Sirius' Troubles

Tonight is a lonely night for one of our favorite characters. That character is Sirius, Harry’s Godfather, and he sits alone in Buckbeak’s presence venting about his unfortunate life.

I just don’t understand. First I am wrongly accused and must sit in that wretched prison, then I must sit in this wretched prison! I will admit that it is better being here in my old home rather than constantly having Dementors float by. I just wish I could help out with the Order more, I could do so much! That good for nothing Snivellus thinks otherwise, but what does he know! I know what is right for Harry, I am his Godfather! Then again…I keep thinking Harry is so much like James, then something makes me think otherwise. It’s so strange, he looks like James, he acts like James, yet sometimes he makes decisions that I know James would not. This pains me in a way. I was truly hoping for a great friend like I had in James, but it seems that life is not perfect Buckbeak…

Analytical:
There are many statements throughout the novel which supports the above. The first of which, I believe, goes without saying. That is, I feel that Sirius really only has two options if he is going to talk to someone. Those options include Kreacher or Buckbeak. Buckbeak and Sirius have a positive relationship because they escaped together. Also, Sirius and Kreacher do not see eye to eye, so I believe that Buckbeak would be the optimal choice for Sirius to spill his feelings. We begin to see Sirius’ struggle to help the Order on page 79 when he tells Harry that he is the last Black left and offering his house to Dumbledore was about the only useful thing he could do. We also see that Sirius is very annoyed with Snape especially on pages 516 through 518. Snape makes it a point to say how useless Sirius is. This is possibly one of the reasons why Sirius would be so upset with Snape and is venting to Buckbeak about him. On pages 158 and 159 we get a glimpse at the disappointment Harry is feeling when he is cleared of all charges. He thought that it would be a neat idea to be banished just like Sirius. These pages also reveal a hint toward Sirius being upset and selfish following Harry’s clearing. This just goes to show that Sirius really does want Harry more as a friend than anything else. A father figure in this moment would not, in most cases, be so selfish. Lastly on page 305, Sirius makes a comment about meeting up with Harry on the next Hogsmeade trip and to Sirius’ surprise, Harry says no. Sirius even makes a comment about how Harry is less like his father than he thought. This is just another piece of evidence that Sirius really does want a James like friend back. He and James were really close and the closest thing to James is Harry. It is sad, but at the same time, understandable. Poor Sirius Black…he has an extremely difficult life…