Sadness in LoTR and HP

[brewpub44]

No: HPFGUIDX 32980

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "lucky_kari" <lucky_kari at y...> wrote:
> Ahhh, my favourite of all topics. I am one of those people who 
needs 
> a daily fix of Tolkien and tragedy (separately or in combination

snip
 
> Yours Truly,
> 
> Eileen

Ah! A woman after my own heart! I too am a big Tolkien fan, splitting 
my time between this board and an LOTR board.

Here's my thoughts on tragedy and LOTR vs. HP:

I feel that we have to separate the two series as far as tragedy 
goes. LOTR is an overall tragic story with bits of uplift. Even the 
resolution is tragic, and that is foreshadowed way in the beginning 
of the first part (FOTR). With the exception of Tom Bombadil, the 
story is depressing almost from Chapter 1. So it is expected. We want 
the heroes to be victorious despite all the tragedy and personal 
sacrifice they endure. It is the loyalty of all the characters to 
each other and to the quest despite all these tragedies that makes 
the story.

But in HP, we have an uplifting story with bits of tragedy. It's the 
reverse feel. Harry is originally a downtrodden orphan, and voila! 
He's a wizard at the best place in the world. Harry doubts his 
ability to succeed in this strange environment, and voila! He gets 
the Philosopher's Stone (I still call it the PS even though the 
publisher thought Americans too stupid for the term).

That theme continues for hte next couple of books: Harry overcomes 
prejudice & persecution; Harry overcomes a deadly encounter; Harry 
overcomes the fear of being stalked (by Sirius before Sirius is 
revealed); Harry overcomes all the Challenges; etc., etc. It's a much 
different feel of a story.

Now, some are saying "But what about Cedric's death and Harry's near-
fatal encounter with LV?" Well, it's the "level of difficulty". Both 
series of books play this trick. As the story progresses, the 
immensity of the tasks increases. Harry's next 'task' is to face the 
fear of death and make a difference. The gauntlet has been thrown: LV 
has drawn first blood (from Harry's POV, the attack when he was an 
infant is before his memory). Harry now has to face that ultimate 
fear, and he should be victorious.

So what's next? I suspect that the next thing he will have to face is 
his own failure. I suspect that he will screw up big time in the near 
future. That too is an incredible barrier: to confront your own 
mistakes.

Anyway, I've rambled for far too long. The big point: JKR is throwing 
tragedies at Harry to see how Harry can overcome them and move on.

Barkeep