Which way?

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 101632

Kneasy:
> Expectations and  perceptions.
> Two of the attributes that all posters bring to the site.
> 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.

SSSusan:
An insightful comment, Kneasy.  I think there may be some HPfGU 
posters for whom this isn't true, but I know it's exactly true for 
many fans I know and, well, probably for myself most of the time, too.


Kneasy: 
> 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.
> 
> 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. 

  
SSSusan:
It's interesting, isn't it?  Are these other possibilities ignored 
because we're oddsmakers at heart?  Because of the gut reaction 
factor?  Because of the "I don't WANT that to happen" aspect of it?  



Kneasy:
> 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.


SSSusan:
When you wrote, above, about how our perceptions & expectations have 
changed over the course of reading the first five books, I have to 
admit that I began to wonder how *disappointed* some would be if the 
ending *is* a simple one.  Then as I read further, it seemed that 
there's a bit of a warning from you to those that might be looking 
for the simple ending, since JKR *has* made her story inreasingly 
complex and dark.

But how interesting that I was only thinking of those TWO 
possibilities:  too simplistic & sweet for one group; too dark & 
unhappy for another.  Interesting because, myself, I've been holding 
out for "elegantly simple" from JKR.  Not sugary sweet, but lovely in 
the way JKR can make things lovely, even if they're bittersweet & 
hold tragedy.  Something *brilliant* in its simplicity and yet still 
so unique or unexpected that we didn't see it coming.  I suspect you 
wouldn't use the same phrase I do, but I think you're offering out 
hope for something similar--a complex but not necessary negative 
ending, something nice and meaty. 

Sheesh--have I contradicted myself here in saying that I think you're 
hoping for something similar, when you want challenging & meaty (& 
complex?) and I'm calling it "elegantly simple"?  It seems I am, yet 
they feel the same somehow....  Maybe I need a nap.

Fascinating post, Kneasy.

Siriusly Snapey Susan