Sadness in books (was Tolkien vs. Rowling)

[cindysphynx]

No: HPFGUIDX 32237

Elizabeth wrote:


>There is so
> much sadness in real life already. I need a reminder of what's good 
about real
> life-- friendship, courage, hope, kindness, and justice. Pain is 
>too easy to
> remember already. I hope I'm wrong about where Rowling is headed 
>with the HP
> series. <snip> 

Katze added:

> Wishing the same thing as Elizabeth, that some clever list-member 
>can
> convince me not to worry...

Aw, gee.  As one of the more bloodthirsty fans, I'm not sure I'm the 
best one to help out here, but here goes.  I don't think the books 
(even GoF) were really all that depressing, as there was plenty of 
humor and lightheartedness.  If future books strive for that same mix 
of seriousness mixed with levity, I think they will be much better 
for it, and we'll be able to tolerate the more emotionally difficult 
passages.

Even the more depressing parts of GoF weren't all that bad, really.  
In GoF, Rita printed "lies", but there was actually a lot of truth in 
what she wrote.  Hagrid *was* part giant.  Dumbledore *had* been 
keeping secrets about Harry (e.g. parseltongue).  Rita, Crouch Jr., 
Crouch Sr., all Bagman all received consequences for the things they 
did wrong.  Harry did "win" the duel, and he was publicly recognized 
for his efforts.  Fred and George now have money for their joke 
shop.  Real Moody was rescued.  Everyone except Pettigrew still has 
all of their limbs.

The upshot in GoF is the forces of good now have to battle the forces 
of evil.  The relationships among the trio grew tremendously, and the 
relationship conflict in GoF was resolved with a happy ending.  It's 
hardly "The Sound of Music," true, but as we can be reasonably sure 
that the forces of good will win or at least play to a tie, the 
series won't be a total downer.

Now, on to the question of deaths of favorite characters.  I have to 
admit that I do like to read tragic things.  I found the first two 
books unbearably Disney-esque.  Was there really any doubt that Harry 
would secure the stone and that Ginny would be saved?  Could Harry's 
path to victory in PS/SS and CoS have been any more contrived?  Was 
there any doubt that the adults would prove incredibly inept so that 
the kids could save the day?  I think not.

In contrast, I found PoA and particularly GoF much more interesting 
reading.  There was much more suspense because the reader couldn't 
rule out very many possibilities.  For all we knew, Lupin could have 
turned out to be evil (and still might).  All we knew for sure was 
that Harry wouldn't die; everything else was entirely possible.  As a 
result, it was a real page turner.

That said, even I have limits on how much tragedy I can take.  If a 
favorite character is going to die, I must insist that they die for a 
reason and not due to their own stupidity.  Say that Sirius' number 
is up in Book 5 (a real possibility, BTW).  My final request is that 
he die doing something important that helps the forces of good, not 
something inconsequential.  Dying like Cedric isn't good enough for 
Sirius.  If JKR has important characters die, they need a death 
worthy of their importance.  

On balance, I'd say that the series *has* to develop a more serious
bent.  Things would get much too pat if, time after time, Harry has 
some mystery to solve, which he tackles 50 pages from the end.  The 
consequence of moving the series forward might be the loss of some 
favorite characters, true.  But I think Rowling is a sufficiently 
sharp writer that she will include enough emotionally satisfying 
subplots that the books will not become a tiresome sequence of 
depressing events.

Cindy (who really likes Elizabeth's idea of having the wizarding 
world end in total destruction)