a different 'crucial' question was:Re: "The Crucial and Central Question"

[arrowsmithbt]

No: HPFGUIDX 92318

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Tracy Hunt" <tcyhunt at e...> wrote:
> 
> Kneasy, I love reading your posts.  Sometimes I agree, sometimes 
> not.  You make me shake my head, laugh and sometimes wish I knew you 
> in another life.  But on this one, I have to speak out.  There are 
> more than 11,000 of us on this list alone.  We've read and re-read 
> the books.  We've analyzed and scrutinized every word of text.  We've 
> inferred and conferred.  Perhaps it's all too much.  We've discovered 
> mistakes/Flints in characters, math, spells, etc.  Isn't it just a 
> bit like American celebrity?  With so large of a magnifying glass, 
> can anyone/anything emerge worthy?  We've put JKR's work on a mighty 
> pedestal.  Is there an ending or series of explanations that would 
> satisfy us all after we've dissected it with our usual vigor?  
> Perhaps we've delved too deeply.  What if it ultimately ends up being 
> just a great children's tale?  That's ok with me.  I'm great at 
> willful suspension of disbelief.
> 

Compliments to savour. Thank you. But isn't that what this site is supposed
to be about? Adults expressing views, sometimes contentious, in a hopefully
entertaining or engaging manner? And take my word for it, the Kneasy of
your imagination is to  be preferred to the disappointing reality.

Back to the fantasy.
11,000 of us, dissecting, analysing, scrutinising. And most of us are going
to get it wrong. That's the joy of it. That's what makes it so special. Last
year I rambled through a post on just this point and a prime example of
one of the observations has re-occured this week. Hang on, let's see if I
can find the quote- yep, here it is "There's little that is more fun than
watching someone  going out on a limb, only to see Nemesis, in the shape
of JKR, come along and saw it off. That it has and will happen to so many
of us only adds to the communal enjoyment. A quiet  hum of satisfaction 
pervades the site. "Never did like that idea," you reflect smugly, "Told you
so!" (post 79637) 
Sorry Pippin. Courage Camille! This pain too must  pass away.

We all have our own views on the books and the characters, plus our 
personal hopes for the final resolution. I imagine that JKR must sometimes
stop and wonder at the thousands of enties on the web under Harry Potter
 - "How on earth did this lot develop from a tale about a young boy?" 
Because it has that extra something, that's why. It's that extra that
persuades me to write scathing posts about Sirius, suspect Dumbledore
and be fascinated by Snape. Of course we are lucky, very lucky. The 
series is unfinished (or anyway the end is unpublished) so we have a
freedom to roam, question or dispute that will be denied to those who
come to the books later. Poor sods. But I'm going to make the most of the
opportunity. It's unlikely to happen again in my lifetime.

JKR's work on a pedestal? Mmm - maybe, to some. Certainly it gets my 
respect and appreciation, but mostly I look on it, and sites like this as one
of the great indoor sports of our time. All you need do is let your imagination
free and you can slug it out with others whose imaginations are just as fertile
and maybe even more convoluted.

The worth or otherwise of the characters we so ardently espouse or slight is
hardly a matter of great moment  but it does engage us. And unlike the
manipulative fakery of the celebrity circus nobody is going to tell us what
to think; God help them if they try. Every time some snide columnist or 
acid-drop  writer tries to pull one of the usual little patronising pieces
all too common in the chattering classes, they tend to retreat rapidly, usually
with a bloody nose, confused and confounded by fans not amenable to
the supine acceptance of received opinions. So satisfying! 

A childrens book? Perhaps. Didn't I read somewhere that it was Bloomsbury
that insisted on it being published as a childrens title, not JKR? Can anyone
confirm or refute that please? Personally I have my doubts about which
category it should fall into - I see it as a growing childs view of the adult
world he will soon join and have to come to terms with. IMO the adult
characters are much more interesting than the children, angst-ridden spotty
adolescents not being my thing. Additionally there're all those lovely puzzles
in there - who's who, who did what and why. Ah, all that uncertainty.

So in answer to your question, no, I don't think it is too much. Any less and
I probably wouldn't be here.

Kneasy