Which way?

[Barry Arrowsmith]

No: HPFGUIDX 101614

Expectations and  perceptions.
Two of the attributes that all posters bring to the site.
They're  linked of course; each will modify the other and strangely 
each can  develop independently of authorial intent,
which just goes to show something or other.

Expectations are many and varied;  what will happen to Harry, how this 
will  be explained, how that will be resolved. I'm not going into that 
either, or at least not in the detail that you'll see in the average 
post. It's the whole, the gestalt, how will the pretty bow be tied that 
combines the parts into one package, that's what I'm interested in, 
especially now that the end of the series is in sight. The wider 
expectations, or in some cases apprehensions, lurk as a sort of 
sub-text in some posts, more openly  expressed in others, and they can 
be summed up with one question -  "Which way will she go?" This is one 
poster's musings.

Have your expectations changed as the series has  progressed? Mine 
certainly have. What  started as a fairly standard tale aimed at the 
younger market but entertaining enough to engage adults has become 
something else. It's ambivalent, complex and much darker. It addresses 
(if you're interested in that sort of thing) questions of loyalty, 
truth, goodness - not as absolutes  but as spectra. They change 
depending on altered circumstances and the characters stance  and the 
information available to them - and this can alter the reader's 
perceptions  in parallel.

Some will  disagree vehemently - truth is an absolute, goodness remains 
so no matter what - but remember, this isn't real life we're talking 
about here,  it's an unfinished work of fiction, presented from the 
viewpoint of one boy. The 'truth' does change - the 'truth' about James 
changed radically in book 5. The simple, straight-forward truth Harry 
had come to believe from what he had been told by friends such as 
Hagrid  becomes much more complex and possibly disturbing when the 
Pensieve revealed another aspect to James's character. And James isn't 
the only one. Along the way there have been 
insights/information/actions that turn most of the major cast members 
from simple black or white to a more enigmatic shade of grey.

How readers interpret such change varies. For some it's an interesting 
plot twist; some may try to justify or  excuse what may be seen as 
aberrant or  atypical behaviour; some see it  as  a possible pointer to 
things to come. It all  depends on expectation and perception.

The fan's forecasts divide, roughly speaking, into two groups; the 
first looks  for a 'Harry triumphs, evil defeated, nearly all of them 
live happily ever after' - a morality tale resolution. After reading 
the first book this was my opinion too, and probably that of 99%+ of 
other readers as well. This may well be the way it ends - the simple 
solution; but I hope not. No, I'm not on about violence or 
blood-spattered carnage this time, though I do have a taste for it, I 
admit. It's just possible that the author may take us  along a  
different path, a much more thoughtful and challenging path to  an 
ending that promotes not so much a sigh of satisfaction as a continuing 
debate on decisions and morality. This would please the second group.

I've opined above that many of the characters have taken on shades of 
grey; what if the resolution becomes similarly ambiguous? JKR once 
stated that she wasn't writing a moral tale but a tale hopefully with 
morality in it. She's also said that she doesn't care if she's only 
left with six fans and  she won't  confirm that Harry will survive the 
series. Straws in the wind? A morality  tale invariably has a cut and 
dried ending - not so a tale from which morals can be drawn. They are 
often more diverse and thought provoking, usually because they do more 
than just sort the sheep from the goats and  reward or punish 
accordingly. They invite the reader to use their discretion in how 
*they* interpret the actions of characters; the author stands aside, 
it's all up to you.

The possibility that there might be only six fans left is obviously a 
gross exaggeration used to make a point - that it's her story and it'll 
be as she wants it and not a compromise to suit fans or critics. But 
it's still a possible hint that some or many fans may be upset by what 
happens in future books. Of course, this could be the death of Harry, a 
possibility she refuses  to rule out, or it may be something else 
entirely.

For most of us the first five books have been entertaining 
stage-setting - now we're getting down to the nitty-gritty, the finale, 
or close to it and the big question is, as it's always been - what 
happens now? Naturally, the expectations or hopes of any particular fan 
are much more limited than the total possible resolutions. It's rare 
for a fan not to have fairly well-defined ideas of how it will all  
turn out in his/her opinion. Opinions held by others are subjected to a 
level of criticism that one's own views don't get from one's self. To 
be expected, I suppose, but I sometimes think that most views aren't 
reached  by a process of rigorous analysis, but by a combination of 
factors which probably includes among other things guess-work, wishful 
thinking and  gut-reaction. It's only when one's choice is questioned 
that analysis takes centre stage to defend that choice with 
justification or rationalisation based on canon.

Even so, there  are possibilities that get no support, may not even get 
a mention. Considering that we regard ourselves as  bunch of fearless 
adventurers, willing to explore potential story arcs, if only to reject 
them, this is enlightening. Let's look at a glaring example:

"The one to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches....mark as his equal.... 
neither can survive while the other lives"
"he transferred some of his powers to you the night he gave you that 
scar."
"...then one of us has got to kill the other one in the end?" "Yes"

Three quotes that refer to what we assume will  be the final showdown. 
Alone or  in combination they've attracted lots of speculation.

The vast majority of fans hold that Harry will win and that Voldy will 
go down. The preferred methodology varies; a fight, a trick or somehow 
Voldy can be made/persuaded to self destruct.

A small number posit that both Harry and Voldy go down. Still counts as 
a win for the good side, but not so fluffy.

Others that Harry and Voldy  will somehow undergo a 
merger/transformation with the evil driven out or destroyed.

How's that for covering the angles? Not very good actually.    All 
potential theories that Harry doesn't  win are ignored.    Sorry; 
correction - a few wonder if Harry will go down and that Neville will 
be the eventual saviour of the WW.

There are no serious theories suggesting that Voldy will win, though 
since he and Harry are 'equal' it should be a 50:50 chance. But nobody 
believes it will happen that  way.

There is yet another possibility;  Harry defeats Voldy, then takes his 
place. (He's his equal, remember; it doesn't say opposite. And what if 
the transferred powers are corrupting Harry from within? He was 
certainly unHarry-like in the last book.)

Or - the show-down never happens, a deus-ex-machina-like
plot device renders it unnecessary.

Or - Voldy is deposed by his own side as a hazard to their own health, 
let alone anyone else's.

Or - Voldy, powerless, is caged forever in the Chamber.

Or how about this one - it all ends with all magic being removed from 
the world. It'd sort out Voldy, the Muggle torturers and the 
Elf-maltreaters, that's for sure. (And JKR has said she doesn't believe 
in magic.)

See? The  possibilities are many, these are just a sample, lots more 
where they came from, but only a few endings get serious consideration. 
And that's just  one facet of the story. Expectation and perception 
again. *We* limit the possibilities we see, we're the ones in blinkers. 
We have defined our own boundaries. This time we can't blame the author 
- so  far as I can see she's never hinted that we should look in any 
particular direction, just the opposite.

I for one  hope  that the  author has wider vision than most  of us  
have, wider than most of us can imagine. That she'll still have the 
capability to make us think, to challenge us to look at things 
differently instead of presenting us with a conventional ending. No,  
that isn't a call  for 'evil' to triumph, it's a  wish for something a 
bit more intellectually daring, provocative even, than the standard 
fantasy fare. Meat,  not just potatoes. Something to chew on.

There's a metaphorical  split in the road somewhere ahead; one way goes 
the traditional route towards the theories that are most popular, the 
other path could go somewhere else entirely. The scene seems set for 
both possibilities; which way will  Jo  take us?

Kneasy