Book 7 predictions/oh no fluffy bunnies again

[arrowsmithbt]

No: HPFGUIDX 98207

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "a_reader2003" <carolynwhite2 at a...> wrote:

Snips
> 
> The sweep of JKR's canvas is huge, and her plot is getting darker by 
> the minute. She appears to me to be a realist and a sharp observer of 
> the human condition. I'm interested in how she might handle some of 
> the broader themes, at the same time as tying up the loose ends of 
> the characters' stories.
> 
> Or will the outcome be more serious, that even if Voldy is dead, the 
> WW is in unstoppable decline, unable to facing up to its rotten 
> ethics and sagging morality ? JKR has said that there never will be a 
> rapprochement between the WW and RL - is this bad news for the WW ? 
> What is its future in the 21st century? [Try the Artemis Fowl series 
> BTW for a few amusing insights!]
> 
> JKR is dealing with an altogether more contemporary situation. It is 
> focused on one boy's story, but as a context for his personal 
> struggles, she has created a very complex environment which IMO could 
> go any of the ways that I outlined in my earlier post, and then some.


Ah! The ineffable mind of JKR, confounding us at every turn.

This thread is reminiscent of the old tale where a bunch of 
blind-folded folk are placed in front of an elephant and asked
to identify it by touch..a wall, a snake, a tree...it all  depends
on which bit you grab.

Just what story has JKR written? Posters have offered opinions
right across the spectrum - rites of passage/loss of innocence;
revenge and retribution; a morality tale ending in redemption; 
adventure; a commentary on society and it's faults;  perhaps a
satire in the tradition of Swift's Gullivers Travels. Maybe all of 
them, though that would be one hell of a trick for a first-time 
writer.

In essence we see what we want to see; as in any book what
you get out of it depends to a certain extent on what you bring
to it. Personal tastes, prejudices, even experiences will tend to
colour our comprehension. I think this will still be so even after
the series is completed. Expect trenchant critiques when the 
tale can be viewed in it's entirety. Universal approbation for
a story well told -hopefully; universal agreement on what  it 
all signified - never.

It's evident that the tale has grown darker book by book. It's
texture has changed - PS/SS and OoP could almost have
been written by different authors for different audiences, 
as if a publisher handed around a plot outline and asked 
for individual takes for each volume. Certainly I feel a sense
of surprise verging on disorientation whenever I start to
read the series anew. Read the series in sequence and the
development seems natural - switch from OoP back to PS 
and it's a culture shock. PS/SS is a childrens book for sure; 
the later ones reposition themselves, but in readiness 
for what?

HP is a personal view in more ways than one -  firstly, and
the bit that drives the site, it's Harry's view. Secondly it's
JKR's view. This is something she's always been open about;
she will not write to please others, only to please herself. If
she loses her readers, so be it - a refreshing change in these
days of focus groups and market-research driven offerings.
So it's gonna be take it or leave it. Good. As it should be.
I can live with that. Even if I don't like the resolution, I need
only read book 7 once and I'll still get pleasure from the
preceding 6 (or 5!).

But just what is JKR's view? Well, there are hints, straws in 
the wind. She has no compunction in killing her characters
even though it may distress both herself and the readers;
there will be no reconciliation between Muggledom and the
WW (continued estrangement is more likely to encourage
pureblood attitudes); Harry's sufferings intensify book by  
book (an ominous, possibly indicative trend); and perhaps
most significant of all - JKR does not  believe in magic. 
This last predicates against a fluffy-bunny ending, IMO. 
There is no magic spell, no waving of wands, no deus ex 
machina, no simple solution to all the ills of the WW and 
any of the less than benevolent characters in it. 

I've never hidden the fact that I'd prefer - well, let's say a
'robust' conclusion. Deaths avenged, retribution taken, just
desserts apportioned. Moral, but old-fashioned morality.
The punishment fits the crime sort  of thing. Others hope 
for a denoument with less Calvinist severity, even though
Scotland is a traditional stronghold of Calvinism and that's
where JKR lives and where Hogwarts is set.

I remember a TV news report when GoF came out - a young
girl grabbed her copy in a NY bookstore and was reading the
first chapter - The Riddle House - on the spot. Her reaction,
"Oh no! It's not supposed to be like this!" was possibly a
portent of things to come. 

Having expectations is one thing; having them fulfilled is
something else again. Certainly I don't see a way in which
all the different reader's hopes can be reconciled; large
clumps of disgruntlement can be predicted. Unless the
next book is up-beat and gives cause for optimism (not 
something that can be predicted with confidence), the 
ending may be more traumatic than many may be 
comfortable with. 

But she's fooled us before, it could happen again. Maybe.

Kneasy