Blame, blame, blame....

[mnaper2001]

No: HPFGUIDX 100802

> > Ally:
> > snip
> > 
> > But if one character was clearly right in, e.g. the occlumency 
> > situation/Sirius' death, it would mean JKR wasn't that good of a 
> > writer to begin with.  What makes these scenes great is that 
every 
> > character messes up in a way that is totally consistent with that 
> > character's flaws - Snape flips out, DD is too protective of 
Harry 
> > and optimistic about Snape, Sirius ignores Kreacher and acts 
> > impetuously and Harry betrays Snape by looking into the pensieve -
 
> > and it all comes together into a tragic event.
> > 
> > This is what good writing does - it doesn't judge.  
Unfortunately, 
> > most readers do not follow their writer's example.

Jo:

> Er NO!
> 
> JKR most definitely judges. She clearly believes in good and bad,
> right and wrong, dear god that's what these books are about!!!!
> 
> BUT she is non judgemental i.e. has a very poor view of ill informed
> judgement and delusions of superiority (Pride and Prejudice! 
anyone).
> 
> (BTW Ally I have a feeling this is actually what you mean, but I
> believe the distinction is critical.)

Ally:

That's maybe my fault for not being clear.  Technically, everything 
you say about someone else is a judgment, but what I was specifically 
referring to is that she was being judgmental in terms of how the 
individual characters are portrayed and how they all share some of 
the "fault."  

And really, I meant it particularly in regards to the 
pensive/occlumency/Sirius' death events. For the record, I think JKR 
can be quite judgmental at times, and I am very wary of where she is 
going with the house distinctions, but I do think that this sequence 
of events follows the blueprint of good tragedy and represents some 
of the most complex characterization she's put together in any book.  
Each one of the key players  - Snape, Harry, Sirius and DD - make 
mistakes that are very true to their characters and they all come 
together into a tragic event.  None of them are solely to blame, they 
all bear some part of it.

Jo:
> When Harry meets Voldy he *must* understand he is not better, more
> justified, greater than his enemy in anything other than the choices
> he makes. Bad actions are *bad* actions regardless of the 
motivation.
> To beat evil you have to act good, you cannot simply *be* good.

Ally:
I agree with this, and one of the things I like about the HP books is 
that they're basically children's books but allow the kids and adults 
to be fallible.  I like that Harry is struggling with the need to see 
people as either evil or good and not their acts as evil or good.  
It's a good lesson to teach kids that bad people are capable of good 
things and good people are capable of making mistakes.