The problem in reality is in the fact that Harry is not heroic. As a child with stinted emotions he values his "precious" people immeasurably, seeking sense of identity and belonging from them.
That becomes his main "driving force" or power that fuels his actions towards the path of self sacrifice . His heroism is in actuality a masked version of his human greed, born from the wish to not be left alone in solitude.

This "trait" is probably his greatest weakness and his greatest strength at the same time. As a teenager burdened with a monolithic weight on his shoulders he presumably does his best, yet most of the time his best just isn't enough. His desperate need for help coupled with constant self doubt and sense of worthlessness results in making him pliable .

It's easy to lose yourself in the ouroboros of revenge , however Harry overcomes this obstacle . It takes considerable strength of character(or belief in his sense of values) to prevail in this battle, however does it make him weak?

 

I think you're confusing Harry Potter with Naruto.

 

I do remember feeling frustrated, that Harry wouldn't whip out some Dumbledore shit out of his ass when in dangerous situations, but then again how believable would that be?

 

Well, the end of DH is about as Dumbledorean as Harry ever gets, but most people hate that battle.

 

All this strength and skill stuff doesn't honestly matter, IMHO.

He is, though, a severely underdeveloped character with regard to specifics. Ron and Hermione are more fleshed-out than he is, at least with regard to personality.

 

I actually think that's what maks Harry so great to read about. If he was a secondary character we'd be annoyed at him not being developed. But since he's the protagonist, we can essentially project our own personality onto him as kind of a wish fullfilment kind of thing.

 

T hink the beauty of Harry is, he is not some super human. He is a normal kid thrown into a very bad situation. And still he fights and fights and never backs down. the unsung hero

 

Harry is a weak protagonist, but only because JR made every effort to make him as average as possible. We hear multiple times about how talented his parents were, and he clearly has the potential for some awesome magic - Patronus at 13 - but whenever he is in a situation where Voldemort is about to kill him, luck is his answer.

On the flip side though, would any preteen kids have been interested in reading about how Harry Potter was so awesome cause he was always doing his homework and studying ahead?

Harry Potter is a weak protagonist because it is more fun to root for the little guy

 

We've all heard that quote about "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them", right?

I think thre should be another one that goes along the lines of "and some blunder upon greatness".

 

Well if I was Harry at the age of fourteen and had wormtail in front of me knowing he betrayed my parents. I'd have ripped his head off or killed him very slowly. But then again this is a children's book so it's to be expect Harry is not that ruthless. As for being weak, yeah he's pretty average guy.

Weird too you'd expect him to try to learn everything he could about magic coming from a place where it's just a fantasy.

Not to mention he's just a lucky dude and has plot armour.

 

Well that's the trade off.

Is Pettigrew's life worth your plot armor?