Year 8 Public Speaking A Spider-Sense of Fairness? 2020 By Drew Keay

“Peter… you killed my father”. This is a quote from Harry Osborn only moments after finding out that his best friend was not only Spiderman but also his father’s killer. Imagine losing both of your parents before you are even 25. Imagine growing up in a home of constant judgement and found to be lacking. Imagine feeling only hate and cruelty from your father whenever you are home. And then witnessing your father’s death. Imagine finding out that your unloving father was actually the infamous villain Green Goblin. And then discovering that your best friend, someone you trusted with your life, was the person who killed your father. Imagine having all of that piled on top of you – surely it’s a natural reaction to make some bad decisions. To be led by hate and driven by the desire for revenge. Harry Osborn suffered from tragedy at the very start: childbirth weakened Harry’s mother and at the age of one she passed away from long illnesses. Though this tragedy was no fault of Harry’s – Norman’s behaviour towards his son hinted that he blamed him for his wife’s death. Harry and his father had an extremely rocky relationship, Norman Osborn (Harry’s father) was CEO and president of the very successful company Osborn Industries - Norman never showed affection or attention towards Harry only showered him with material gifts- this lead to Harry constantly seeking approval from his father which he never received. To have grown up in such a hateful environment, Harry’s decision to avenge his father’s death and become the next Green Goblin was his way of continuing his father’s legacy, keeping him alive and still trying to make his father proud of him – which shows that Harry’s intention was clearly still from the heart and even though Norman showed him no kindness, Harry still wanted to make his father proud. Have you ever been so angry or infuriated that it blinds you? So engulfed with hatred that your mind refuses to comprehend and reason or logic? Someone might use the phrase, implying that you are so furious, you “see red”. Harry Osborn saw only red after witnessing Spiderman kill his father – crazy with grief and blinded by fury Harry swore he would avenge his father by becoming the next Green Goblin. When Harry made this decision he was angry and mentally unbalanced, and his mental state only deteriorated even further when he discovered that his best friend Peter Parker was in fact the super hero Spiderman and the person who murdered his father. Consumed with hate, grief, confusion and the feeling of betrayal - Harry was not in a good state of mind to make any sound choices and shouldn’t be held accountable for them as he clearly wasn’t in a good place at the time. Harry Osborn wasn’t a villain. Harry Osborn was a misguided, grief-stricken, confused, hurt person who was treated poorly and couldn’t separate right from wrong.