book 7 my most hated ending

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 99344

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Jim Ferer" <jferer at y...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Miller, Gina (JIS)"
> <ginamiller at j...> wrote:

Gina:
> > My worst fear is that Harry would die and then wake up back at the
> Dursley's
> > with all of this having been a dream and him looking to find 
himself
> back
> > under the stairs.
> >  
> > Now THAT would be horrible!
 
Jim:
> Woooeeey, Mama, that would be pretty bad - the "Dallas" ending.  And
> JKR was worried some people had watched too much Star Wars? 
> Actually, this was floated as a "theory" that Harry was/is in a 
> psychotic abused child syndrome, and the entire wizard world is an 
>escape fantasy.

Geoff:
This has cropped up on than one occasion in the past.

I wrote as part of message 75634: "I shall await the arrival of books 
6 & 7 with increasing impatienceto see how accurate the outcomes of 
our musings are. One hope is that it is not a dream in the manner of 
Dallas or I shall be joining the lynch party! My only wish would be 
that HP does not die. He is a great survivor already; may it remain 
so."

and, as part of message 78617: "None of our favourite book characters 
are real; that's what "fiction" means! Frodo Baggins is not real. 
Jane Eyre is not real. Shylock is not real. They may be based in part 
on real people but they themselves are not intrinsically real. That 
does not mean that we cannot treat them as real, to share in their 
experiences, to cheer for them, cry for them and hope against hope 
that things will work out for them.

To use the idea of a dream is a cop out. I remember how angry my wife
got when the Dallas incident occurred. I have my own "wishes" as to 
how HP will work out. In the event, it won't end the way I have 
wished but, if it does finish in a dream resolution, I shall feel 
that I have been the subject of a confidence trick to lure me through 
seven books to a disappointing conclusion. And, as someone pointed 
out recently, it would be a possible disaster to the younger readers 
of the books - for whom Harry was firstintroduced - as it would 
undermine the power of their imaginationswhich are such a valuable 
part of their development."