Do we need any more death cases?

[nkafkafi]

No: HPFGUIDX 89804

Taryn Kimel wrote:

> Neri:
<snip>
do we really need any more death cases of major characters? 
> Would this advance the plot? Would it make Harry or the reader 
> realize something they don't understand yet?
> 
> I think JKR killed Cedric and Sirius because (among other reasons) 
> she wanted us to feel that nobody, even Harry himself, is secure. 
<snip> Now that she put 
> the fear of JKR into our hearts, does she really have to kill 
> somebody important? <snip>> 

> Taryn:
> Well, she doesn't HAVE to, I guess, but that's called anti-
climactic, which is a total killer for a good story. We are expecting 
people to die because this is a war and it would hardly be an 
impactful one if no one died. JKR HAS put fear into our hearts, and 
if she doesn't make good this fear, then we have an anti-climactic 
storyline. What would be the point of her saying, "Okay, I just want 
you to know that nobody is safe, not even Harry!" and then at the end 
of the series saying, "Fooled you! They really are safe. No harm 
done!"? Would you really want to read that?

Neri answers:
Well, if you somehow feel that you were promised a juicy death of 
some character that is dear to you and you were cheated out of it, 
this is indeed anti-climatic, but for me a near-death experience (and 
JKR is very good about them) may also be climatic enough. I usually 
don't measure the intensity of the climax by the number of bodies 
left on the stage after it.

> 
> Neri:
> Note that JKR usually uses magical plot devices twice. <snip>IMHO, 
if there are polls in HPGU about whose going to die 
> next, then this is a good indication that this specific dramatic 
> device was exploited. <snip>
> 
> Taryn:
> But there's a very large difference between her magical plot 
devices and death. The devices are introduced in one book and then 
pop up as a surprise the second time around (unless, as you say, one 
is VERY perceptive). Their second time around, they are usually 
present for the whole storyling if you can pick out the clues. Death 
is not. Sure, in book 5 we were all waiting for the one big death, 
but there weren't exactly solid, factual clues lying about because it 
wasn't going on throughout the story. The whole point is that death 
is a sudden, undiscriminating factor that you can't predict will 
happen.
> 

Neri answers:
Actually, this is exactly my point. JKR did milk Sirius' death for 
all its worth. She notified us before that someone important will 
die, and then she put the death at the very end, so along the whole 
book, whenever someone get into a dangerous situation we will 
scream "nooooo!, not him/her!". JKR does sometime sacrifice good 
characters in order to get good suspense and a good moral, but she 
doesn't like it, so she does it sparingly and makes every death 
count. 

> Death is unique in its manner of providing motivation for all sorts 
of things and the fact that us knowing its coming does not lessen its 
value (IMO, anyway). After all, it's not a magical device JKR has 
invented and is milking to an extreme. It's a fact of life, 
ESPECIALLY during wartime, and JKR has been NOTHING if not realistic. 
Well. Y'know. Barring the whole magic, wizards, and witches thing. 
You know what I mean. ;) 

Neri answers:
I see what you mean about the realistic part. If we are talking 
realistically, however, I can ensure you that the chances of getting 
killed in a "low-intensity" war (as someone who actually participated 
in such a war I dislike this term, but the wizards war certainly 
qualifies as such) are actually not higher than getting killed in a 
car accident. But I don't think the books need to be realistic in 
this.

<snip>> 
> Then again, I've ALWAYS loved death in literature. I'm a total 
sucker for it. Makes me bawl (when done right), but Iove a good 
tragedy.
> 

Neri again:
Well, I can see what you mean when thinking about the climax of 
Hamlet or Othello, but there is a good moral to these climaxes. If 
the moral is only that death is arbitrary, I think we (and Harry) 
already got that point. And besides, I doubt "Harry Potter" is a 
tragedy.

> 
> Neri:
> OK, I do seem to remember that JKR said in some interview that 
there 
> will be many people dying. But I think this was before GoF, wasn't 
> it?
<snip> 
> 
> Taryn:
> No, that interview was post-GoF. You can take a look here:
> <snip>
> > December 28, 2001. She talks about "...deaths, more deaths 
coming..." and refers to the infamous "at least one death that's 
going to be horrible to write," the obvious reference to Sirius. (And 
note the "at least," too.)


Neri again:
I stand corrected. But if she actually didn't say "many", then Sirius 
and a couple of secondary characters will qualify. Hopefully.

Neri