The Death of Sirius Black

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 89613

Eileen:
>>No, it wasn't 'realistic' for Sirius to fall surprised and
gracefully through the Veil of Death.<<

Have any of the deaths in the series been realistic? No real 
person has ever died of the Avada Kedavra curse, or had their 
life force drained by an enchanted diary, or by the strain of 
supporting two souls in one body, or because after 600 some 
years, they've run out of Elixir of Life.  

Eileen:

>> But while I'm talking about Sirius's death, I think something 
needs to be said about what aspect of death JKR is portraying. A 
good many quotes have been passed around from JKR about 
death as brutal, sudden etc. but none of them seem to address 
the general ambience of death in OotP. And I'm not surprised. If I 
were JKR, I wouldn't be caught dead talking about *that*. OotP is 
about *seductive* death.

> Unlike GoF, where death is brutal and destroying, death in 
OotP is inviting. Harry is almost lured through the veil by the 
voices just beyond. He wishes for death when Voldemort has 
him in his grip. And Sirius - well, Sirius had a death wish all 
through the book and finally has it granted in that last scene. <<

Do you really think so?  I think Harry has it right, "He didn't want
to go at all!" Sirius's death is tragic  because he wanted to live so 
much. It was because Sirius wanted to live that he suffered so 
being cooped up in Grimmauld Place.  He didn't leave because 
he thought death would be better, IMO, he left because Harry 
needed him. Sirius had too much thrill-seeker in him to be happy  
at Grimmauld Place, but I don't at all see him as suicidal.

Paradoxically, he was better equipped to endure captivity while 
he was in Azkaban and needed all his energy  in the struggle to 
survive and retain his sanity, than in the safe but depressing 
atmosphere of Grimmauld Place.

I know Hermione makes it sound a bit as if Sirius had a death 
wish, but I am  wary of Hermione's cartoonish explanations 
of everyone's behavior. I think they are  oversimplifed, both 
because that's the way she thinks, and because JKR needs a 
way to make complex   behavior  transparent for her younger 
readers (or those who just want to zip through the text without 
thinking too hard<g>.)

 I would say the overarching message about death in OOP is 
"Thou shalt not waste life." This is emphasized by the glimpse of 
Sirius' "wasted" face as he falls through the veil.  It's really 
Voldemort who has the death wish, though it's projected toward 
other people.

Pippin