[HPforGrownups] disagreement with character descriptions and general

[Morgan D.]

No: HPFGUIDX 58546

Hanna joined us and said:
> Hello, I am new to this forum, but I have read many of the emails I 
> have received so far. Someone addressed the character descriptions. 

Me (Morgan):
I'm the one to blame for bringing it up, but not for what the thread
turned out, I'm afraid. ^__^


Hanna pointed out:
> I
> find that J.K.R. has kept character descriptions vague for a couple 
> of reasons. First and foremost, she is an artist and maybe she wants 
> us to have to use our creativity. Kids are very creative and use 
> their imaginations very well so why not us adults? Have we been 
> spoonfed so long that we are no longer able to think for ourselves? I
> believe any great artist inspires us to create. That is exactly what 
> J.K. Rowling has done for me, inspired me to create a world inside my
> own mind. Her brief and or vague character descriptions are 
> intentional, use your head! Children do it so can you! What fun would
> the books be if we didn't put our own twists in them. 

Morgan: 
It's funny how a few members felt the need to defend JKR's
descriptions. I simply pointed out they were economic, that she picks a
few adjectives for each character and remains loyal to them. I wasn't
saying she's a good or bad writer *because* of that, just saying that's
what she usually does. 

That's mostly a matter of style, and also of pragmatism. For many
reasons -- which I won't list here because I don't want to bore you all
to death -- I think her choice is consistent with the kind of books
she's writing. I don't have specific preferences in the matter. Short
or long descriptions are not what make me point this as a good book and
that as a bad book. Or are you implying that Tolkien's careful,
elaborate descriptions don't encourage readers to use their
imagination?

I brought the subject up remarking on something else altogether: that
*despite* JKR's succinct descriptions, even intelligent readers that
have read the books five times often forget those descriptions when
they picture the characters in their minds (and fics, fanart, HPfGU
posts, etc.) Maybe it's just me, but I find that really peculiar. If
she tells us only five things about one character's looks, and one of
them is that he has black hair, why many fans are so sure he is blond
and blink several times in surprise when someone points to a quote in
canon that clearly states he has black hair? I saw stuff like that
happen lots of times, in this group, with people I know, with
ficwriters I talk to, with myself. And very often movie contamination
could not explain that phenomenon.

<snips comments on description of Quidditch, since that was not my
point> 


Hanna then complained:
>          Why is imagination such a lost ability for adults.

Morgan:
I'm not sure what adults you're talking about. Honestly, if this group
has an imagination problem, it's *excess* of it. (And I'm not saying
this is necessarily a bad thing.) Some of the theories this group has
come up with are simply amazing -- maybe not probable or even
plausible, but I can't for the life of me deny that they are
tremendously creative. 


Hanna also said:
> I think 
> most of your lack of faith in J.K.R. is disturbing. She has knocked 
> us off our feet with the first four books. I have no reason to 
> believe the last three will be any different. 

Morgan:
This is another subject altogether, but I'll offer you my two knuts on
it too. 

Do I have complete faith in JKR? No. And I find disturbing that anyone
would expect me to think differently. 

Do I like her books? Mostly, yes. Am I a HP fan? Definitely. Does that
mean I can't be critical and rational about her works? Hopefully not.

I love reading mystery books. Even bad ones. I enjoy them as I play the
game of trying to figure out the plot before the author reveals it to
me. That's what kept me reading the HP books even after CoS, whose plot
is, in my humble opinion, full of gigantic holes and inconsistencies. 

JKR knocked me off my feet with the last two books of the series,
that's for sure. PoA and GoF turned me into a true fan. So I'd say
that, judging by the past, my chances of seeing a great future is
around 50% ^__^ (You can't think of this as a serious statement, of
course. I just want you to understand that I have my reasons not to be
as optimistic as you are.)


Then Hanna said:
> We must remember that 
> everything that happens has been mapped out by Rowling from the 
> beginning. For 5 years she sat and detailed what would happen in each
> of her 7 book series. Everything that is or isn't there is that way 
> for a reason. 

Morgan:
Well, call me a heretic non-believer, but I don't buy that. Sure, maybe
she's a genius and she did draw some perfect plan ages ago and the
books are going exactly as planned. It's possible. Just not very
probable. I think of JKR as a human being. Bound to make mistakes.
Bound to second-guess herself. Bound to make poor decisions every now
and then. 

Self-experience tells me that not everything that is or isn't there is
that way for a reason. Experience as a reader who's read many stories
that were carefully planned in advance but did contain major plot holes
anyway. Experience as a writer that works pretty much the same way and
knows that sometimes we miss some important details here and there.
What I heard from her interviews (the Weasley she was going to create
and later decided against, the development of Rita's character, etc.)
led me to believe she's not that different from what self-experience
tells me. 

Furthermore, she already admitted a couple of FLINTs -- bits that were
there and shouldn't have been. So if she *now* comes to tell me that
everything is there for a reason, well, forgive me for not believing
it. 


> I would like to know why you all are criticizing her 
> writing style or what you think she will or will not do. 

Careful with generalisations. We are not *all* criticising her writing
style. Actually, when I do it, there's always someone to disagree with
me. ^__^

I have my complaints about her writing style, yes. Plot holes, the
"bumpy" narration every now and then... and sorry, her lacking math
does bug me a lot. And there's the stuff we don't know if it'll be
better developed or not, like the treatment to the non-Gryffindor
Houses and the non-Gryffindorish characters. I can easily say that if
she gives them the same treatment in the remaining books, I'll be
terribly disappointed. 

And of course, there're the selfish reasons to be worried: fear that
she'll kill my favourite characters or turn them into characters I
don't like so much... fear that she'll use the books to defend moral
principles I'm against... fear that some things I've been waiting to
see since the third book will never happen... I'm entitled to my
opinions, aren't I? 


Hanna:
> She created 
> this wonderful, magical world for you and you've talked about it, 
> analyzed it. Hasn't that been great. 

Morgan:
Yes.


Hanna:
> Do you think that it can ever be ruined? 

Morgan:
Sure. ^__^ 
I lost count of the number of stories I've read that started really
well and eventually turned into something awful. 


Hanna continued:
> Harry Potter in my eyes will live on long after book 7 
> because J.K.R. has allowed me to glimpse a world and create my own 
> along the way. 

Morgan:
Good for you, Hanna. So far the same has happened to me, but I'm very
aware that she can make casual decisions that will pull me away from
the world she created (not to mention demolish the one I've been
creating inside my mind, but that's probably beside the point). 


And Hanna finished:
> I know there has to be others who feel this way. Your 
> out there I know it. 

Morgan:
I actually thought most people out there felt that way. One of the joys
of finding this group was finding at least a few people who don't feel
that showing criticism make us less fans of HP than those who only have
good things to say about the books.


Morgan D. (who apologises to Richard for her text editor, which dumbly
"corrects" the P in 'GulPlum' to lower-case when she's not looking)
Hogwarts Letters - http://www.hogwartsletters.hpg.com.br

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