[HPforGrownups] Will Harry die?

[Ali]

No: HPFGUIDX 88420

Meera:
> My boyfriend and I has discussed about this, and he didn't agree
> with me that Harry will die. His reason - it would upset the kids
> who read the story, as we know how much they love Harry Potter.
>
> But then, Rowling "killed" Black, and we all know how upsetting it
> was.

Ali:

    First, I think comparing killing off Black and killing off Harry is
unfair.  To steal a phrase, it's like comparing apples to oranges.  Black is
an important, though still minor, character.  Harry is...well, it is the
Harry Potter series.

    Second, I've gotten the sense that JKR's growth as a writer is maturing
with Harry.  Well, it's either that or she just didn't let us onto her
talents in the initial books.  In either case, I think that her desire to
challenge her writing abilities won't let her kill Harry.  It's easier to
write a sad ending; a happy ending is more difficult to pull off.

    Third, even disregarding everything else, JKR has grown attached to
Harry, possibly more than her fans.  I doubt she'll kill him off.


Meera:
> My reason for saying this is there's going to be no more Harry
> Potter books after this. She'll never never write anything about
> Harry anymore, and she's very sure about it. Of course, if Harry
> stays alive, there'd be a lot of things to talk about after that.

    Naive as this may seem, I think it's JKR's perrogative to change her
mind so she could change her mind about not writing anything else about
Harry.  In any case, why is it that she can't end the HP series with Harry
alive?  There's always going to be things to talk about, questions to be
answered, but so what?  There's still going to be questions to be answered
if Harry dies.  Just because he dies does not mean there's an instantaneous
elimination of all the questions and loose ends.

    I'm not entirely convinced one way or another.  Harry may or may not
die, and I'll still end up surprised.  However, I think it's more likely
that Harry won't die.  Pure speculation on my part, I realize, but JKR seems
too attached to Harry to kill him off.

~Ali