Now that the four regular readers of this blog have completed their trips through the seventh HP, I offer up this as the beginning of the discussion. I suspect there will be other forums as well.
My thoughts:
- Seven books and a fairly detailed narrative arc wrapped up in about as neat (as in tidy) a way as possible. Sure Harry could have easily died and NOT come back. This would have required a little less gymnastics on JK Rowlings part, but generally she pulled it off AND had the main character of a children's novel live.
- My prediction of Dumbledore's return didn't exactly turn out to be true, but I feel generally satisfied that if I had the knowledge of his terminal illness I wouldn't have come to that conclusion. As it is, he certainly played about the same role as he played in most of the books, namely explaining things to Harry when everything was wrapped up. So, basically, he did come back.
- James Potter was a dick, or at least was not any sort of role model. It seems like Harry got most of his traits from Lily, thank goodness.
- I'm not resolved as to the meeting of the baby-like creature in King's Cross as Harry is talking to big D. A poll of two other readers says a small consensus is that it was the piece of Voldemort's soul that was in Harry. Seems odd to me to have big D go out of his way to NOT tell Harry what it was. That said, I have no better answer as to its symbolism.
- All of them seem to get an awful lot better at magic for this book, especially Ron. Encounters like the Death Eaters in the diner after the wedding were handled with ease.
- Dobby's death by far the saddest moment of the book for me. Only Hedwig comes close, and that mostly because of how little fanfare there was.
- Sort of wonder whether Harry et al finished up at school (after it was repaired) or whether that would be mightily anti-climactic and unnecessary. Certainly Hermione should have been teaching there, or possibly Headmaster.
- Is George's missing ear an actual void?
- I started reading the first book again last night and was struck that right in the first chapter are mentions of Godric's Hollow and 'young Sirius Black' (Hagrid got the motorcycle from him that delivered infant Harry to Privet Drive). Based on that she really does seem to have the principal story worked out - at least some critical places and characters that someone 'winging it' wouldn't have had. I had forgotten the specifics being included so early.
17 comments:
I was struck by the mention of Sirius back in book 1, and mentioned it on my blog earlier this year. It does help suggest that Rowling knew what she was doing. My images of Rowling back when she was writing this first book are of her scribbling ideas on napkins and other random objects.
In this pass through the books, I've focused on the character and story choices, and I've less hung up on what appears to be outright stabs at symbolism. For example, note how each book is subtitled in the inner pages, starting with "Hogwarts: Year 1". That made book 7 even more bold, in my opinion, because I was convinced Rowling wouldn't stray from that premise. The first half of the book is a bleak, wartime survival tale.
It did seem inevitable that each book would be about 1 year in the life of Harry at Hogwarts, and you're right ,she quite boldly escaped from that, beginning with the Quidditch World Cup it seems to me. That really broke the previously established rhythm. From there on out there was an ongoing separation from the standard.
In book 6, still wondering about the lack of plot import of silent spells. That too broke from the previous standard she had established. Dumbledore used it to freeze Harry just before he died, but otherwise nothing.
Dark, DARK book!
Incredible, the way in which we brought Snape back from apparently ir-redemptiveness. It was not too far into it where I had pretty much figured "Man, there's no WAY Snape can really be good." Consider me fooled, utterly.
Considering the heat I have given Rowling for her characters of little depth, much much credit to the depth of character she evolved in Dumbledore (incredible weaknesses none of us - I think - dreamed of in books 1-5), Harry, James and, of course, Snape.
My least favorite person in the HP universe: Dolores Umbridge. Obviously, Voldemort was the most pure, coldly, callously evil; but D.U. was the most dispicable and hate-able. It would have been nice to have seen her get it, though I get the sense that Rowling handled her more as a ocmedic-relief sort of figure.
Mrs. Weasley, without a doubt, the most consistently annoying figure in the books. Redeemed a bit by the killing of Bellatrix; however she was cheesy even at that moment. Would have been interesting, with all her fretting about her children, if SHE had been the Weasley to die.
Dobby dying very sad. One wonders how the scale of death & destruction will be portrayed on the bigscreen, when they get around it it. The last couple of films will be SO FRIGGIN DARK.
Great, I think we can all agree, Nevill's role at the end. We kind of knew he was going to figure in there in some significant way.
What is everyone in every other country doing while England is under seige? Any help coming from Durmstrang? That Veela School? The various skilled memebers of assorted professional Quiddich teams?
When all is said and done, it appears to be about eight members of the order of the Phoenix opposing hundreds of Death Eaters. However, they appear to be relatively evenly matched, one on one. Somehow the numbers don't seem to add up in the least.
Dumbledore was weak for about two weeks in his history, when he befriended Grindelwald. Otherwise he was almost universally good. Perhaps a tad too arrogant in his early years, but as the greatest wizard in a generation it's hard to be humble.
Mighty Tom really believed Mrs. Weasely was going to turn out to be evil, if only for a moment - when he e-mailed me as such. As it is she was sort of a caricature of a smothering mom. What of Arthur Weasley at the end?
The battles with Voldemort seem to have been almost universally fought in Britain. While powerful, his ambitions never got the chance to expand elsewhere. He really only managed the annexation of the Sudetenland (to borrow a WWII reference) and never really managed to invade Poland. I don't know that the rest of the world really felt threatened.
Certainly not as many Death Eaters as possibly implied, and The Order of the Phoenix really was a shell of its former self at this point. It was more of a popular uprising than an organized resistance.
Glad to see Percy got some depth as well.
And ultimately, what the hell with Ron's magical powers? Do books on getting girls make you more magically able? At the end of book 6 he was a red shirt. At the start of book 7 he was Sulu. What the hell?
And carrying Horcrux much like carrying ring to Mordor. It makes you a dick.
At the end of the battle for Hogwarts, Voldemort claims that there are hundreds of Death Eaters surrounding the place. That's a lot.
Ron - went through Defense Against the DA training and has been hanging out with Harry. I didn't find his competency that amazing. Plus, remember, he used to have a broken wand.
Not too sure that Percy was all that deep, even as he "came back."
What of Cornelius Fudge?
What of Ludo Bagman?
I was thinking it was likely that Scrimegour was going to be a vampire, or at least figure into the whole equation more than he did. Boy, he came and went without so much as a whimper.
LOVE Harry giving his son "Severus" as a middle name, and I love his advice to his son about Slytherin "You're named after two headmasters of Hogwarts, and one of them was the bravest man I ever knew - and he was a Slytherin."
That said, it's surprising that there IS STILL a Slytherin, 19 years into the future. Throughout the history of Slytherin, we are never given any reason to believe anything other than the fact that they are universally evil.
The fact that Ron was competent at ALL is a huge improvement over his previous six years of school, wand or not. I argued strongly at the end of book six, that if they were going off to seek the answers the only reason to take Ron was as a target.
I though Cornelius Fudge died in an earlier book?
Yeah, Slytherin has centuries of nothing but evil, or at best cruel toadyism. (wow- toadyism is a word - so says Blogger's spell check) Though if you're going to feel all good about Snape, then why not keep them.
Regarding Slytherin: one thing that redeemed the books was the description of Dumbledore being weak, James Potter being a jerk, Severus being a romantic, etc. I originally feared that the good/bad dichotomy was too obvious, even for kid's books. It does shed light on as to why Harry was almost sorted into Slytherin in book 1.
Umbridge: I finished book five thinking she had been left to die in the forest, in a fairly gruesome way. That would have been great. It would have been gratifying to find she'd been decapitated and her head tossed in a brown paper bag for the Order of the Pheonix to parade around. But that wouldn't be their style, I guess.I agree with Dan: I hated her so much. Perhaps I have latent high school issues.
It may say more about my inability to retain knowledge of these books than anything, but I regularly forget about Uxbridge as crappy as she apparently was.
The Slytherin thing - tough for me to let go. I've always hated the casting of wide nets over groups of characters in literature: and it is done IN SPADES with respect to this group. They make no allowances for any few good kids who might have been sorted into Slytherin for one reason or another. When shit starts to go down, don't you think there might have been a handful of kids that finally realized, "hey, everyone around here is on you-know-who's side!" Even before that, no one was turned off by having their living quarters in a green-tinged dungeon? It was pretty obvious already, but when the final battle of Hogwarts took place and Slughorn was told that Slytherin would have to determine their loyalty, once and for all - THEY ALL LEFT, for crying out loud. What more do you need? The sorting hat needs reprogrammed to sort into: Griffyndor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Ineligible to Attend. A lot of heartache could have been avoided by merely adopting this policy a hundred years ago.
I think you need Slytherin to counteract the otherwise ridiculous dominance of Gryffindor.
On a related note Mighty Tom and I were considering that we should assign people from West High to all of the people in the HP world. Sort of a field of 64, just with less emphasis on butts.
Out of Googling deference, we should do such a thing on a non-public blog, one possibly set up for that purpose alone.
Well, apparently I am not the only one with issues.
Wow - that's geeking out on reminiscing big time. When I ever shied from such a thing. Count me in. Might be a little simpler just to assign them to houses, however.
I wonder if Gibbs, now double the age of when we attempted this last, will again stack the deck.
I'm definitely not advocating placing EVERY person, just ones that seem to stand out.
It's our common frame of reference, and possibly hilarious.
I'd be interested in seeing the results. I doubt I remember many people.
just a bit - I missed the bulk of the discussion - LOVED loved loved the book
Harry is just so GOOD - so very very good, great spirit, to miss nineteen years of his life was almost more arresting than the end of the book, a wonderful, fun world of neverending fun and adventure, it had to end as all things do, I know, but sad for me nonetheless
yes Dobby very sad, as were the other deaths
Umbridge and Mad _Eyes eye - she was a bad one - how did she survuve the centaURS
I really am still reeling, much dust is still settling
I look forward to reading it without the incredible, maddening, nervous energy flying out at the pages
So that's "nervous energy" flying out at the pages now, is it?
Your fastest read ever, perhaps, Gibbs?
OK - on the HP Geek-Out: I've racked my brains, and all I can be completely sure of is Mr. Luttrell as Gilderoy Lockhart.
HP Geek Out:
Mrs. Berg is the reporter from book 3.
Great resource:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_characters_in_the_Harry_Potter_books
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