The Death of Sirius Black

[davewitley]

No: HPFGUIDX 89605

Eileen wrote:

> Furthermore, I find the things that most people dislike about the 
book
> are the ones that delighted me even the first time around.

On the whole, that's true for me, too.  I think being part of a 
discussion group has played a big part in that.  It caused me to 
raise my game closer to JKR's level.

> Sirius's death, for instance. Have I ever mentioned before how 
much I
> love JKR's little trick of making tangible things tangible? 
Dementors,
> the Mirror of Erised, and now the Veil. No, it wasn't 'realistic' 
for
> Sirius to fall surprised and gracefully through the Veil of Death.
> 
 
> No, Sirius's death is not realistic in the sense that "Death By
> Falling Through Veil" is a common result of coroner's reports. It's
> real on a different level, a mythic level.
> 
> This is probably a good time to pause a second as I know that 
people's
> eyes are suddenly glazing over and can predict the response. "Well,
> yeah, it didn't work emotionally so now you're *analyzing* it, and
> coming up with a fancy theory of how it works mechanically."

Interesting - I feel you are saying that, for you, it *does* work 
emotionally, but not through the use of words to create impressions 
and feelings of the moment in the reader's mind, but through symbols 
which summon up whole chunks of feeling and emotion that are already 
there.  Is that right?

For myself, the thing that works so well about Sirius' death is that 
it is death pure and simple.  A stop to life for the subject, and a 
loss of the person for his friends.  We are confronted with the 
rawness and immediacy of loss of life, not the uncertainties, pain, 
grief or drawn-out-ness of a death scene.  It leaves me feeling that 
for Harry, even regret and grief are diminished - and therefore 
fuelled - by the starkness of the event itself.  (Or am I just 
repeating what you already said?)

>  And
> Sirius - well, Sirius had a death wish all through the book and
> finally has it granted in that last scene. 

Yes, again, for me Sirius' slightly deranged behaviour throughout 
OOP makes him a more attractive character, not less.  It makes it 
more of a tragedy that he dies with so many unresolved issues, as no 
doubt we all do.

David