Opinions (was Harry's Motivation) (was Re: JKR's site up-date - Rumours Section

[lupinlore]

No: HPFGUIDX 127315


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "potioncat" <willsonkmom at m...> 
wrote:
> 
> Potioncat:
> Seems to me, no matter how the series ends, you've gotten your 
money's 
> worth already. But the books don't come "satisfaction guranteed" 
so 
> perhaps you should put your name on the waiting list at your local 
> library now. 
> 
> As for me, I don't see any reason to attach any stipulations to 
the 
> books. I've enjoyed the ride so far, and I expect I will continue 
to. 
> I may not like some of the events that will occur...I'm sure of 
that 
> in real life too... I've made some predictions, guessed at some 
back 
> stories and I'm waiting to see how I close I came to JKR's ideas, 
not 
> how close she came to mine.


Chuckle.  If HBP is anywhere near as abysmal of a book as OOTP, I 
probably will follow that advice.

However, this does bring up an interesting question of how one 
approaches a set of books.  I think there are several different 
ways, none of which is reallys superior to another.  Perhaps there 
are two predominant ways, however:

One way is as a work of art, or an adventure if you will.  You sort 
of pay your cash (or not, as the case may be) and go along for the 
ride.  You expect to find some pleasant and unpleasant things, but 
overall accept it as an aesthetic experience, whatever that means to 
you (I think some people are primarily emotional in their approach 
and some primarily intellectual).

The other is to approach the books as a product that one invests in, 
whether it be time or money.  As with any product you expect a 
certain return for your investment.  The question of whether you 
have invested wisely or not is mainly decided by whether the return 
matches the value of the expenditure.

Now, these two ways are certainly not mutually exclusive.  And any 
given person can employ one method in any one given instance and 
another method in another given instance.  However, I think most 
people lean in the main one way or another.  

So, how one reacts to the Harry Potter series as a whole will depend 
to a large extent on what type of person you are.  If you are 
primarily "aesthetic" in your approach, then you will apply one set 
of values that add up to - did I have a superior aesthetic 
experience?  If, however, you are - as I tend to be - 
primarily "economic" in your approach, you will apply another (not 
necessarily exclusive) set of values that say - did I receive 
appropriate compensation for my investment?

Interestingly, the two sides are not usually well-defined and/or 
clearly opposed to one another.  Generally on any given subject, you 
will have some "aesthetic" and "economic" types on one side, and 
some "aesthetic" and "economic" types on another.  Where they differ 
primarily is in their attitude to books and authors.  In general 
aesthetic readers value books as works of art and authors as 
artists.  The value of each depends on certain measures of quality 
and achievement. Economic types value books as products designed to 
fulfill a function and authors as producers.  The value of each 
depends on the fluctuating needs/demands of the individual consumer 
and the marketplace.

Also, interestingly enough, I think this aspect of one's personality 
is largely independent of other personality functions.  I reliably 
test as an INFP on Meyers-Briggs, which is the constellation most 
expected to be aesthetic, yet I've been ruthlessly "economic" my 
entire reading life.  A good friend, however, who is a retired high 
energy physicist and an ESTJ to the core, is the 
greatest "aesthetic" reader of my personal acquaintance.

Each side can be very demanding, but demanding in different ways.  
It is a difference that is probably fundamental among readers, and 
is in and of itself neither a good nor a bad thing.  It is simply an 
irreducible aspect of the public that buys and/or reads books.


Lupinlore