OOP Spoiler: How the Death was written

[Alon van Dam]

No: HPFGUIDX 62846

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Adana Robinson" 
<adanaleigh at h...> wrote:
> Spoiler space:
> 
> F
> I
> N
> I
> S
> H
> 
> T
> H
> E
> 
> B
> O
> O
> K
> 
> A
> L
> R
> E
> A
> D
> Y
> !
> 
> I lost my ability to keep up with the Humongous Boardposts sometime 
> yesterday, so I hope I'm not just repeating five hundred other 
people.
> 
> There have been a lot of "complaints" about how the death was 
written.  Many 
> people said it went by so fast they almost didn't notice, and it 
didn't sink 
> in until later.
> 
> I think this is exactly what JKR was trying to do.  We're seeing 
this all 
> from Harry's POV, remember, and he was watching all these things 
happen and 
> trying to save his friends and not get killed himself that it all 
is going 
> past like a blur.  Time slows down momentarily while Sirius is 
falling; then 
> everything speeds back up and it's almost like Harry hasn't 
realized what's 
> happened yet.
> 
> Harry goes through the basic stages of grief (can't remember 
exactly what 
> they are): shock, denial, and in Dumbledore's office, serious 
anger.  The 
> death goes by so fast for us because it goes by too fast for Harry 
to 
> comprehend.  It sinks in on us later because it is finally sinking 
in on 
> Harry.
> 
> This mirrors real life exactly in my experience; it's not the 
actual moment 
> of the person dying when you break down; it's when you realize 
later what 
> life is going to be like without them, when you feel that "hole 
inside you 
> where they were, where they're not there anymore" not an exact 
quote, but 
> Harry felt something like that.
> 
> I think the death was written very realistically.
> 
> adanaleigh

I'm not entirely sure about this yet, and will have to reread the 
scene to give you a definitive answer, but, on the whole, I do think 
I agree with you. I don't think the death would have been any better 
if brought with full pomp and circumstance. The entire scene is very, 
very confusing: As it should be! There is a "fog of war", as it's 
called: Everything is jsut very confusing and nobody really knows 
what anyone else is doing. We see the scene -the largest direct 
confrontation between "good guys" and "bad guys" in well over 15 
years (even the Longbottom-incident was committed by "only" 4 DEs)- 
from the eyes of a 15-year old boy, who believes he is entirely 
responsible for his friends and, indeed, for this entire situation. 
Things go wrong all around him and he thinks he's going to die. He 
catches a glimpse of Sirius dying and, yes, I too saw this as a form 
of slow-motion thing: 
1. Bellatrix shoots a spell at Sirius
2. Sirius dodges this and taunts Bellatrix (BL)
3. BL attempts yet another spell.
4. The spell hits and the momentum carries Sirius through the veil.
During all this, Harry still doesn't know that SB is dead! He half-
expects (and fully hopes) that SB will just appear on the other side 
of the arch! He then, indeed, goes through shock (he is stunned), a 
brief stint of anger ("Crucio!" (imo, completely in character)), 
followed by denial, extreme anger, hope against all odds, reluctant 
acceptance...

All kudos to JKR, I say, for writing this scene in the chaotic way 
she did it. We all know how hard this was for her, and how none of us 
would have ever had full peace with Sirius dying. Still, I think the 
way she did it is very realistic and sudden, causing a shock with all 
of us ("What just happened?!?", anger ("Sirius can't be dead!"), 
denial ("No, this can't be it. He just fell through the arch, that's 
all!") and extreme anger ("How could JKR do this to us?! How can 
Harry ever be happy this way? Why does she have to kill all the 
family members Harry has ever known? Isn't it enough that she 
destroyed his image of James and discredited Dumbledore? etc. etc. 
etc.) 

But this too will, I believe, be followed by a reluctant acceptance...

This is dedicated to Sirius Black: Unsung hero who spent the last 14 
years of his life imprisoned, hated and feared, and endured it all so 
that that which is good may prevail. I salute you, Sirius Black. May 
you rest in peace.

Hope this helps,
Alon