figures out that Cedric is pigheadedly stubborn and about two seconds from jumping up and down, cramming his fingers in his ears and yelling "nononoIwon'ttakeitIwon'tIwon'tIwon'tYoucan'tmakemeYoucan'tmakeme!".... THEN Harry suggests taking the cup together. And Cedric checks to make sure Harry means it and when certain, he agrees. With a huge grin.
I love that part. "You take it." "No, you." "Take the cup!" "I won't!" "Take the damn cup!!" "You can't make me!!"
It says SO MUCH about Cedric. It lays out his morals and ethics and shows you exactly who he is and what is important to him. He wanted to win--for Hufflepuff, for Hogwarts, for his parents (esp. his father, I think)... and for himself.
And he walks away from it. He tries to give it away, because that is what's fair. It's what's right. He knows that Harry has helped him, and while he helped Harry, he doesn't feel right winning in those circumstances.
So right there, in those few pages, all of Cedric is summed up. The good and the bad... he's competitive, stubborn, loyal, fair, hard working, brave... he's got morals and he's willing to sacrifice something he desperately wants in order to uphold those morals.
You have to love a man who sacrifices. Who has got morals.
I think they made bad choices there, as far as the movie goes. I think we lost that part of Cedric. Maybe he did try to give up reluctantly, but by the time Harry compromised, he was adamant about it, and he would have cheered for him after. In the movie, Cedric and Harry wind up running through the bushes and shoving each other around.
I hate that. Yes, they competed. I can see an all-out sprint to the finish between them... but no shoving. PLEASE no shoving. It's not good sportsmanship, it's not fair play, and it's not Cedric OR Harry. Because so much of what is great about Cedric is also in Harry. They're remarkably similar in some ways... but I won't go there today.
I need that refusal scene. I need it to be stronger and fiercer and emotional. I need Harry and Cedric to both be stubborn and annoyed and frustrated. Because they are both this close to winning. I need to see what Cedric is giving up, and how fiercely he tries to do so.
I need to see that because it makes his death all the more tramatic. It makes Harry feel all the more guilty about it. The guilt makes Harry all the angrier, which makes OotP all the angstier which makes HBP all the better to eat you wi- oops, sorry. Carried away there. But it makes Cedric more vivid and real.
It's the inate Cedricness of Cedric. That which makes me adore him. The fact that he IS SO GOOD and then he DIES and he does NOT deserve it. No one does, but he really doesn't.
So, in conclusion, I don't think the movie did him justice and that makes me sad. I think he is vastly underappreciated. I read in someone's journal that they thought more should have been made about Harry's safety and it seemed like all the attention was on Cedric's death... well, it is and it should be. Because it is vital. And Cedric was a great guy.
....So, I've got to go to bed now, which is one of the reasons I am stopping. I am sure more will come to me, which is saying something... since that wound up discussing Cedric, Cho, Cedric/Cho, Harry/Cho, Cedric's role in the series, the role his death plays in the series... and finally, the point I was getting at in the first place with this post, Cedric's personality (book and movie and the difference) and all-in-all, why I like him. And the 3rd Task. Mustn't forget that.
I guess it suffices to say that I am by no means a NEW Cedric fan. The movie may have brought this all to light, but it's been lingering all along. I know that a whole new batch of shiny fic will be arriving, thanks to moviegoers and the hottness of Cedric... but we always knew he was hot. We always knew how his story ends. Why hasn't there been more fic?
Edit: err.... yeah. This post clears up a few things I got a bit wrong, not having PoA with me when I wrote this. Heh.