What JKR Finds Important (previously Kids and Grownups)

[annemehr]

No: HPFGUIDX 115918



> Lupinlore wrote:  
> 
> JKR has said time and again that this is *Harry's* story.  In fact,
she has gone so far as 
> to say that Harry appeared, more or less full blown, in her 
> imagination and she proceeded to wrap the story around him.  This 
> means that any other character, child or adult, is only important in 
> so far as they touch on Harry.

Annemehr:
This was a great post. I'll go on to say that Harry's story is *JKR's*
story, so of course it has to go where she takes it.  The reason I'm
pointing out the obvious is to analyse a little where our frustrations
come from.

The world Harry inhabits is so rich with characters and possibilities
that we can imagine thousands of stories to go with them.  Jo is only
telling one of them in its entirety.  We may be disappointed to find
our own favorite possibilities un-fleshed-out, but think what it would
have to mean otherwise.  To explore *all* our interests fully would
require a series of books of encyclopaedic proportions!  Well, much
more than that, actually <thinks of the extent of HP fanfic>. 
Fortunately, Jo seems to be perfectly content to let us explore other
options in the fanfic world; it's simply too much to expect her to
write about everyone and everything herself.  ;)

Lupinlore:
> I sometimes think that were JKR not such a polite person, she would 
> dissolve in torrents of laughter at many of the theories so hotly 
> disputed and deeply held among long-time readers, myself included.  
<snip>
> 
> Ilana replies now:
> 
> Isn't it funny how quickly our pet theories come into focus when we
use this test?  I think it's a fair one.  Of course, there's
absolutely nothing wrong with making "improvements" on JKR's vision
and weaving tales that don't fit strictly into her world--that's what
fan fiction is all about!
<snip>

Annemehr:
Absolutely. Besides, there are theories, and there are theories!  Some
of them hold together beautifully, and I'm sure JKR has great respect
for many.  I think of them this way: before the story is completed,
there are many directions the plot can take. Jo publishes her vision,
but the best theories would have been worth publishing as well.  Just
because they may end up being 'the road not taken' doesn't mean they
were the 'wrong' way to go.  They will only be 'wrong' as predictions
of what Jo was going to write.

And of course, it is inevitable that some people are going to be
sorely disappointed when Jo takes the left fork when they wanted to go
right, and that's not to mention all the unexplored side roads in the
distance...

Ilana:
> I'm not certain if personal experiences of reading the book are off
topic or not--I haven't seen too much of it come up--

Annemehr:
Actually, I'm pretty sure it's on-topic.  After all, we can each
discuss canon only from our own points of view; a little explanation
of those POVs can only help clarify the discussion (of course, if the
topic drifts to personal experiences alone, without reference to
canon, we take it to Off-Topic Chatter).

Ilana:
but I'd be interested to hear if others had the same impression of OOP
as I did.  It seems to me that JKR included a lot more moodiness
(outbursts of anger, suppressed rage, and worry) for Harry in the
final book than we saw in the previous books.  It was almost
melodramatic--too much--reminding me of something like Raskolnikov in
Crime and Punishment (not to imply similarity of guilt or character,
but of authorial technique.)  My question is do you feel this was a
device to create distance between the reader and Harry, rather than to
continue and sustain unwavering empathy?  Did anyone out there feel
claustrophobic reading OOP--like JKR was pushing Harry's view to the
point that you couldn't see the story unfold clearly?
> 
> Thanks for your insights!
> 
> Ilana     
>   ----- 

Annemehr:
My impression of the purpose of OoP was to be the motivation behind
Harry maturing greatly and quickly in the next book, book-and-a-half.
 He has to change from a fairly typical teenage boy to the person who
can defeat Voldemort, and it has to be believable.

I actually think Harry was quite believable in OoP, though I know
others feel differently.  The return of LV as he did in the graveyard,
along with Dumbledore's withdrawal, seem to me to be *plenty* to carry
Harry's reactions and the rest of the plot in the book.  Even though
Harry did not always react the way I would have or wanted him to, my
empathy for him was sustained because I did find him believable.  If
anything felt like 'too much,' it was how many bad things were
happening *to* Harry, rather than what his reactions were. But as I
just said, the events around LV's return were enough in the end to
explain all that to my satisfaction.  Life just caves in on you
sometimes (I'm sure I see people nodding here), and having a
connection to an evil overlord who wants to kill you is going to twist
up your life a bit.

The claustrophobia, I felt too.  Actually, I think it was effective
writing, because it was what Harry was feeling -- the world closing in
on him, his options, preferences, and emotional supports removed.  As
I said, I think this is what is going to force him to grow up as he must.

As for how clearly the story unfolds -- you have a point.  It can get
better after repeat readings; you begin to make the connections
between an episode of scar pain and what LV must have been doing at
the time (facts which may be separated by pages and pages in the
book).  You begin to relate the way the 'locked door' dreams evolve to
the progression of LV's information about how to get at the prophecy,
and you can tell a lot about which DEs did what and where if you sit
down and work it out from the MoM battle chapters.  It's all work,
though -- you can't figure all this out from casual readings alone. Am
I the only one who still has a lot of trouble finding any particular
episode I want to look up in OoP, where in the other books I can
usually go right to the chapter I want?

It's kind of a relief that JKR said there will be fewer clues and red
herrings in HBP, that it's time to start giving answers instead!  Even
if some of those answers are bound to be things we don't want to hear.

Annemehr
strapped in and along for the ride